Blogs Are Educational

A surprising number of people seem to find my site by googling up the term "gellin' like Magellan," a phrase coming from the Dr. Scholl's commercial I discussed in this post. Apparently, I'm far from alone in my concern for the ad's insult to language - though too many people for my taste don't seem to see the obvious link between gel and felons (for hair, not shoes).

But, it made me curious - "what else are they finding?"

Oddly, I've found two instances of "gellin' like Magellan" used as an actual expression.

The first, from MSNBC news observes without a trace of irony: "Gotti boys are gellin’ like Magellan". The meaning? "How do the Gotti boys get that gravity-defying hair?"

The second, much more perplexing suggests its a football term. "On the other side of the ball, we have a pretty decent O-line gellin' like Magellan, two seasoned QB's, but a set of receivers that have yet to prove themselves."

However, Best of Show gets awarded to McSweeney's for it's contest "How You Gellin?" which asked for reader feedback on "the specific manner in which Liberian President Charles Taylor might be gellin".

I think my favorite is
"Gellin' like a war crimes appellant"

Though, some honors are due for:
"As a leader who has consistently been wrapped up in imbroglios, insurrections, and questions of colonialism, I reckon that Charles Taylor is gellin' like Magellan. "