Dud
From Cadre
Dud (pronounced "dud") was originally an instant messenger abbreviation for "dude" but has since taken on a meaning of its own. The etymology, as far as Bryan can recall, is as follows:
dud > düd > dude, seriously though, > dooooooooood
The original form, doooooood, Bryan borrowed from Luke Gilkerson, who lived next to him in Darrow freshman year. When Schutze moved in with Bryan, he picked up on this, but it was generally used to begin a sentence in this form: "Dude, seriously though..." From there, it was shortened to simply dude, and could be repeated multiple times for emphasis or to get a person's attention.
Sometime during the summer of 2000, Bryan and Justin (soon to be roommates) kept in touch via instant messenger. Here, dude became düd, paying homage to its Schutzic popularity with the umlaut. Although the intention was to create the same vowel sound as "dude," the umlaut actually creates a word that rhymes with "could." Because Justin was using a PC, he could not easily type the umlaut, and düd naturally became dud (as did the pronunciation). It can be extended, as in the form "dududududud," for emphasis.
In 2006, the phrase "dud srsly" emerged from Bryan and Justin, again over instant messenger. Srsly was borrowed from the "O RLY?" internet meme.
Since 2000, dud has somewhat departed from its use as a sentence initiation. Generally, dud may be used as an interjection when speaking of masculinity, or as a German, or in quoting Schutze. Respectively:
- dudud don't question the power of my nuts. They're HUGE.
- dud, Beware, Mr. Burns; we Zhermans aren't all smiles und sunshine.
- $: dud, dud srsly stop buying these cookies.
Dud may also be inserted into other words to give them a masculine or (stereotypical) German quality. For example, businessman may become businessdud to speak of a particularly Type A capitalist, such as Bryan's boss. Someone studying business in college may be said to be learning "the art of businessduddery." A businessdud will generally be supervising underlings, or unterlings, unlike the uberduds in charge. A businessdud need not actually be German or even have German qualities to have the term applied, as dud has evolved from its düdly origins.
