A friend sent me this line from his hotel.
“They have amazing towels here. I ganked one of them.”
I went on to explain that I’d never heard “ganked” before. He ridiculed me for a brutally late introduction to “gank.”
Related phrases: gang/gank/gangbang
Definitions of gank on the Web:
Destroying another player’s vessel in a very short time, ideally before they realize what is going on. …
infao5501.ag5.mpi-sb.mpg.de:8080/topx/archiveTo swindle; To rob, steal; To copy, reproduce, reuse, or save an image, idea, or work of another person, often in the context of materials …
en.wiktionary.org/wiki/gank
The first definition comes from the Wiki for some game called EVE Online: “a persistent world multiplayer online game set in space.” I assumed the towels hadn’t heard of this game. And if they had, I doubt the hotel would let them play a persistent world multiplayer online game (PWMOG) at work. There are body parts to dry, people.
My friend must’ve been using “gank” in the swindling sense of the word – credited first to the Beastie Boys in 1989’s “Car Thief.”
Now I was faced with a new conundrum. Why does Google list “gangbang” as a related phrase? Do people gank wallets at gangbangs or something? I might have to reconsider a goal. How much of a letdown would it be to finish a satisfactory gangbang, only to find that you’ll have to cancel all your credit cards so some nympho can gank a net of 20 bucks cash and whatever your wallet is worth on eBay. Quite the emotional swerve.
BTW, so like, am I a total dorkburger for not knowing what “gank” means?
Dear Stooks,
Dorkburger is a very fitting description. You should be ashamed of yourself … a gangsta you are not.
I didn’t know that Beastie Boys coined that phrase though- very cool.
I guess I shouldn’t have brought it up online, huh? Totally destroyed my street cred.
The only gank definition I am familiar with is the nerdy one.
To my knowledge “Gank” is abbreviated slang for “Gang Kill”, for a group of players to overwhelm an individual of small group with a significantly larger party size.
That may at least shed some light on the tie to “gangbang”. Though I still consider it a stretch.
Aha. Thanks for the help. So far, no one has helped me feel better about not knowing this word. Am I alone? Hopefully someone reassures me soon.