TYT Glossary

Confused about something you've heard in the midst of all that insightful commentary on The Young Turks? Don't worry, you're not alone. The Young Turks program is well on its way to creating a distinct language intelligible only to citizens of TYT Nation. Below you'll find an insider's guide to the program's frequently used terms and phrases that should help you decode and understand the unique lexicon of Cenk, Ana and all the folks in the TYT chat room:

Got a TYT-ism we've missed that you think should be included on this list? Email your suggestion to the Keeper of the Glossary, Malcolm Fleschner, at Malcolm@CultureShlock(dot)com, and we'll make all the necessary additions.

Am I not merciful?
Line from the film Gladiator delivered by Joaquin Phoenix's character Emperor Commodus who, it turns out, may be a bit confused about the meaning of the word "merciful." Cenk, by contrast, uses the line to demonstrate how genuinely generous, forgiving and magnanimous he is. (see also, "The Most Open-Minded Man In America")
Bad Idea Jeans
Reference to a 1990 Saturday Night Live commercial parody in which Phil Hartman, David Spade, Mike Myers, Kevin Nealon and Bob Odenkirk share a succession of comedically terrible ideas ("Now that I have kids, I feel much better having a gun in the house"). The parody served double duty, mimicking the style of a then-widespread series of Dockers commercials while also poking fun at No Excuses Jeans for hiring former presidential candidate Gary Hart's ex-mistress Donna Rice as a spokesperson.
Booyakasha!
Exclamation popularized by Ali G that can express excitement, interest, attraction, approval - essentially a catchall term that can convey nearly any positive emotion. For a debate over the expression's possible derivations offered by people who should really have something better to do with their time, visit the Urban Dictionary.
Boom Boom Pow
Black Eyed Peas song that Ana uses as a synonym for assertiveness or, as she puts it, "oomph." The term is often invoked as a judgment on whether a public figure has exhibited satisfactory purpose or aggressiveness under a set of controversial circumstances, typically expressed by Ana as either "sufficient" or "insufficient" boom boom pow.
C'moncmoncmoncmon
Phrase Cenk commonly employs because he's not black and, as a result, cannot get away with saying "N****r, please." The expression conveys disdain, dismay and disbelief, and is most frequently directed at Republicans or right wingers attempting to pass off the usual wingnut BS. (see also "Rightrightrightrightright...")
Calm Down
Used most often as a form of projection, Cenk will frequently address this directive to the audience when, in fact, he is the one who has become overly animated about a particularly outrageous story. Alternatively, "All right, everybody calm down."
Cuckoo for Cocoa Puffs
Phrase meaning "insane" or "out of control." The expression comes from an ad campaign for Cocoa Puffs cereal featuring Sonny, a cartoon bird who loses control whenever he's offered a bowl of "crunchy, munchy, chocolatey" Cocoa Puffs. For a sample ad from this campaign, click here.
Debbie Downer
Saturday Night Live character, portrayed by Rachel Dratch, who lives up to her name by regularly injecting depressing or negative comments into every conversation she's involved in. Cenk and Ana will often use the term to deny that they're being overly negative themselves, as in, "Not to be a Debbie Downer, but..." Video clip here.
Down Goes [Frazier]! Down Goes [Frazier]! Down Goes [Frazier]!
Legendary Howard Cosell call from the 1973 George Foreman-Joe Frazier championship fight in which Foreman sent the heavily favored Frazier to the canvas in the first round, eventually winning a six-round knockout. Cenk likes to mimic Cosell's repeated "Down goes..." line whenever a public figure suffers a significant or humiliating defeat, particularly when the Young Turks have had a hand in delivering the decisive blow.
Elbow from the sky
Professional wrestling-inspired term Cenk frequently employs to describe any kind of devastating blow, whether literal or metaphorical, often delivered out of the blue. The image conveyed is a muscle-bound wrestler such as Jimmy "Superfly" Snuka leaping off the top rope of the corner of the ring and delivering the aforementioned elbow to a prone opponent.
Grandpa Cenk
Self-deprecating title Cenk jokingly uses to describe how "out-of-it" he occasionally appears during discussions of issues of technology, popular culture, gender relations, whippersnappers, etc.
Have at it, Hoss
Cenk's unique way of telling a political opponent or opposing group, "Go ahead and do that stupid thing you're threatening to do."
Hello? McFly?
A reference to the Biff Tannen character from the "Back to the Future" movies. Biff frequently berated male members of the McFly family for being obtuse by rapping them on the head and uttering a variant of this phrase, such as "Hello! Anybody home, McFly?" See video here.
Hey girl, hey
Expression popularized by Keasha, a contestant on A Shot At Love with Tila Tequila. Though Keasha lasted only one episode, her catchphrase lives on in TYT Nation, typically in the form of a "shout out" from Ana to a woman who has done something courageous, outspoken or otherwise praiseworthy. The expression is essentially an updated version of "You go, girl." Note: the phrase is flexible enough that it can also be used as a noun.
