Talk:open bobs

I think bobs is used instead of boobs to bypass language filtering on certain social platforms, as opposed to non-native confusion. The term open bobs is heavily associated with the app Periscope, which makes it harder to comment certain 'boobs' and other terms. Amin wordie (talk) 14:45, 29 April 2016 (UTC)

Intentional misspelling of boobs
Why did you remove this part from the Etymology? It should clarify why people write bobs instead of boobs. Amin wordie (talk) 07:25, 8 May 2016 (UTC)
 * The reason people write 'bobs' is the same reason that they write 'open' instead of 'show': They're Turkish and have little grasp of English. The term is used since decades on strip sites like MyFreeCams, which naturally have no language filter. It predates stuff like Periscope and Justin.tv. People might choose the bobs-variant over the boobs-variant on some sites for the reason you give, but later usage trends do not belong into an etymology but into usage notes. Korn &#91;kʰũːɘ̃n&#93; (talk) 12:53, 8 May 2016 (UTC)
 * Correct me if I am wrong, but you seem to be saying that 1) bobs means tits in Turkish and 2) open boobs was a popular saying until recent filters in Periscope where the term changed towards open bobs? I'm asking because I personally have never heard of open boobs, only open bobs. Amin wordie (talk) 03:38, 10 May 2016 (UTC)
 * No, I am saying that people who have one hand on their penis and try to say something in a language they don't have much command of will often make spelling mistakes. I am told that at the cam sites you read anything: Open boobs, open bobs, open tits, open göğslern (which is a typo itself, cf. göğüsler). But open bobs is the one most often quoted for humorous reasons, because it's the one which is most wrong while still English, and was always heavily preferred over 'open boobs'. Korn &#91;kʰũːɘ̃n&#93; (talk) 12:04, 10 May 2016 (UTC)

RFV discussion: April–October 2016
Equinox ◑ 23:43, 29 April 2016 (UTC)

In addition to the one cite already in the entry, I found one more: Kiwima (talk) 00:11, 30 April 2016 (UTC)


 * Thanks. It's a mention, not a use, though. Equinox ◑ 11:28, 30 April 2016 (UTC)

For what it's worth, i'm a user of Blab.im and Periscope (both video stream apps) where the term open bobs is used every day, and everyone knows what it means Amin wordie (talk) 19:12, 30 April 2016 (UTC)
 * Couldn't find it at Google Groups (ie, UseNet +). DCDuring TALK 22:22, 30 April 2016 (UTC)


 * I don't think this is the type of phrase for which we will find cites on durably archived sources. Which makes it a decision on whether it is sufficiently common. Amin wordie clearly thinks it is so. Does anybody else? Kiwima (talk) 18:20, 1 May 2016 (UTC)
 * I didn't even find it at non-Usenet portion of Google Groups, but it is visible on the WildWoolieWeb. DCDuring TALK 19:28, 1 May 2016 (UTC)
 * I feel a dire urge to impishly clear my throat and blush before typing this, but: I happen to have two friends who are rather more liberal in their sexuality than I am and spend some of their spare time broadcasting on cam sites with their partners. The phrase 'open bobs' is so absurdly abundant in these fields that they already use it in their own language regularly as a sort of in-joke. In general they use 'open' for all kinds of actions. I'll add an etymology, because it raises the question whether 'English' on Wiktionary is meant to cover 'English as used by non-native speakers'. Korn &#91;kʰũːɘ̃n&#93; (talk) 12:15, 3 May 2016 (UTC)

Can we shut this down as "clearly widespread use"? Korn &#91;kʰũːɘ̃n&#93; (talk) 10:02, 29 May 2016 (UTC)


 * I don't think it is clearly widespread. Citations aren't easy to find, and I gather that the "widespread" rule mostly exists to prevent trolls from RFVing terms like "dog" and "when". Equinox ◑ 19:25, 15 September 2016 (UTC)


 * RFV failed: we don't have three durably archived quotations, and there does not seem to be consensus that this qualifies as "clearly widespread use". —Mr. Granger (talk • contribs) 14:58, 27 October 2016 (UTC)

I will state just for the record that I'm not 100% convinced that this sort of thing should be sorted out by the attestation rules. Korn &#91;kʰũːɘ̃n&#93; (talk) 19:36, 6 November 2016 (UTC)