galapetter

Swedish

Alternative forms

gala-peter, Galapeter

Etymology

Compound of gala (“gala”) +‎ Petter (“given name”). Originally Gala-Peter, a section in the newspaper Expressen, started in 1945, which covered premieres, parties, and gala events. Here, Peter was a collective pseudonym for the reporters, which would later evolve to Petter.^[1] First attested in 1951^[2].

Noun

galapetter c

A journalist who is (routinely) tasked with reporting from galas and other festive events, especially those celebrities attend to.
- 1952, Folke Dahlberg, Tiveden, page 15:
  Av alla resande på skogen tar Karl IX priset i prakt. En dåtida högerpress’ utsände Galapeter börjar referatet inte mindre praktfullt: Lupo före kungen . . . hästar 12, med stofferade blågula silkestäcken.
  Of all those traveling through the forest, Charles IX takes the prize in grandeur. A contemporary right-wing press correspondent begins the report no less splendidly: Galloping before the king... 12 horses, with upholstered blue and yellow silk blankets.
- 1964, Karl Gerhard, Med mitt goda minne, page 153:
  Förr i världen kunde det ta flera månader innan ryktet om ett fiasko, personligt eller konstnärligt, nådde medmänniskors öron. I dag är vi alla infamt påpassade av pressen, även civilbefolkningen gör värnplikt i TV-intervjuer, radio, gala-peterspalter och prat omkring allt och ingenting.
  In the past, it could take several months for rumors of a failure, personal or artistic, to reach people’s ears. Today, we are all infamously monitored by the press, and even civilians are conscripted into duty in TV interviews, radio, celebrity gossip columns, and endless chatter about everything and nothing.
- 2021 May 14, Henrik Williamsson, “På spaning efter den bal som flytt [In search of lost ball]”, in Hallandsposten:
  Som tidningens galapetter gäller det att vara välklädd. Kollegan Benjamin Troff assisterar med flugan. Det är ju han som lånar ut den.
  As the newspaper's gala reporter, it's important to be well-dressed. Colleague Benjamin Troff helps with the bow tie, after all, it's his.

Declension

Declension of galapetter

		nominative	genitive
singular	indefinite	galapetter	galapetters
singular	definite	galapettern	galapetterns
plural	indefinite	galapettrar	galapettrars
plural	definite	galapettrarna	galapettrarnas

References

^ Arne Lapidus (2013 January 9) “Gala-Peter, 68, bara fortsätter att vimla”, in Expressen (in Swedish): “Gala-Peter föddes 1945, några månader efter Expressen. Det var en kollektiv signatur för reportrar som sändes ut för att bevaka premiärer, fester och galaevenemang. ― Gala-Peter was born in 1945, a few months after Expressen. It was a collective pseudonym for reporters sent out to cover premieres, parties, and gala events.”
^ galapetter in Svensk ordbok (SO)

galapetter in Svenska Akademiens ordlista (SAOL)

[1] Arne Lapidus (2013 January 9) “Gala-Peter, 68, bara fortsätter att vimla”, in Expressen (in Swedish): “Gala-Peter föddes 1945, några månader efter Expressen. Det var en kollektiv signatur för reportrar som sändes ut för att bevaka premiärer, fester och galaevenemang. ― Gala-Peter was born in 1945, a few months after Expressen. It was a collective pseudonym for reporters sent out to cover premieres, parties, and gala events.”

[2] tter in Svensk ordbok (SO)

[1]

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