Talk:amberlamps

RFV discussion: September–October 2021
This claims to be jocular AAVE slang, but what little usage there is seems to be nothing but caricature. Chuck Entz (talk) 08:30, 19 September 2021 (UTC)


 * I have changed it from AAVE to pronunciation spelling, which seems closer to how it is used. I see it a lot, but have only managed to find one durably archived use (on citations page). Kiwima (talk) 01:15, 29 September 2021 (UTC)

RFV-failed Kiwima (talk) 20:41, 22 October 2021 (UTC)

RFV discussion: August–September 2022

 * 1)  An ambulance.

Tagged by but not listed. Binarystep (talk) 22:53, 27 August 2022 (UTC)


 * RFV previously failed last October so should just be deleted? Equinox ◑ 22:57, 27 August 2022 (UTC)


 * Its not really a pronunciation spelling. It's a reference to a fight on a bus in Oakland CA about ten years ago where the loser of the fight called for an ambulance but he was down on the floor and listeners making light of it  said it sounded like "amber lamps".  So it's  a way of saying ambulance while simultaneously making fun of the loser of that bus fight.   Possibly better spelled as two separate words if we end up keeping this word. — Soap — 23:00, 27 August 2022 (UTC)
 * @Soap I don't believe the term is that specific. I recall it being used in a few discussions in the US around 'Ebonics' in the 90s viz. "should we correct children who say 'amberlamps/abalamps instead of ambulance;" see for example this (quite dated) interview starting at 2:00. Winthrop23 (talk) 22:32, 8 September 2022 (UTC)
 * Sorry but i dont think that sounds like amberlamps. if i had to spell it, i'd say amalance, and the speaker pronounced it distinctly to emphasize that pronunciation, so Im pretty sure I didnt just mishear it. So, I still believe this word is specifically tied to a single incident and that every use of this particular spelling (even if not always knowingly by the writer) is making fun of the person who got beat up that day. — Soap — 00:15, 9 September 2022 (UTC)
 * Cited. Binarystep (talk) 23:52, 27 August 2022 (UTC)

RFV-passed This, that and the other (talk) 07:38, 9 September 2022 (UTC)
 * It doesn’t seem to have failed at all, it has 3 Usenet cites and one from a book at the citations page supporting it. There’s no reason why we couldn’t create something like ‘amalance/ammalance’ to reflect a different pronunciation spelling if we can find the quotes to support it but surely this has passed RFV. Overlordnat1 (talk) 09:30, 9 September 2022 (UTC)
 * Typo! This, that and the other (talk) 09:44, 9 September 2022 (UTC)

label
I still think it's clear from the three cites that this isnt a light-hearted slang word you'd bring up in casual conversation. If vulgar isnt an appropriate label, is there something else we can use? I dont think derogatory really works either because the word makes fun of the victim, not the vehicle. The vulgar label is currently in use for empiltrarse, a word for sleep ... just to give an idea of the scope we're using it with. Thanks, — Soap — 10:29, 15 February 2023 (UTC)
 * Might go for a usage note as a catch-all, but Ive also considered that maybe this has become semantically bleached enough by now that its just a vairant of wambulance. — Soap — 11:29, 27 December 2023 (UTC)