Meanings
- datedslanglifestyleScience fiction fans are more intelligent and more creative than other people.
Fanish culture is very tribal in nature and overly concerned with superiority as fans are slans.
2003 November 8, Danny Low, “Re: Mundanes' secret weapon?”, in rec.arts.sf.fandom (Usenet), message-ID <okbrqvghahmsaoc59jmjotlk60807s92i6@4ax.com>3 more examples
Under the title "Stfans -- Race of the Future", Joquel dissects the "fans are slans" theme which back in 1941 was being considered with a surprising amount of seriousness, and comes up with the obvious conclusion of phooey.
1950 March, F. Towner Laney, “Fanzine Scope”, in Spacewarp, number 36, archived from the original on 24 Sep 2015, pages 10–17FANS ARE SLANS Literally understood, "fans are superman mutants" -- or, at least, "fans are smarter than most people" -- but actual semantic content is according to the mood and attitude of the user.
1959, Richard "Dick" Harris Eney, Fancyclopedia II"Fans are slans" is a way of saying that we're smarter than other people. (Which is true, actually, but rather impolite to bring up in mixed company.)
2000 April 27, Pete McCutchen, “Re: Mr. Ordover, I disagree”, in rec.arts.sf.written (Usenet), message-ID <4uvggsgbbt3gsqrobf2o1prj0offlhpuch@4ax.com>
Origin
From slan and the novel Slan (1940) by A. E. Van Vogt. By analogy to the superior but persecuted mutants of Van Vogt's novel.
Full word history & related roots →Cite this entry
fans are slans. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 5, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/fans%20are%20slans
“fans are slans.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/fans%20are%20slans. Accessed November 5, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “fans are slans,” accessed November 5, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/fans%20are%20slans.
Source: fans are slans on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.