Electric Boogaloo

English

WOTD – 19 December 2024

Etymology

From the title of the film Breakin’ 2: Electric Boogaloo (1984), a sequel to Breakin’ (1984), from electric boogaloo (type of freestyle, improvised street dance emphasizing fluid movements of the joints and limbs combined with popping): see more at boogaloo (genre of music that blends rhythm and blues and soul music with Cuban-style rhythms; style of dance to this music; type of freestyle, improvisational street dance incorporating soulful steps and robotic movements; etc.). An early instance was in 1993, when Toronto band Dig Circus released an edition of their 1992 album Shekkie with bonus tracks, as Shekkie II: Electric Boogaloo.

Pronunciation

  • (Received Pronunciation) IPA(key): /ɪˌlɛktɹɪk ˈbuːɡəˌluː/, /-ˌbuːɡəˈluː/
  • Audio (Southern England):(file)
  • (General American) IPA(key): /əˌlɛktɹɪk ˈbuɡəˌlu/, /iˌlɛktɹɪk-/, /-ˌbʊɡəˈlu/
  • Hyphenation: Electr‧ic Boo‧ga‧loo

Proper noun

Electric Boogaloo

  1. (humorous) Used as the subtitle of an imagined sequel of a film, television show, etc.
    • 1994 May 27, Jorge Garcia, “Signing off: not your typical year-in-review”, in Josh Romonek, editor, Daily Bruin, volume 82, number 132, Los Angeles: ASUCLA, →ISSN, page 9, column 4:
      Finally, we all followed the turbulent antics of Hollywood's favorite couple, Tom and Roseanne. First, they talked about inviting a third party into their marriage and bedroom. Then (auurgh!) Mariel Hemingway kissed Roseanne Arnold! Then again (auurgh!) Tom kissed Roseanne Arnold! And the climax, DIVORCE: oops! Tom just went out for a pizza. DIVORCE II (ELECTRIC BOOGALOO): I guess Tom ate the last piece.
    • 1996 November, Suzan Colón, “Dance Fever; Turn the Beat Around—Again”, in Bob Guccione, Jr., editor, Spin, volume 12, number 8, New York, N.Y.: Camouflage Associates, →ISSN, →OCLC, page 33, column 2:
      Now the disco revival is on [] What next? Maybe Olivia Newton-John will do Xanadu II: Electric Boogaloo.
    • 2004 June, Wil Wheaton, “Epilogue: Hooters 2: Electric Boogaloo”, in Brett McLaughlin, editor, Just a Geek, Sebastopol, Calif.: O’Reilly Media, →ISBN, page 223:
      Epilogue: Hooters 2: Electric Boogaloo [chapter title] A few weeks before this book went to press, I met my best friend Darin for lunch in Old Town. [] We met at the usual place [Hooters], ahead of the lunchtime rush, so we could sit wherever we liked.
    • 2007 April, Kory Grow, quoting James Murphy, “The Art of Discomfort: LCD Soundsystem’s James Murphy Explains How to Appreciate the Sound of Silver”, in Kenny Herzog, editor, CMJ New Music Monthly, number 146, New York, N.Y.: CMJ Network, →ISSN, →OCLC, page 25, column 1:
      But I just wanted to feel like I was stepping outside of my box. It's a different time in history. I can't go, "And I'm from Mars!" without it being Bowie II: Electric Boogaloo, except fat.
    • 2018 October 17, Drachinifel [pseudonym], 00:24 from the start, in Last Ride of the High Seas Fleet – Battle of Texel 1918[1], archived from the original on 4 August 2022:
      Given that we're essentially looking at The Battle of Jutland 2: Electric Boogaloo, let's start out by looking at what had changed on both sides since that confrontation in 1916.
    • 2021, George Michael, “Lockdowns, Riots, and a Contested Election—Could the 2020 Crises Reinvigorate the US Far Right?”, in Alan Waring, editor, The New Authoritarianism, volume 3 (A Risk Analysis of the Corporate/Radical-right Axis), Stuttgart, Baden-Wüttemberg: ibidem-Verlag, →ISBN, part 2 (Perspectives on the Corporate/Radical-right Axis), page 355:
      The term boogaloo was first used on 4chan in 2012, where the meme was often associated with references to "Civil War 2: Electric Boogaloo", "race war", and "dotr" (day of the rope) [] A variety of ideologies organized under the Boogaloo umbrella, including libertarian anarchists, pro-gun, anti-government groups, as well as white nationalists and neo-Nazis.

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Further reading