Snark snark snark snark snark!!

[kellinator]

Lately I've been getting a lot of comments asking what snark is. So I'm thinking, we need a definitive definition of "snark." Post your best try and your definition may end up on my info page.

Here's what Homicide had to say on the subject:

Kellerman: You sure you want me with you?
Bayliss: Yeah. Sure, why not?
Kellerman: I don't know. The last time we worked together, you, uh, were kinda snarky.
Bayliss: Snarky?
Kellerman: Yeah. Snarky. You know, from the ancient Greek, meaning butthead.

Comments

[daraflower.livejournal.com]

i think of it as similar to being sassy, but in a particularly irreverent fashion.

I honestly didn't think I'd find it, but...

[kmn-rdr-caoimhe.livejournal.com]

[Lewis Carroll, via the Michigan Terminal System] 1. A system failure. When a user's process bombed, the operator would get the message "Help, Help, Snark in MTS!"

2. More generally, any kind of unexplained or threatening event on a computer (especially if it might be a boojum). Often used to refer to an event or a log file entry that might indicate an attempted security violation. See snivitz.

3. UUCP name of snark.thyrsus.com, home site of the Hacker Jargon File versions 2.*.*.

So sayeth dictionary.com.

[deza.livejournal.com]

In 1876 Lewis Carroll wrote The Hunting of the Snark. In 1915 Jack London wrote The Log of the Snark about his round-the-world cruise.

And according to Merriam-Webster (http://www.m-w.com/cgi-bin/dictionary):
Main Entry: snarky
Pronunciation: 'snär-kE
Function: adjective
Etymology: dialect snark to annoy, perhaps alteration of nark to irritate
Date: 1906
: CROTCHETY, SNAPPISH

[gwynraven.livejournal.com]

according to the Oxford English Dictionary (which tends to be considered the authority on English etymology) snark as a verb means
(1)to snore or snort (dating back to 1866)and
(2)to find fault with or nag (dating back to 1882)

snarky as an adjective means irritable, short-tempered, and 'narky' (dating back to 1906)

narky is defined as irritable, bad-tempered, sarcastic, and disparaging. (of uncertain origin)

Probably a lot more than you wanted to know :)

Re: snark

[wolfieboy.livejournal.com]

It's from lewis carroll and Urban Dictionary had:
(adjective) describes a witty mannerism, personality, or behavior that is a combination of sarcasm and cynicism. Usually accepted as a complimentary term. Snark is sometimes mistaken for a snotty or arrogant attitude.

Her snarky remarks had half the room on the floor laughing and the other half ready to walk out.

I think that an important part of snarky is that it should be both witty and rude whereas sarcasm is frequently just rude.

Not just a made-up word...

[blueingenue.livejournal.com]

Come now, it's really from Dutch/Low German, meaning, "I snort in your gen-er-al direction!"