Hi Folks,
Coincidentally, I heard a mainstream instance of "uber" just last night. Helen Mirren used it in an interview on the show "Top Gear" (BBC America), referring to the host as "the uber male", and Paris Hilton as "the uber female". In this context, I think the meaning is "the epitome".
Susan
----- Original Message -----
From: MC Johnstone <[log in to unmask]>
Date: Tuesday, June 17, 2008 4:30 am
Subject: Re: "Über"-use
To: [log in to unmask]
> STAHLKE, HERBERT F wrote:
> > About the only German use of "ueber" that most Americans are
> aware of is in the title of the national anthem, and that only
> because of the notoriety the Nazis gave it. So it gets
> borrowed with a high back rounded vowel and the sense "excessive(ly)".
> >
> > Herb
> Well, there is also the song, "California Uber Alles", circa
> 1979 by the
> Dead Kennedy's, a punk band from San Francisco. I see uber used
> as a
> kind of superlative on the net, but have no idea how mainstream
> it has
> become. A common sighting in the wild is "uber noob". This is
> mostly
> confined to the gaming community. This sense seems more like
> "super"
> than "excessively".
>
> Mark
>
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Susan Banner Inouye, PhD
Associate Professor, Language, Linguistics & Literature
Kapi'olani Community College
4303 Diamond Head Road
Honolulu, HI 96816
808-734-9708
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