faanish

comparative more faanish · superlative most faanish · alternative faaanish

1. datedderogatoryoftenslanglifestyleMore interested in fandom than in the subject of that fandom; of or pertaining to faans.

   A faanish fan is considered lacking in serious interest by some other fans, whom he regards as humorless and stuffy.

   1980, Lester del Rey, The World of Science Fiction, 1926-1976: The History of a Subculture, page 320

   2 more examples

   The state of Wisconsin, once one of the cooler hotbeds of faanish endeavor, today lies fallow, barren and all but devoid of the faintest crepitance of crifanac. In the days when mastadons the ilk of Bloch lumbered across its frozen tundra, upward of 6% of all FAPA resided within its limits (why, modern medical science is totally at a loss to suggest). Today: pfft: nobody a-tall.

   1966 November, Dean A. Grennell, “A Pilgrim in Never-Never Country”, in Science-Fiction Five-Yearly, number 4, page 19

   "Faanish" originally was pronounced with a bleat indicated by the double vowel, because Tucker invented it to symbolize the sheeplike follow-the-leader habits of lots of fans. Now it usually sounds just like fan and means simply one whose hobby is fandom, not science fiction.

   1969, Harry Warner, Jr., All Our Yesterdays, page 41