The Unofficial OFD Lexicon

It's here by popular demand.

The masses have spoken, and we shall deliver unto them what they want.

Please take a minute to familiarize yourself with the contents. For newbies, consider it mandatory freshman orientation material. For the old hands, bask in the glory and memories of threads long past. Either way, we plan on adding to it.

If you feel something is worthy, let us know. If you coin a term or new phrase that makes it on this list, consider including it on your resume. After all, this is kind of like the Mount Rushmore of OFD comments. Kind of similar. Not really the same, but similar. You get it.

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ALL CAPS

Basically, all caps are a way to post things ironically, subtly different than the sarcasm tag. All caps are a way to signal that what follows will range from hyperbolic to outright ridiculous. The source commenter of this meme (who will remain unnamed) claimed that he used all caps for players, coaches or teams he "loved," like NOTRE DAME or ALEX ANZALONE (and decidedly not Greer Martini). He also seemed to use them when listing desirable qualities that he thought described those people or teams, like ELITE or TRADITION. Though he was later banned for sockpuppeting an alternate handle to support his comments, his distinctive, over-the-top commenting voice lives on.

Thanks to The Guys Get Shirts! (aka TGGS) for the proposed definition

"Clown 9"

If anything will land you on this list, it is an unintentionally hilarious typo. Few have been better than averagegatsby's faux paus when describing his elation over the Irish returning to #1 after a 19 year drought.

Clown 9 can best be described as a state of heightened joy or ecstasy, specifically after years of letdowns and/or poor performances. Often mistaken for "Cloud 9," which might be a familiar term for people outside of sporting blog circles.

"DM;#1"

Short for "Doesn't Matter; #1." This became popular after the Irish soundly defeated Wake Forest at home while later in the day then #1 Kansas State got demolished by Baylor and #2 Oregon lost in OT to Stanford. This vaulted Notre Dame to #1 in the polls for the first time since 1993 and the first time ever in the BCS.

"Don't sleep on EG"

This OFD Original^TM was brought into existence by our own Mouth of the South. He has steadfastly been defending the honor of a certain Irish QB since the fall of 2011. When others debated the merits of starting either some guy who eventually transferred to Kansas, a cabbie tackling dummy or the rocket-laser armed Voodoo Child, MotS gently reminded all of us that one must not sleep on EG.

"Fire Kelly"

See: Harumph! Fullbacks!

"FORAGING and MAULING"

Foraging and mauling are two things that both grizzly bears and grizzly bear-like players are known for. If grizzly bears were recruits, they would most definitely fit the POWER profile described by CBK. OFD regular (and now contributor) Larz first proposed that ND only take ELITE bears who were proficient in both categories.

"Harumph! Fullbacks!"

This OFD battle cry has been used for some time and is generally in reference to a certain splinter-cell of the fan base whose mother ship may or may not reside somewhere on the interwebs. This curmudgeonly, lunatic fringe portion of fans are generally more concerned with things like "tradition" than the actual on-field product.

For the sake of brevity, this term can be shortened to either base word.

Acceptable alternate spelling: Harrumph! Fullbacks!

"Ironic"

(also: irony) - something never to be discussed again on OFD for fear of a tangential discussion spinning out of control, leading readers to gouge their eyes out.

"Irvsmithian"

A play that displays anything worthy of comparison of Irv Smith's famed rumble against IU way back in the days of Holtz. Recently used by dannan14 to describe Theo Riddick's play at USC where he appeared to be tackled in the backfield by two Trojan defenders and turned it into a 20 yd gain.

"Lay On"

A term that is now synonymous with not sleeping on a particular player. This term is just another way to extend the "Don't Sleep on Player X" official OFD meme.

"Leftrechaun"

See: 2012 Shamrock Series Helmets

"main key"

This was recently submitted by OFD regular PAK, who may or may not have gotten this one from the Office of Redundancy. One who points out a "main key" may also find themselves "strenuously objecting" to arguments not in line with their thinking. For the record, main keys are much more important than secondary keys or tertiary keys.

"Mitigate the pros and cons"

A concept first proposed by burger23 in his relentless pursuit of play breakdowns and a state of equilibrium. Generally, one wants to simply mitigate the cons, but we also don't want to get too big for our britches, as some would say.

"mute point"

This is a recent addition to the OFD arsenal, first typed by our resident play-by-play analyst-savant burger23. One might think he was trying to refer to a moot point, it generally refers to a somewhat controversial observation that is no longer worth discussing.

"OFD Wheel of Pain"

This is the favored method of punishment by our resident judge, jury and executioner Mouth of the South. It would be wise to steer clear of upsetting a certain erudite southern gentleman.

"overcat"

Sadly, OFD cannot claim responsibility for this gem, as it is a Spencer Hall original. Seeing as how OFD is a home for degenerate gamblers who like to "pick games for pride and bragging rights," it has become a frequent term used in reference to a favored team.

"Overcat Underlords"

An extension of the term "overcat" (see above) devised by OFD regular Larz to describe teams that are ranked lower, but somehow still favored to win by those boys in Vegas.

"Patented MotS self-reply"

Inspired by the character Stephen from Braveheart, Mouth of the South often engages in conversations with himself in comment threads. This practice has been adopted by many, often when making an additional point or correcting the uncorrectable in a previous thought.

"Roundball"

A reference to CW, 4pointshooter and alstein's other favorite game, basketball.

"silent audible"

Coined by Cranked_Irish after the road victory in Norman, OK during the 2012 season, it refers to a play where He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Slept-Upon motioned one Theo "Colorful Sweater" Riddick out of the backfield and ran the ball off-tackle on 3rd and short in order to pick up a first down. This term can be applied in many situations where it is either impractical or impossible to vocalize one's intentions in a veiled or coded fashion.

"The dreaded Rush 4, Drop 8 defense"

This OFD Original^TM was coined by our own Whiskey after the narrow win over BC in 2011 in which the Eagles played very conservatively on defense, daring QB Tommy Rees to run. Our neighbors to the north don't see anything wrong with this defensive alignment, but its use state-side has been somewhat controversial.

"The 75% Doctrine"

Folks, this is what happens when you ask a Southern lawyer to do math. Our very own MotS tried to pawn off that 8/12 somehow = 75% and it stood unchallenged. For over a day. Way to go CleverScreenName for doing some fact-checking that would put you to the front of the line at the four letter network.

The 75% Doctrine now applies in any situation where a number needs to sound credible, but doesn't necessarily to be correct. After all, 90% of statistics are made up. Or is it 75%?

In MotS's defense, were all just a little to high on the joy/elation/catharsis that was beating USC in LA to complete an unlikely undefeated 2012 regular season.

"TL; DR"

Internet slang for "too long; didn't read"--generally applies to anything of Murtaugian proportions, whether a post or a comment.

"Tuusapoopied"

NDForever gave us this little gem in early 2013. No further explanation is necessary.

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Author's Edits:

10/23/12 -- Added "Fire Kelly"

11/2/12 -- Added "silent audible"

11/28/12 -- Added "Clown 9", "DM;#1", "Irvsmithian", "Overcat Underlords" and "The 75% Doctrine"

2/25/13 -- Added "Tuusapoopied", "Ironic", "Lay On"

3/13/13 -- Added ALL CAPS

4/16/13 -- Added "FORAGING and MAULING"