[Tlhingan-hol] "Today is a good day to be that guy"

[Steven Boozer]

For the newcomers to the list, {vIl} comes from qep'a' 2009.  ghunchu'wI' was there and reported that::

  The noun {vIl} is hard to define. Maltz had given a description
 of something which was immediately recognized as a speed bump
 by everyone present, but it was apparently intended not as an
  actual definition but as an example of something which is "just
 there". There is obviously an etymological relationship with
 {vIlle'}, which is currently the best clue we have to its true
 meaning. Consider someone who keeps showing up when you go
 places. This person doesn't necessarily have any particular
 importance to what you're doing, and it wouldn't matter to you
 at all if he or she weren't present, but the person is "just
 there". That would be a {vIl}. It also can describe someone
 who hangs around, ready to help out, whether or not you need
 anyone to help you. Again, it wouldn't make any difference to
 you if the person weren't there. Here is a direct quote from
 Marc Okrand: "A {vIlle'}, on the other hand, is definitely
 someone you want to have around--a follower, disciple, fan,
 admirer, minion." ("Groupie" and "entourage" were suggested
 by those present at the time, but Marc didn't think they fit.)
       [7/26/2009]


From: Felix Malmenbeck [mailto:felixm at kth.se]
Sent: Tuesday, September 10, 2013 10:02 AM

"*that* guy" is a difficult concept to pin down; in fact, I don't think I can translate it even into my native tongue.

I believe that "*that* guy" normally refers to "somebody who fits the description of a person you will inevitably run into in a certain context, thus fulfilling the prophecy that 'there always has to be *that* guy'".

It seems there's usually a negative connotation, sometimes with the implication that *that* guy is "why we can't have nice things".

Going to a party where wine is served? You just know there's gonna be *that* guy who has too much.

Famous actor? You just know there's gonna be *that* guy who calls out to you across the room by the name of a character you played once.

Want to sleep, but your neighbors are playing loud music? Well, you could go over there and ask them to turn the volume, but ... it would make you *that* guy.

I wonder if the closest equivalent in Klingon may actually be {vIl}: Something which is just *there*. Certainly not a perfect translation, though.
________________________________
From: Bellerophon, modeler [bellerophon.modeler at gmail.com]
Sent: Tuesday, September 10, 2013 00:09

I get that "that guy' overdoes things to get attention. Like Will Wheaton didn't do when he refrained from saying "Qapla'" to the guy with the tattoo, or the guy with the tattoo was admitting to being for having it. When Will Wheaton said "Today is a good day to be that guy," he was saying it can be cool to be that guy. There are degrees of being that guy, and the tattoo was cool. Lampshade over the head, not cool.
[]
On Mon, Sep 9, 2013 at 5:26 PM, Alan Anderson <qunchuy at alcaco.net<mailto:qunchuy at alcaco.net>> wrote:
Is "be that guy" supposed to imply "act like a jerk"? I always thought
it referred to someone doing or saying something that most people
already were thinking.

If "act like a jerk" is the intended idea, don't we have a verb for
it? I'm thinking {nguq} "be arrogant", or {Qaq} "behave in a falsely
honorable fashion". {Qaqlu'meH QaQ jajvam}

-- ghunchu'wI'

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