Goshwowboyoboy

(Did you mean the Gary Farber fanzine or Gosh Wow?)

An example of a pejorative term that fandom has made its own, the phrase "Goshwowoboyoboy" appeared in the lettercol of the August 1939 issue of Thrilling Wonder Stories. It was seized upon by a Time magazine news reporter covering NYCon I who presented that loc as typical of fan correspondence, to the indignation of many.

Fandom now uses it, often abbreviated as just goshwow, to describe an enthusiastic or, perhaps, over-enthusiastic approach to science fiction or fandom. While the term implies a certain geekiness and is often applied to neofen, it is usually used kindly.

From Fancyclopedia 2, ca. 1959

Symbol of the type of reader who made Time magazine call us the jitterbugs of the pulp magazine field in its article on the NYCon. The expression led off an allegedly typical letter they quoted, commenting on TWS; indignant fans held it to be an invention of the reporter who wrote up the NYCon, for a long time. Martin Alger finally tracked it down in "The Reader Speaks", TWS' letter column, for August 1939.

From Fancyclopedia 1, ca. 1944

(Time) - Symbol of the type of reader who made Time magazine call us the jitterbugs of the pulp magazine field. The expression appears in an allegedly typical letter which they quoted, commenting on TWS; probably it was an invention of the reporter who wrote up the New York World Convention. It has become a gag line in fandom.

---

Fanspeak

This is a fanspeak page. Please extend it by adding information about when and by whom it was coined, whether it’s still in use, etc.