Who is this person, and why do they not know what a gish is?

[VirgilCaine]

I still don't know what "gish" means. And I don't particularly want to know. But the Swordmage isn't one, apparently, which is presumably good news? Hey ho. I'm so out of touch with the kiddie-speak these days! Gish. Silo. Speak English, dammit!

Who is this person and why does he not know what a gish is?

Hasn't the term been around for a long time, at least several years?

Maybe even back into 2e?

It strikes me as if a someone working for a car magazine doesn't know about the trend of using light, fast, Japanese cars instead of larger, American muscle cars.

Not very impressive.

 

[Nikosandros]

Is this thread missing a humor tag?

In any event, as I just posted elsewhere the term dates back to 1st edition, but it was usend in a very specific context: githyanky fighter/magic-users.

 

[Kid Charlemagne]

Exactly, I've only ever heard one person refer to a mage/warrior as a Gish - Rich Baker. I know exactly what a "Gish" is in D&D terms - a githyanki fighter/magic-user. I prefer to leave it with that meaning.

 

[VirgilCaine]

Is this thread missing a humor tag?

Are you going to answer my question or not?

 

[Michael Silverbane]

I find it sort of strange that folks would be resistant to a specific word being used in a more generic manner... Lots of words in the english language have made the jump from specific to generic...

Kleenex is a specific brand of facial tissue, but has become synonymous with the more generic 'facial tissue'. Vaseline, a specific brand of petroleum jelly, is often used as a generic. "Crescent" is a specific type of adjustable wrench which is often used in the generic. And that's only to name a few such terms.

I would think that the githyanki would be proud that their term became accepted as the norm throughout the planes at large... You know... If it weren't for the fact that they hate everyone. But that's a topic for another discussion.

Later
silver

 

[Kerrick]

I find it sort of strange that folks would be resistant to a specific word being used in a more generic manner... Lots of words in the english language have made the jump from specific to generic...

You're talking about words used by millions of people, not a few thousand. "Gish" is an obscure term among gamers, who are a small subset of society as a whole. It's no surprise that it hasn't spread very far - I'd never heard it myself until talk of 4E, and I've been playing for almost 20 years.

 

[Darkness]

Are you going to answer my question or not?

A Google search for swordmage gish english site:enworld.org gives me this.

 

[Rel]

Who is this person and why does he not know what a gish is?

Hasn't the term been around for a long time, at least several years?

Maybe even back into 2e?

It strikes me as if a someone working for a car magazine doesn't know about the trend of using light, fast, Japanese cars instead of larger, American muscle cars.

Not very impressive.

Could you clarify for me? Are you trying to be funny or are you trying to be a jackass?

 

[Vocenoctum]

Exactly, I've only ever heard one person refer to a mage/warrior as a Gish - Rich Baker. I know exactly what a "Gish" is in D&D terms - a githyanki fighter/magic-user. I prefer to leave it with that meaning.

Right, the phrase was for a githyanki fightermage, and even then I don't really remember anyone using the phrase a lot.

I assume the same folks that use "gish" in common parlance are the ones that want a tiefling in the PHB and have never seen a gnome.

 

[WayneLigon]

It's been a fairly common term seen on these very boards, even away from the rules forum, for at least several months now. So, it's moved well away from 'small subset of D&D players'.