You Tube finds

[flamingpig0]

I learned something too - never heard of a 'Wehraboo' before - had to look it up. Odd name for an unfortunately all too common presence on things like YouTube.

There were certainly a fair few what might be termed "proto-Wehraboos" around in war-gaming in  the seventies/early eigthtees.  Thankfully much less now.



Which reminds me, I must put another order to Pendraken for more WW2 Germans.

[John Cook]

never heard of a 'Wehraboo' before - had to look it up.

New one on me too but I certainly recognise the condition.  I wonder if it is applicable to those who view Napoleon and all things Grande Armee in a similar vein.

[Ithoriel]

Hadn't heard of wehraboo before but was familiar with weeaboo so not hard to make the leap to the meaning in my case.

[steve_holmes_11]

It's only a misnomer in the sense that many are actually schutzstaffboos* with the occasional luftboo** for good measure.

* Love their heavy German tanks. 
     Back in the Leicester Micromodel tank days there was a "that guy" who fielded a company of Maus tanks.
     Six of them in three troops of two if I remember correctly.
     Wasn't he badly outscouted?
     No, he had a mixed company of Panthers and Jagtigers for that.

** Field companies of Fallschirmjager, in 1943 - using all their magic 1945-6 kit.

[Last Hussar]

Ever wargame club appears to have 'the guy' who has more Tiger II than the Werhmacht.

[Duke Speedy of Leighton]

385 Tigger IIs.

[Last Hussar]

Oh, so just a skirmish game then?

[flamingpig0]

[steve_holmes_11]

Ever wargame club appears to have 'the guy' who has more Tiger II than the Werhmacht.

I've not witnessed it for tanks, which were generally produced in the hundreds.


I've seen a few examples, of late war superheavies fielded in wildly speculative quantities.

[steve_holmes_11]

New one on me too but I certainly recognise the condition.  I wonder if it is applicable to those who view Napoleon and all things Grande Armee in a similar vein.

Different types of 'Boos


The author presents the disappointing Francoboo.

[flamingpig0]

Different types of 'Boos


The author presents the disappointing Francoboo.

I am embarrassed to say that when I was younger I was a bit of a WRGboo or possibly Barkerboo

[Gwydion]

I had never heard of this (to me) meaningless addition of 'aboo' onto the end of another largely meaningless contractions of other words.

After extensive research (first answer I came to online) it is supposedly derived from weeaboo which was a 4chan replacement for the apparently offensive (Cover your eyes now) 'Wapanese': meaning a westerner obsessed with things Japanese to the point of believing Japanese culture superior to anything else.

Is this true?!
And if so: why the obsession with adding the meaningless suffix to all sorts of other words? Is this at all justified or is a reductionist form which will obliterate all meaning from life like most of the internet/social media?

Enquiring minds are vaguely interested.

[Ithoriel]

I had never heard of this (to me) meaningless addition of 'aboo' onto the end of another largely meaningless contractions of other words.

After extensive research (first answer I came to online) it is supposedly derived from weeaboo which was a 4chan replacement for the apparently offensive (Cover your eyes now) 'Wapanese': meaning a westerner obsessed with things Japanese to the point of believing Japanese culture superior to anything else.

Is this true?!
And if so: why the obsession with adding the meaningless suffix to all sorts of other words? Is this at all justified or is a reductionist form which will obliterate all meaning from life like most of the internet/social media?

Enquiring minds are vaguely interested.

Every generation has it's own coded language to differentiate it from the generations that came before. Words are coined and they stick, or they don't, they become mainstream, or they don't, and so language slowly evolves over time. Meanwhile other words drop from everyday usage.'Twas ever thus.


The internet and social media in particular have allowed these things far greater reach.

I'm not much of a one for Faceache or Wotsup but I do frequent Twitch, Discord and Reddit often enough to come across these neologisms and watch with interest as some flourish and others wither and die.

Language is a living thing no matter how hard some old crusties try to dip it in formaldehyde and pin it to a card

[Gwydion]

Thanks.
Well aware of the fluidity of language but I find the mutations and corruptions (which may become fascinating new ways of expressing oneself in the English language) increasingly arcane in origin.

As you say, language has always changed otherwise I'd be posting in Chaucerian English or Anglo Saxon rather than whatever this is. But the speed of change with electronic transmission of yoofspeek and the adoption of the lie back and enjoy it approach has meant far too much gibberish passes into common usage. I prefer the 'make the little b******s work for their place' (the words not yoof they can do what they want) approach. If it's useful it will survive, but a little Darwinian sneering seems to me to be good test for the rights of neologisms to survive.

Being the idle offspring of a 4Chan monitor's replacement for an imagined offence seems a poor start in life for any addition to language.
(yes I am grumpy today -sorry).

[Ithoriel]

I'm sure I've posted this here before, at least once, but as it is a favourite of mine I will repeat it and hope for forgiveness.

"The problem with defending the purity of the English language is that English is about as pure as a cribhouse whore. We don't just borrow words; on occasion, English has pursued other languages down alleyways to beat them unconscious and rifle their pockets for new vocabulary." - James Nicoll