{"id":1395,"date":"2013-09-28T17:14:21","date_gmt":"2013-09-28T17:14:21","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/merebreath\/?p=1395"},"modified":"2013-09-28T17:14:21","modified_gmt":"2013-09-28T17:14:21","slug":"meh","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/merebreath\/2013\/09\/28\/meh\/","title":{"rendered":"Why “Meh” is a Word Christians Should Never Ever Say"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/head>

\u201cMeh\u201d is used to show one\u2019s indifference, boredom, and most commonly, a state of being utterly unimpressed with something. The reason it rankles is because it implies a relationship to the world in which the writer is a passive consumer, and everything else exists to entertain and interest him. Basically, he expects everything he consumes online to align with his own personal standards, interests, and tastes. If these inflated expectations are not met, he is disappointed. \u201cI, the emperor of one, am not well pleased! Send in another jester!\u201d<\/p>\n

If something does actively disappoint me, I am not inclined to comment on it. And that\u2019s my beef with \u201cmeh.\u201d If something bored you, and you don\u2019t wish to engage with it, why bother saying so? \u201cMeh\u201d expresses indifference, but an\u00a0indifference\u00a0not thorough enough to resist making itself known. As\u00a0John Hodgman\u00a0<\/a>put it, meh \u201cuniversally seems to signal: I am just interested enough to make one last joyless, nitpicky swipe and then disappear.\u201d<\/p>\n

Hodgman also touches on another unfortunate aspect of meh: \u201cIt\u2019s part of the toxic Internet art of constant callous one upsmanship.\u201d Someone will convey some kind of passion, enthusiasm, or interest in something, and someone else will come along and pour a cold bucket of water on that fire with their droll \u201cmeh.\u201d A \u201cmeh\u201d says \u201cI\u2019m too cool\/intelligent to get worked up about something as dumb as this. Too bad you haven\u2019t attained the same level of sophistication as me.\u201d<\/p>\n

In short, \u201cmeh\u201d aims to show one\u2019s indifference to something based solely on its lack of alignment with one\u2019s personal taste. It\u2019s what you reach for when you lack the\u00a0discipline\u00a0to remain silent, or are too lazy to make an argument, and no thumbs up, thumbs down button is within reach.<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Excerpt from 3 Ways You Should Never Start an Online Comment\u00a0<\/a><\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

\u201cMeh\u201d is used to show one\u2019s indifference, boredom, and most commonly, a state of being utterly unimpressed with something. The reason it rankles is because it implies a relationship to the world in which the writer is a passive consumer, and everything else exists to entertain and interest him. Basically, he expects everything he consumes […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2289,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"quote","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[30,34],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1395","post","type-post","status-publish","format-quote","hentry","category-internet","category-life","post_format-post-format-quote"],"yoast_head":"\nWhy "Meh" is a Word Christians Should Never Ever Say<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"\u201cMeh\u201d is used to show one\u2019s indifference, boredom, and most commonly, a state of being utterly unimpressed with something. 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