Is "Powerglide" even a word?

Pravus Prime · 02-17-2007, 12:43 AM

[quote=Maximo Prime]heh i always loved Drillnuts...

QUOTE]

Beat me to it. How can you have a conversation about bad TF names, and not mention Drillnuts in the company of Erector and Big Daddy?

Some of the minicons had some pretty terrible names, as I recall.

SMOG · 02-17-2007, 12:46 AM

Heh heh... here we go with another bad TF name thread.

I think I heard somewhere that "Glen" was actually a corrupted japanese transliteration of "Crane" which what the character transforms into... so at least THAT makes some sense. Drillnuts must however remain a mystery.

I still say that one of the worst borderline pornographic Japanese TF names is "JackShot". I mean, really.

The fact that "Powerglide" is a made-up name shouldn't surprise me I guess... but generally, at that early period in US TFs, most of the names were actually pretty good, so Powerglide does sort of stick out.

Hm. So technically, wouldn't gliding... with power... just be flying?

zmog

daMooseVS · 02-17-2007, 04:20 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by SMOG

The fact that "Powerglide" is a made-up name shouldn't surprise me I guess...

No, click the link, its not made up for TF~

And neither is Grimlock, either. Grimlock is a rather generic fantasy creature, usually described as blined, or near sighted, huge like an ogre or giant, and usually carrying some kind of club like weapon. Its not a widely known/used creature, my only real exposure to it comes from D&D, but, having used their Open Gaming Lisence to publish some stuff, I know that Grimlock is not one of the trademarked attributes of the game system.

http://www.everything2.com/index.pl?node_id=444958

SMOG · 02-17-2007, 11:54 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by daMooseVS

No, click the link, its not made up for TF~

And neither is Grimlock, either. Grimlock is a rather generic fantasy creature, usually described as blined, or near sighted, huge like an ogre or giant, and usually carrying some kind of club like weapon. Its not a widely known/used creature, my only real exposure to it comes from D&D, but, having used their Open Gaming Lisence to publish some stuff, I know that Grimlock is not one of the trademarked attributes of the game system.

http://www.everything2.com/index.pl?node_id=444958

I clicked the link, but I didn't find anything about Powerglide meaning anything other than a TF or a type of transmission.

I know about grimlocks in D&D... they're basically just Morlocks from HG Wells. I'm of the opinion that the name use for the TF Grimlock is likely coincidence. Or maybe Bob Budiansky played D&D and thought it sounded cool.

zmog

Chainclaw · 02-17-2007, 01:30 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Magelite

Erector...

I forgot Erector about, probably something to do with the "What is the dumbest thing you have done to a toy?" thread a few month ago. That name doesn't sound that bad when your a naïve kid, but a few connotations changes everything.

daMooseVS · 02-17-2007, 10:01 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by SMOG

I clicked the link, but I didn't find anything about Powerglide meaning anything other than a TF or a type of transmission.

Meant the other link posted earlier. Your remark, "The fact that "Powerglide" is a made-up name shouldn't surprise me I guess...", made me think you missed that. The Grimlock was just an added bonus.
And I really can't see how the two are totally unrelated. Especially with some discussion in another thread of how the Dinobots spend a lot of time in the Autobot's closet...

SMOG · 02-17-2007, 10:35 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by daMooseVS

Meant the other link posted earlier. Your remark, "The fact that "Powerglide" is a made-up name shouldn't surprise me I guess...", made me think you missed that. The Grimlock was just an added bonus.
And I really can't see how the two are totally unrelated. Especially with some discussion in another thread of how the Dinobots spend a lot of time in the Autobot's closet...

It could be that whoever named Grimlock (Budiansky?) was familiar with the D&D monster, and thought it would be a good name for the brute leader of the dinobots... but it's not really a broad cultural reference point. An in-joke maybe.

zmog

RandomFerret · 02-18-2007, 07:42 PM

You know, 'powered gliding' is pretty much the definition of fixed-wing flight.

It makes sense to me.

SMOG · 02-19-2007, 02:05 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by RandomFerret

You know, 'powered gliding' is pretty much the definition of fixed-wing flight.

It makes sense to me.

Only if we can name a car transformer something like "Drive-Wheeler"

Hmmm... sounds like a Japanese TF name, doesn't it?

zmog

Feralstorm · 02-19-2007, 02:59 AM

"MOTOR-COASTING"!

Quote:

Originally Posted by SMOG

I think I heard somewhere that "Glen" was actually a corrupted japanese transliteration of "Crane" which what the character transforms into... so at least THAT makes some sense. Drillnuts must however remain a mystery.

Well, if "Glen" is "Crane", it's still a very uncreative name, since it just says what the toy is, along with "Battle Unicorn" or "Beast Changer".