Holy prefix, Batman! A look at Bat-words in honor of Batman's 75th anniversary

Holy prefix, Batman! A look at Bat-words in honor of Batman's 75th anniversary

Batman's contributions to the English language are as varied and colorful as his rogues gallery

By Mark Peters | April 3, 2014

 

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Batman's contributions to the English language are practically Shakespearean in scope. (Facebook.com/DCComics)

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t's been 75 years since Batman made his comic book debut. Since 1939, the cowled hero has contributed villains, sidekicks, gadgets, and thousands of stories to popular culture — and no less significantly, quite a few additions to the English language.
Almost everyone can recite the names of the major Batman allies (Alfred, Commissioner Gordon, Robin) and villains (The Joker, The Riddler, The Penguin, Two-Face). Nicknames such as "the caped crusader," "the dark knight," "the world's greatest detective," and "the boy wonder" are thrown around in any number of contexts, as is the fill-in-the-blank phrase "Holy ___, Batman!" But among all these linguistic contributions, the most flexible and fun Batman-ism is probably the ­Bat- affix, which is seen in Batarangs, Batcows, Batkids, and beyond.
Though my interest in reading and watching Batman has ebbed and flowed, I've been a lifelong fan of Bat-words. Who wouldn't be? Bat-terms are invariably fun to say, and what kid doesn't dream of hanging around the Batcave, driving the Batmobile, or tossing a Batarang at a villain's head?
Many of those terms were coined by Lorenzo Semple, Jr., who created the Batman television show read more