Pep-see ya! vs. Thagomizer

In college, I tried to coin a new farewell phrase.  Being a big Pepsi fan, I thought one should say, “Pep-see ya!” when parting ways.  It was an endorsement for a delicious soda and a goodbye all wrapped into one.  What could be better? 

Brace yourself for this shocker– “Pep-see ya!” did not, I repeat did not, catch on.  It turns out the phrase is a bit on the dorky side.  I didn’t even say it very long myself.  In fact, I think the only person who still uses the phrase is Aaron Evans and he only uses it for mockery purposes.  As far as introducing a new vocabulary word, I have failed miserably.

The cartoonist, Gary Larson, on the other hand, has had much greater success!  This month’s Discover magazine revealed the origins of the noun “thagomizer“.  The word actually originates from a The Far Side cartoon that was published in 1982:

“Now, this end is called the thagomizer … after the late Thag Simmons”

Now the word is the official term for the spikes at the end of a stegosaurus’ tail!  It’s been used in speeches, reference books and even in Smithsonian Musuem exhibits.

Not bad.  Well…for a word that lacks the irresistable ring of “Pep-see ya!”  🙂