A word which surprised me...

[Wigwam Jones]

I have been away from motorcycles for well over 35 years, just getting back into the wind.

Now that I'm scouring the web (didn't exist then) for bikes and motorcycle knowledge and such, I keep seeing a word which I did not recognize... 'motard'.

I have to tell you, this made me laugh and cringe at the same time. A 'motard' means something very different in the culture I am from. A 'motard' is Marine Corps talk for a person who is, shall we say, excessively motivated. They yell "Ooh-Rah" every five second or "Semper Fi, do or die!" at otherwise inappropriate times and places. They are both motivated, and (sorry, very politically incorrect term here, mentioned for historical accuracy reasons only) retarded. A 'mo-tard' or 'motard'.

I realize it means something very different in the motorcycling world, but every time I see it, I can't help laughing.

It kind of reminds me of another word I used to hear a lot, which changed meanings. Way way back in the day, a 'nimrod' was a person who enjoyed firearms or who was a very good hunter with firearms. Now, a 'nimrod' is an idiot.