David from Nashville, Tennessee, wonders about a word he’s heard only in that city: gherming. Someone who ghermsmakes a habit of pestering country-music celebrities or acting overly familiar with them in public. Nashville songwriter Marc Alan Barnette has observed that when a friend was being wheeled into a hospital emergency room, he was even ghermed by a nurse trying to elbow her way into the industry. The word’s origin is unclear, although it may be related to the term gurn, meaning to “contort one’s face,” possibly in an obsequious manner. This is part of a complete episode.
Transcript of “Gherming in Nashville”
We got a message from David who told us he moved from New York City to Nashville 30 years ago, and he had a question about a word that he’s only heard there in Nashville.
And that word is germing, G-H-E-R-M-I-N-G, germing.
And the way that David described it is he said, when a tourist or a person who’s not a celebrity would bother a celebrity on the street to have a selfie made or get an autograph or just to talk to them and let them know what big fans they were of this country artist.
He keeps hearing the word germing.
And I reached out to Mark Allen Barnette.
Mark Allen Barnette is a well-known singer and songwriter in Nashville, and he said that he first heard this term used with reference to the revered Nashville songwriter Harland Howard.
And apparently Harlan Howard used this term to refer to a person who’s sort of like a germ.
They’re trying to infect somebody who has more celebrity, you know, to approach them and try to shove a CD or a business card into their hand.
And in fact, Mark reported that a friend of his told him he was nearly germed to death while being wheeled into a hospital emergency room by a nurse who was trying to elbow her way into the industry.
And can you imagine?
You’re terrified.
You’re on this gurney and somebody’s like, you’ve got to hear my song.
It’s the best song ever.
Getting germed on a gurney.
Getting germed on a gurney.
Yeah.
But anyway, it’s a big no-no in Nashville.
And that’s the only context in which I’ve been able to find this term, germing.
It does remind me of gurning, though.
G-U-R-N, gurn, which is to like stretch your neck up and look at something that you can’t quite make out.
Oh.
So kind of rubbernecking.
Interesting.
So sort of somebody who’s at a higher level in the industry than you are.
Well, I’m just talking in a physical space in the world.
When you’re in a restaurant and you see somebody, you know.
And you’re prairie dogging.
And you think that’s Luke Bryant, but you’re not sure.
So you stretch your neck up and look over.
Gurning.
I thought it was a really fascinating term.
And I have learned that you should never, ever gurm if you go to Nashville.
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