Information AboutWannabe |
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A wannabe (sometimes spelled '''''wannabee''''') is a person who likes to imitate, or even wishes to be, another. The term, a contraction of "want to be," entered the popular consciousness in the mid-1980s. The term was first used in a July 6, 1981 Newsweek article on surfing that described novice surfers crowding the beaches as wannabees (as in, ‘I wanna be a surfer’).Oxford English Dictionary The term was popularized by writer John Skow in a spring 1985 Time magazine on the pop star Madonna .Time magazine cover story Skow used the construction "Wanna Be's" to describe the avid fans who sought to dress, talk and act like their idol. Other early uses of the term referred to "wannabe" gang members and "wannabe" bikers.Los Angeles Times, 28 July 1985; Outlaw Biker, 16 June, 1987 In subsequent years, the contracted form of Skow's phrase -- "wannabe" -- came into wide use and took on something of a pejorative connotation. The term is associated often with ambitious and excessive zeal. SEE ALSO REFERENCES |