I'm a baaaaaad man!
Triumphant boast made by Muhammad Ali after knocking out Sonny Liston for the heavyweight title in 1964. Cenk typically uses the expression as a form of punctuation to justify his latest controversial or outlandish statement. The irony is, of course, that Cenk is in fact a very good man. Just ask him!
Is That Blue I See?
The opening line to the only poem Cenk has ever written, or so he claims. The poem, which never fails to amuse Ben, centers on the author's boundless hope as he looks toward the future. Cenk occasionally uses this five-word phrase, accompanied by a misty-eyed gaze into the distance, to indicate that some piece of good news may lie in the near future.
It's the money, Lebowski
Reference to the Coen Brothers film The Big Lebowski, in which Jeff Bridges plays Jeffrey Lebowski, aka "The Dude," a slacker who gets caught up in a whirlwind plot involving mistaken identity, kidnapping, organized crime and severed digits. While this direct quotation does not actually appear in the film, Cenk uses it to convey the notion, expressed to the character throughout the movie, that the pursuit of money is almost always the driving force behind seemingly inexplicable human behavior.
Most Open-Minded Man in America, The
During his conservative days, Cenk might have been a bit rigid and closed-minded, but not anymore. Now he gives a pass to all sorts of behavior condemned by the less liberal-minded, a point he likes to underscore with this self-styled moniker. (See also, "Am I not merciful?")
Of Cooooouurse!
Some people prefer to use the expression "It goes without saying" to describe a blindingly obvious point. But since Cenk does not believe any notion he comes up with should ever go without saying, he prefers to demonstrate the self-evident nature of an idea with a long, drawn out "Of Cooooooouuurse."
One million percent
Mathematically questionable phrase Cenk uses to register his complete agreement with a policy, proposal or idea.
Pervy Wanker
Term used by Cenk and Ana to describe people (typically men) who engage in unseemly or inappropriate sexual behavior. The term originated with a Facebook post by a British woman who was describing her purportedly lecherous boss, forgetting that she had added him to her roster of Facebook friends. The boss saw the post and sent the woman a return post informing her that she was a) out of a job; and b) not much of a judge of people, because she never figured out that he's gay.
Po-lice that moo-stache!
Directive Cenk and Ana jokingly level at any public figure deemed to have a comical mustache (e.g., former U.N. Ambassador John Bolton). The quotation comes from the character of Sergeant Major Sixta on HBO's Iraq War miniseries Generation Kill, who is depicted as hyper-attentive to upper lip-related military protocol.
Rightrightrightrightright...
Roughly equivalent to "you've got to be kidding me," this phrase is often used by Cenk when he wishes to communicate - in a sarcastic fashion - that what a politician, celebrity or other prominent person has said is, in fact, not right. (see also "C'moncmoncmoncmon")
Rodell
Rodell Vereen, a South Carolina man who was arrested after being caught by a surveillance camera engaging in sexual intercourse with a horse. Since this story broke, the name "Rodell" has become the TYT standard against which Cenk measures any stories involving some level of sexual deviance (e.g., "It's bad, but it's not Rodell bad").
Sad day for you
This Cenk-ism is roughly equivalent to "tough luck," "too bad," "them's the breaks," or "don't let the door hit you where the good lord split you." (often shortened to "sad day")
Schmoopie Pa Poopie
Cloying term of affection employed by Cenk and Ana to mock anyone (themselves included) they perceive to be acting in an overly cutesy or lovey-dovey fashion. The term "Schmoopie" comes from the "Soup Nazi" episode of Seinfeld in which Jerry and his then-girlfriend irritate the other characters with their constant cooing over one another. At some point Cenk doubled down on the expression's nausea value by adding "Poopie" to the end. The term reached its current incarnation thanks to Cenk's friend Bora, whose mistaken inclusion of the "Pa" in the middle was deemed too delicious not to make permanent.
Schwang Wang Wang, Debbie Schlussel
A unique TYT response to any lame attempt at humor, roughly analogous to the "wah wah wahhhhhh" muted trumpet sound frequently used in '60s era sitcoms and elsewhere to punctuate a rather obvious or trite joke. Cenk has used "shwang wang wang" this way in his personal lexicon for many years, but later appended it with "Debbie Schlussel" to mock the tone and delivery of the Michigan-based conservative blogger's unintentionally hilarious YouTube videos. See also "Debbie Downer."
Strikeback
Term coined by Cenk's wife, Wendy, referring to the disproportionate response that's called for when (typically) a woman has been "wronged" by a man. This is a perfect example of "strikeback." Ana is usually the show's arbiter of when "strikeback" is called for.
