Hitchling Enters Urban Dictionary
December 19, 2011 in Action, Activity, Christopher Hitchens
Woke up this morning and found this in my inbox:
Thanks for your definition of hitchling! Editors reviewed your entry and have decided to publish it on urbandictionary.com. It should appear on this page in the next few days: http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=hitchling Urban Dictionary —– hitchling noun a child void of religious indoctrination who is encouraged to read broadly and to seek the truth unapologetically (In memoriam of Christopher Hitchens) Her parents are skeptics, so they are raising her as a hitchling.
The editors at the Urban Dictionary must have been Hitchens fans because the word is actually already up.
***Urban Dictionary allows readers to vote a word “up” or “down.” No log-in necessary. Please give “hitchling” a thumbs up.***
Now we need to add: “see photo”
If you have a hitchling at home submit you favorite photo to me with your OK to publish. I’ll put up our brood of hitchlings on SocraticMama.com. Send to: mama@socraticmama.com
Shane said on December 19, 2011
Oh, this is wonderful. It helps fill the void now that he is gone. Love, love, love it.
DocAtheist said on December 19, 2011
Yay!!! And, well done! I gave an immediate thumbs up!
Anne Crumpacker said on December 19, 2011
Thanks for the inspiration, Doc!
DocAtheist said on December 19, 2011
And now, instead of Urban Dictionary making a profit off your ingenuity, do you think you could, either singly or in conjuction with a pro-atheist vender, market T-shirts, coffee mugs and other paraphernalia for Hitchlings and their family members?
Anne Crumpacker said on December 19, 2011
Done. Check out my shop: http://www.cafepress.com/socraticmama/8390470
All profits to the Foundation Beyond Belief
JP said on December 19, 2011
Yes, this is wonderful.
Anne Crumpacker said on December 19, 2011
Thank you!
te-wa said on December 19, 2011
“she has, like a new chick freshly free from the confines of it’s eggshell, seen the world for what it really is, as a hitchling”
Anne Crumpacker said on December 20, 2011
Beautiful. Thank you for this.
beerslayer said on December 20, 2011
Love it! Just one nit to pick, though:
The definition of “hitchling” should read: “hitchling [hitch-ling] noun- a child DEvoid of religious indoctrination who is encouraged to read broadly and to seek the truth unapologetically.”
Anne Crumpacker said on December 20, 2011
Oops. What I wouldn’t give for a good editor these days! I’ll see what I can do, but I’m afraid the hitchling may have already hatched. LOL
Thanks for the comment!
Anne Crumpacker said on December 20, 2011
Found this and thought you might think it is interesting:
“Devoid” is always used as an adjective, while “void” can be used as an adjective, a verb, or a noun. As adjectives, “void” and “devoid” mean basically the same. “Void” means empty; “devoid” means empty, but only after something has been taken away. “Devoid” is usually followed by “of.”
Example: After her husband’s death, her life seemed to be devoid of meaning.
Void:
Noun: an empty space, a vacancy
Verb: to empty, to clear
Adjective: empty, vacant, unoccupied
beerslayer said on December 21, 2011
Thanks for the response.
For whatever it’s worth, I’ve never seen the word “void” used in that sense. “devoid” sounds very much more natural there to me. “void” used the way it is in that sentence makes me cringe a little bit.
But then, I’m probably too much the stickler for my own good…
Susan Anne & Daisy Belle Wilson said on December 20, 2011
My hitchling has four legs & a tail & does not say her prayers at night nor does her Mommy. But we do think positive, grateful, productive thoughts before going to sleep.
Anne Crumpacker said on December 20, 2011
You and your hitchling are welcome here anytime! BTW- you may know that I began blogging because of my sudden association with Jerry Coyne at Why Evolution is True. Coyne fans may appreciate this (I sent it to Jerry as a joke)
Coynedog- noun (see “cat”)
DocAtheist said on December 20, 2011
LOL!!! Tha’s great!