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Etymology of Moded

It’s California in the 1980s, and—uh-oh!—you’re outsmarted or caught doing something stupid and someone else says, “Ooooooooooo, moded!” This Schadenfreudian slip of an expression was sometimes accompanied by a chin-stroking gesture, or elaborated still further as “Moded, corroded, your booty exploded!” Grant has the goods on this expression’s likely origin. Check out his entry for it– and the comments of people who know the term–at his dictionary site. This is part of a complete episode.

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