Please Define "Glurge."

[Bertha Venation]

I used it in a thread yesterday and based on a couple of replies I think I might've used it by mistake.

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=105&topic_id=8254359&mesg_id=8254359

[blueraven95]

1. dictionary.com has no definition

:hi:

on edit: after reflection, I've decided that dictionary.com's lack of a definition means you can use it however you want. Therefore, whatever definition you intended it to have is the correct definition. :bounce:

[Bertha Venation]

3. I found the definition, and I have it wrong.

http://www.snopes.com/glurge/glurge.asp

See reply below for text of definition.

[blueraven95]

6. oh well,

I like your definition better - it fits the sound of the word more.

[Bertha Venation]

7. I thought so, too!

It's almost onomatopoeic! (And yes, I did have to look up how to spell that.)

[madinmaryland]

2. Glurge? In what respect, Charley??

:hi:

[Bertha Venation]

4. Heh heh. Here's Snopes's definition of Glurge:

In ordinary language, glurge is the sending of inspirational (and supposedly true) tales, ones that often conceal much darker meanings than the uplifting moral lessons they purport to offer or undermine their messages by fabricating and distorting historical fact in the guise of offering a "true story."

See below for what I thought it was.

[Bertha Venation]

5. Here's what I thought "glurge" was:

Treacle. Sickly-sweet sentiments fraught with overblown emotions.

Such as what I expect DU to become in the days before christmas: a place where everyone goes overboard in congratulating ourselves with the fabulous christmas gift of Prez-Elect Obama. I mean, arms around shoulders, "I'd Like To Teach the World To Sing" moments when we act practically drunk . . .

Okay, I'm done now.

[madinmaryland]

9. Funnily, I actually thought is was what happened after drinking

way too much CHEAP red wine...

:puke:

[Orrex]

8. Glurge is that thread from last week about the guy who gassed feral cats for a living

It's any artificial or too-embellished tale told specifically to tug at the heartstrings of the audience while making some kind of commentary on society.

[Bertha Venation]

10. well, i hadn't seen the thread, but your definition makes it clearer even

than Snopes's definition.

[Orrex]

11. To be fair to Snopes

They handle a much larger volume of glurge than we encounter here on DU, so their definition has to be much broader and more encompassing.

Coincidentally, Republicans are famously fond of glurge stories as political propaganda. Those old stories told from the perspective of the teen killed in a car accident or an aborted fetus are prime examples. Tales of the apocryphal (and, of course, black) millionaire welfare queen and the poor janitor who lost his job because of unions are also longtime favorites.

Your original definition isn't entirely off-base, either; it's just a little too specific in focus IMO.