Home » Dictionary » powner

powner

powner
 n.— «On the canine crowded street of the East Village, my wife and I play a little game we like to call “powner”–our semantical mash up of the words “pet and owner” Who ever sights a human walking their canine doppleganger gets to loudly proclaim, “powner!” The powner qualification then has to then be mutually confirmed. And as far as we’ve observed, the dynamic of “pownerism” only seems to exist between dogs and humans, though I’m sure we’ll see somebody walking their nutria some day, and get to call out “powner.” No scores are kept nor does either of us get to extract some reward from the other. Like all good games, the playing of it is its own reward, and oh yes, getting to muse on the baffling phenomenon of “pownerism” itself. So if you are ever walking your dog in the East Village, and you hear the word “powner” being called out, consider yourself “pownered.”» —“Dogs and Owners: A Family Resemblance” by Paulino Aboitiz New York Times Aug. 12, 2009. (source: Double-Tongued Dictionary)

Leave a comment

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

Further reading

Yak Shaving (episode #1548)

There was a time when William Shakespeare was just another little seven-year-old in school. Classes in his day were demanding — and all in Latin. A new book argues that this rigorous curriculum actually nurtured the creativity that later flourished...

Cabin Fever (episode #1547)

The adjectives canine and feline refer to dogs and cats. But how does English address other groups of animals? Plus, cabin fever has been around much longer than the current pandemic. That restless, antsy, stir-crazy feeling goes back to the days...

Recent posts