Bronyspeak

About

Bronyspeak is the Internet Slang used by the fans of the popular animated Tv-series My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic. These fans, a.k.a. Bronies, have developed their own vocabulary of slang phrases. Many of the words and phrases are taken directly from dialogue in the show, while others are completely fan-created and reference tropes found throughout the series.

Notable Examples

Ponify

Ponify is the act of turning everyday words into their pony equivalents. It is the most common feature of Bronyspeak found in discussions and on threads. This originated directly from the show, where for example the word “everybody” is changed into “everypony”.

This has spread to a variety of words used in the show, such as insults or greetings. But fans also gave their own twist to words, commonly just being small changes. Various Brony Dictionaries have also been made by fans and are shared through sites like DeviantArt^[2] and Google Docs^[3]. A complete extension for Firefox and Google Chrome has also been made, which changes simple words found on the web to their pony equivalents.^[4]

The Royal Canterlot Voice / CANTERLOCK

The Royal Canterlot Voice originates from Season 2, Episode 4, “Luna Eclipsed”.^[8] Because of various situations in the show, the character Luna has not been around others for a thousand years. This caused her to still talk like inhabitants did a thousand years ago, using a different form of pronunciation and speaking in a higher volume.

A similar way of typing is sometimes used amongst fans. Creating a similar effect as using an excessive amount of Caps Lock. Because of their similarities, this has been given the nickname CANTERLOCK.

Whining!

Whining originated from a scene in the episode 19th episode of the first season, “A Dog and Pony Show”.^[9] This particular type of whining is used by bronies on threads as a counter to hatefull responses or as a form of brony trolling. Bronies respond to the trolls in various, over emotional, ways similar to Rarity. In many cases the poster will replace the word whining with a different verb.

Notable Catchphrases

Various catchphrases have become popular on the web. While some of these are taken directly from the show, others are completely fan-created.

For other, more detailed, descriptions of various phrases and terms, see: Wingboner / Clopping, Flutterrage / Flutterbitch, Friendship Arsenal and FOREEEEVER!.

Confound These Ponies

“Confound these ponies” originally started in a series of image macros on /co/, and later spread to the viewers of Yaridovich’s Pony Synchtube.^[1] It comes from an episode of Chuck Jones’ The Dover Boys of Pimento University where the villain proclaims, “Confound these Dover boys! They drive me to drink!”. The verb “drink” has been turned into a variety of words in fanworks, mainly for matching purposes.

Welcome to the Herd

After an individual gets hooked on the show, other fans often formally welcome them by saying “Welcome to the herd”. This is commonly combined with an image macro featuring the character Pinkie Pie with hypnotic swirly eyes. Other variations of welcoming have also been created along with various catchphrases. A popular derivative of this is “You shall be assimilated”.

Brohoof

The phrase Brohoof is often used to express approval towards another brony, and comes from the term bro fist. This can be used in an image macro, or by typing. It is also commonly used as a greeting towards fellow bronies. Other words and gestures that feature a hand in some way have also been changed to their hoof equivalents. So is the Facehoof a derivative of the facepalm, commonly used as a reaction to something silly or senseless.

Don’t feed the Parasprites / Paraspriting

“Don’t feed the parasprites” is a catchphrase inspired by the trolling bronies receive in pony threads. “Parasprite” is commonly used in place of “troll”. The parasprite was first introduced in episode 10 of the first season, “Swarm of the Century”.^[11] Parasprites are small bug like creatures with a never ending hunger, creating a link with constant trolling bronies have to put up with.

Love and Tolerate

“Love and tolerate” was created to deal with trolling and hatred in pony related threads, while staying true to the show’s message of friendship and kindness. Love and tolerate is commonly used in place of violent terms in an attempt to stay non-confrontational. It is often used in image macros to express contempt in a joking, light-hearted manner.

Forever!

Forever! is a line which was spoken by Pinkie Pie in the episode “Green Isn’t your Color”. It is used in the form of an image macro, with Pinkie Pie being edited into various situations.

20% Cooler

The line “It needs to be about 20% cooler” was spoken by the character Rainbow Dash during episode 14, “Suited For Success”.^[12] It is occasionally used as an insult or as simple advice towards something, claiming it needs to be improved. But it is also used to express approval towards something. 20% Cooler can also often be found back in fanworks as a sign of improvement or as a factor for one’s opinion.

10 Seconds Flat

The phrase “Ten Seconds Flat” was spoken by the character Rainbow Dash during her first appearance in the series^[13] when she claims that she can “clear every cloud from the sky in ten seconds flat”. It is most often used when describing the ability to perform a task quickly.

Oatmeal? Are You Crazy?

In episode 3 of the first season, “The Ticket Master”,^[14] the character Pinkie Pie randomly blurts out the phrase “Oatmeal? Are you crazy?”. The phrase grew in popularity on Ponychan’s oatmeal board. The /oat/ board^[5] was created for more random pony content and gained its name in honor of Pinkie Pie’s random nature.

And That’s How Equestria Was Made

In episode 23, “The Cutie Mark Chronicles”,^[10] Pinkie Pie explains how she got her cutie mark. She ends the story by saying, “And that’s how Equestria was made”. The phrase is commonly used in forum boards as a substitute for "tl;dr" and as a reply to off-topic comments.

I Watch It For the Plot

The word “plot” has become synonymous with the pony posterior as a result of a viral image seen on the left below, resulting in the sarcastic phrase I Watch It for the Plot. Combinations with “Dat Ass” have become a common variation, creating results such as “Dat Plot”, “Dat Flank”, etc.

Other Popular Phrases

While most of the above phrases are derived from the show, they are used often in an exploitable format or in fanworks. Various other phrases have been taken directly from the show and are commonly used in the same purpose as they were used in the show. They can be most commonly found back in image macros or through videos. Certain scenes and phrases in the show have also evolved into popular Pony Reaction Faces.

A popular place to find these is through the Youtube account of user Kyrospawn^[6], who has also uploaded various soundboards to his DeviantArt account^[7].

External Links