Many people have been asking me: What is tonyallen? Why am I seeing it everywhere all of a sudden? Well, worry not; as the leading expert on tonyallen, I am here to abate the confusion.
tonyallen, as defined by the Oxford English Dictionary, is a comprehensive hypocorism used for the purposes of informally addressing an individual. Coined in June 2012, the neologism quickly found its way to the dictionary due to its astronomical rise in popularity. In fact, despite its short life span, tonyallen, as a more versatile word, is now contending with similar colloquialisms, such as âdudeâ or âbreh,â for general usage. Linguists believe it will replace these terms before the year comes to an end.
The etymology of the word has been a point of contention. Some argue that the root âtonyâ is derived from Tony the Tiger. Others argue that, due to the waning popularity of the anthropomorphic creature and the relative novelty of the word, this case is unlikely. It is generally agreed, however, that âallenâ has no intrinsic meaning and is there for added euphony.
In a study conducted by researchers at Harvard University on euphoria-inducing words in the English language, as measured by the activity of dopamine-producing neurons in the brain, the pronunciation of tonyallen triggered the greatest euphoric response in an overwhelming majority of participants. âItâs incredible,â said Alfonso Caramazza, the principal investigator of the study and a putative leader in the field of neurolinguistics, âhow a simple sequence of phonemes could produce such pleasure in people.â
So that's it for now. If you have any questions about tonyallen, please do ask! I will gladly answer!
(By the way, tonyallen is never capitalized, even in the beginning of sentences, and I am only italicizing it here to distinguish it from the other words in this post.)
Am I not hip enough? I have seriously never heard of the term tonyallen? I see things like "dude" and "bro," but tonyallen? I should start being like hey tonyallen. What if someone was named Tony Allen?
This is valuable information. Great job, tonyallen.
Why thank you!
Oh shi-what the heck is this?
It's tonyallen.
Am I not hip enough? I have seriously never heard of the term tonyallen? I see things like "dude" and "bro," but tonyallen? I should start being like hey tonyallen. What if someone was named Tony Allen?
Yes, try it! The difference between "tonyallen" and "Tony Allen" as far as pronunciation is concerned is that "tonyallen" is a single, smooth word. No breakage in flow. If you still can't find a discernible difference, "tonyallen" is also said a bit faster.
But it makes you feel funny saying it. To me though, it doesn't seem like it could replace dude
I know it may seem funny, but sound it out a few times. You'll notice how easily it rolls off the tongue!
He should also explain tonyallen status and what's below that. How do you keep your tonyallen status and what can make you lose it.
Yes okay. tonyallen is an inclusive term, so anyone can be called it. However, if their is not acting very tonyallen-like, their tonyallen status is temporarily revoked until they start being tonyallens again.
And I used "they" and "their" in that explanation in its "singular form." However, I am not referring to only genderqueer individuals, though they are also tonyallens as well!
tonyallens, that's a nice piece of information for a tonyallen like me. Come to think of it, if we replace dude, man and other such words in movies with tonyallen it will sound funny like:- "I'm a tonyallen dressed as a tonyallen, playing another tonyallen." "what's happening tonyallens?" "Tonyallens are emerging." (Tropic thunder)