That's awesome
One of the higher accolades the Young Turks can assign - also a key indicator that Cenk developed most of his speech habits while growing up during the 1980s. Note: Perhaps in spite of herself, Ana has begun to adopt this phrase as well.
That's the best (or worst)... EVER
Hyperbolic term used by Ana to express great admiration (or disapproval). "Ever," it turns out, is not a very long time to Ana.
Think about it
Cenk's frequent concluding remark about a topic that, in fact, you're probably better off not thinking about.
Toit like a toiger
Description of someone with a muscular physique. The expression refers to the Dutch-accented mangling of the phrase "tight like a tiger" by the titular villain played by Mike Myers in "Austin Powers: Goldmember."
TYT Supreme Court
Judicial body consisting of Cenk, Ana, Jesus, Jayar and (occasionally) Dave that passes judgment, typically on a majority rule basis, on a pressing issue of the day. All rulings are final, with no appeal process allowed unless Cenk forgets that an issue has been previously ruled on, in which case it may come up for consideration again. Jesus Godoy is the Chief Justice of this court because Cenk has arbitrarily decided he is the most reasonable person among them.
Wa siktir!
Versatile Turkish expression, roughly equivalent to "Oh, fuck!" in English, that can be used in a wide range of situations, from stubbing one's toe to discovering that one is falling off a cliff. The actual expression is "Ha siktir," but Cenk feels that changing the "ha" to "wa" adds extra emphasis. TYT Nation members who happen to be fluent in Turkish can argue the validity of Cenk's attempt to alter a familiar idiomatic usage pattern. Sure you can.
We got an issue in America
Reference to something former president George W. Bush once said about frivolous lawsuits at a campaign rally. The phrase is used by Cenk to jokingly highlight whatever concern is being discussed. The full Bush quotation is "We got an issue in America. Too many good docs are getting out of the business. Too many OB/GYNs aren't able to practice their - their love, with women all across the country."
Weak Sauce
Culinary term used by Cenk to disparage insufficient efforts, half-assed compromises, unpersuasive arguments and overly cautious tactics, most often when employed by Democrats. This term was brought into the TYT lexicon by Jesus Godoy.
What about the children? (said with a bad British accent)
Sarcastic expression Cenk employs to feign shock at someone else's use of foul or otherwise inappropriate language. The phrase is a reference to an altercation in 2008 between Busta Rhymes and some English fans who tried to stop him on the street for a photo. When he ignored their request and began to enter his tour bus, one woman called him "ignorant," at which point he stopped and berated the woman for insulting him when all he wanted to do was "take a shit." Called out by Busta for her over-the-top insult, the woman upbraided the prominent rapper for cursing in the presence of children. Imagine, a rapper swearing! Watch the whole thing here.
Why you grabbin' me? (spoken with a high-pitched voice)
Line Cenk uses to describe bullies who don't appreciate it when their targets fight back. The line comes from a fight Cenk got into during his younger days while playing a game of pickup basketball. Here's his description: "I was living in Miami and got into it with a guy who was almost as small as a dwarf but I'm sure was a semipro boxer (I say this to make myself feel better). I nicknamed him 'Hector "Macho" Camacho Jr.' We got into a fight on the court, which was loaded with all of his friends and none of mine. He landed a couple of punches that connected solidly with my face. Finally I was able to seize the advantage by getting him into a headlock. That's when he let out the now-famous squeal of 'Why you grabbin' me? Why you grabbin' me?' That's when, conveniently enough, his friends stepped in and separated us. I wound up with a broken nose, a black eye and a new catch phrase to describe anyone who gets outraged when someone else tries to fight back."
You're at a ten - I need you at a two
Phrase (often abbreviated by Cenk to "ten-two") indicating that the energy level, excitement or outrage being displayed is far greater than warranted by the situation. The line comes from a scene in the movie Boiler Room in which a table of twentysomething stock traders are being overly boisterous while enjoying a celebratory dinner out. Another patron comes over and, his voice dripping with condescension, says "Boys, you're at a ten - I need you at a two." (bonus note: according to a former cable access television colleague of Cenk's who served as the assistant to the director on this film, the line did not appear in the original script, but was inserted during shooting after some members of the production staff got a little rowdy at a restaurant one evening and a fellow diner came over and admonished them with this line.)
You're done
Term used, primarily by Ana, to a) demonstrate utter contempt for an individual in the news whose reprehensible views or actions render them effectively "dead" (examples include Bill O'Reilly, Chris Brown and Ryan O'Neal); or b) who have misbehaved in some manner and continue trying to explain themselves to such an extent that the defense becomes worse than the offense (examples include David Letterman, Octomom and Carrie Prejean). This phrase implies that a person has done something so wrong that there is no chance for recovery or redemption - they're done!