Skiffy

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Skiffy is a deliberate humorous misspelling or mispronunciation of the controversial term "sci-fi", a neologism referring to science fiction. Like the term "sci-fi" itself, "skiffy" is sometimes used in a pejorative sense, but is most often used to indicate that the writer or speaker is aware of the controversy about terminology, but chooses not to take it seriously.

Contents 1 Background 2 Other uses 3 References 4 External links

Background

The term "sci-fi" was used by Robert A. Heinlein in private correspondence as early as 1949 and was publicly adopted as an alternate term for science fiction by Forrest ("Forry") J. Ackerman by 1954. Ackerman was a film review writer who became the editor of Famous Monsters of Filmland magazine, which celebrated the monster/sf movies which were frowned upon by many hardcore science fiction fans as being too poor in quality to be taken seriously and definitely not to be confused with "real" science fiction.

In the late 1960s, a new movement of science fiction writers, the "New Wave," arose, which rejected science fiction's pulpy background, and absolutely scorned the term "sci-fi" as being associated with bad monster movies. Even the term "science fiction" was seen by some in the New Wave as too limiting, and speculative fiction was introduced as an alternative. Some advocated the use of the initials, "SF," as this could be taken to refer to either science fiction or speculative fiction^[1]. Not everyone agreed with this new nomenclature, though, and while the term "sci-fi" continued to be used by mainstream audiences, the "skiffy" pronunciation began to appear among science fiction insiders in the late 1970s. ^[2] One of the first well-documented uses of the term "skiffy" was in the name of the science fiction and fantasy fan club at the University of Chicago, which was formed during the 1980s, and lasted until 2003, when it was disbanded.

Skiffy is also the name of the science fiction and fantasy club at the College of William and Mary, as well as an affectionate shorthand for the American cable channel, Sci Fi. By the late nineties, the term "skiffy" was well-enough accepted that Mike Resnick and Patrick Nielsen Hayden released a book called Alternate Skiffy^[3], an anthology featuring stories about what might have happened if the lives of various well-known science fiction writers had turned out differently.

Other uses

Skiffy is also a name for a famous bowling bunny in Germany.

Skiffy is also a supplier of small plastic and metal parts.

References

1. ^ Is This Stuff Sci-Fi, SF, Or Skiffy?, an essay by former SFWA Webmaster Melisa Michaels
2. ^ Peter Nicholls, "Sci fi," in Encyclopedia of Science Fiction, Orbit, 1993. ISBN 1-85723-124-4
3. ^ Alternate Skiffy, ed. Mike Resnick & Patrick Nielsen Hayden, ISBN 1-880448-54-8

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