fil-lim

fil-lim
 n.Gloss: a movie believed to be important or to have a significant message. Note: From an exaggerated pronunciation of “film.” This term seems to be similar to the Anglo-Indian phillum. «If the conceit holds true—industry insiders say the word “Oscar” comes up in serious movie pitches as much as “and” and “the”—people who care about serious “fil-lims” should skip the marathon of Iranian documentaries on Feb. 24 and assemble some friends and nachos to watch this year’s Oscars, with Jon Stewart as host.» —“The Little Gold Man Made Me Do It” by David Carr New York Times Nov. 4, 2007. (source: Double-Tongued Dictionary)

Leave a comment

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

1 comment
  • I read this in the NYT article you are referencing, but does anyone else have any prior usages, rather than the author just poking fun at a pretentious pronunciation of film?

Further reading

Cat Bristle (episode #1665)

How do social media algorithms shape the way we communicate? A new book argues that the competition for clicks is changing the way we speak and write, from the so-called “YouTube accent” to the surprising evolution of the word preppy. Also: A...

Rooibos Pronunciation

How do you pronounce rooibos? The name of this tea comes from the Afrikaans words rooi bos, meaning “red bush.” Rooibos is pronounced ROY-boss, but it’s also called bush tea, red tea, or redbush tea. This is part of a complete episode.

Related

Recent posts