Wednesday, January 4, 2012

Xanadusiasm

xanadusiasm
[zan-ah-doo-zee-az-uh'm] noun
  1. A passion for the 1980 musical fantasy, Xanadu, directed by Robert Greenwald ("My xanadusiasm for Xanadu is unmatched!
  2. To be enthusiastic about something of a camp manner ("John had xanadusiasm for the new Cher comeback tour!")
  3. A form of religion devoted to worshipping the work of Olivia Newton John and/or Michael Beck ("I practice Xanadusiasm at The Shrine of Olivia!")

Origin:
1570-80; < Late Latin enthūsiasmus < Greek enthousiasmós, equivalent to enthousí ( a ) possession by a god ( énthous, variant of éntheos having a god within, equivalent to en- en-2 + -thous, -theos god-possessing + -ia y 3 ) + -asmos, variant, after vowel stems, of -ismos -ism
1980-2011; < Xanadu < film of greek gods and muses wearing roller skates alongside Gene Kelly Also, the Mongolian word šanadu or Chinese shangdu (chinese:上都; pinyin: Shàngdū)
See also: Xanadusiast (noun) - Someone with xanadusiasm.
Xanadusiastic (adj) - To go about something in a camp manner reflecting the aesthetic of Xanadu

Synonyms:
Burlesqasm

3 comments:

Walter L. Hollmann said...

There is a name for what I have! Now I know!

NATHANIEL R said...

BEST POST OF 2012 !

Janice said...

I agree with Nathaniel, but - how are you going to follow this up? (If you're just getting warmed up then we're in for a brilliant year).

I don't practice the religion, Glenn (I worship at the shrine of Moulin Rouge, of course) but I LOVE this post. (I can still remember when the magazine covers and promos came out in 1980- I was a hard-core ONJ fan at that tender age.)

Interestingly enough your definition mentions the film but not the Broadway musical, which I think has to be at least partly responsible for making it safe for people to admit that they love Xanadu, and keeping it in the converation (whilst poking fun at the ridiculousness of it? That was part of what made the musical so smart, which is along the lines of Down with Love, I think - parodic and affectionate at the same time.)