technobabble
Appearance
English
[edit]Etymology
[edit]Pronunciation
[edit]- (Received Pronunciation) IPA(key): /ˈtɛknəʊbæbəl/
- (US) IPA(key): /ˈtɛknoʊbæbəl/
Audio (US): (file) - Rhymes: -æbəl
Noun
[edit]technobabble (uncountable)
- Technical or scientific language used in fiction to convey a false impression of meaningful technical or scientific content.
- 1997, Lawrence Miles, chapter 4, in Alien Bodies, page 84:
- 'Dimensional incursion? What kind of ludicrous technobabble is that supposed to—' ¶ Unexpectedly, he fell silent.
- 1998, Peter Anghelides, chapter 1, in Kursaal, page 6:
- 'We are self-sufficient...We don't rely on clear skies and satellite access and not being deep underground, because of your wonderful technobabble devices.'
- 2006 November, Michael Pritchard, Doctor Who Magazine, number 376, page 45:
- "And despite all the weird events the dialogue is naturalistic and light on technobabble", says Peter. "Such a relief after recent stories."
- 2019 March 29, Sopan Deb, “‘Star Trek: Discovery’ Season 2, Episode 11: Struggle Is Pointless”, in The New York Times[1], →ISSN:
- Destroying the sphere doesn’t work, so the Discovery crew hatches a plan, with some incoherent technobabble: They’re going to launch the time traveling suit and the sphere so far into the future that, somehow, this will save sentient life in the universe.
- From the point of view of the layperson, technical and scientific literature not understood.
Derived terms
[edit]Translations
[edit]fake technical language used in fiction
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