I need a WOB ruling

LafayetteBear

Heisman
Nov 30, 2009
34,729
10,195
113
WOB? Viz:

"WOB" can mean several different things depending on the context. Most commonly, it stands for Words of Brandon in book fandoms, Work of Breathing in medicine, or a Women-Owned Business in commerce.

Common Meanings of WOB

    • Words of Brandon: In fantasy book communities (like the Cosmere fan base), users on the 17th Shard Forum agree this refers to public statements or answers given by author Brandon Sanderson that act as official story facts outside the books. [1, 2]
    • Work of Breathing: In medicine and respiratory care, it measures the energy and effort your body uses to inhale and exhale air. [1]
    • Women-Owned Business: In business and directories, it is a company that is at least 51% owned, operated, and controlled by one or more women. [1, 2]
    • Washed Overboard: In maritime shipping and logistics, a shipping notation for cargo lost into the sea. [1, 2]
    • World of Beers: A popular American bar chain franchise. [1]
 
Last edited:

THE_DEVIL

All-American
Dec 16, 2022
4,817
9,930
113
I am very disapoint. There are at least three posters in this thread calling phones.. homos.

Have you people no shame? And why even bring their sexuality into a thread about WHOBSZ?

Now that we have AI, phones have feelings too.
 

QChawks

Heisman
Dec 17, 2022
11,211
23,754
113
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What Would Jesus Do?

All-Conference
Nov 28, 2010
35,297
4,526
113
WOB? Viz:

"WOB" can mean several different things depending on the context. Most commonly, it stands for Words of Brandon in book fandoms, Work of Breathing in medicine, or a Women-Owned Business in commerce.

Common Meanings of WOB

    • Words of Brandon: In fantasy book communities (like the Cosmere fan base), users on the 17th Shard Forum agree this refers to public statements or answers given by author Brandon Sanderson that act as official story facts outside the books. [1, 2]
    • Work of Breathing: In medicine and respiratory care, it measures the energy and effort your body uses to inhale and exhale air. [1]
    • Women-Owned Business: In business and directories, it is a company that is at least 51% owned, operated, and controlled by one or more women. [1, 2]
    • Washed Overboard: In maritime shipping and logistics, a shipping notation for cargo lost into the sea. [1, 2]
    • World of Beers: A popular American bar chain franchise. [1]
Disappointing that Wikipedia (I assume) doesn't list the real meaning of WOB.

Someone correct me if I'm wrong but WOB arose on the Iowa board a couple of decades ago when someone who wanted to say "wannabe" instead said "want of be". Hilarity ensued and WOB was invented to cover this class of errors.

In earlier times this sort of goof might have been called a malapropism or, somewhat more recently, an Archie Bunkerism.

Some people take it too seriously. A misuse of a homophone can absolutely be a WOB.
 
Jun 1, 2026
1,462
487
83
Sounds like another lefty getting its panties in a bunch over grammar.
It’s a shame that pretty soon they won’t know the difference as they have to make school easier on them for mental health reasons.
 
Dec 4, 2001
5,398
17,540
113
Disappointing that Wikipedia (I assume) doesn't list the real meaning of WOB.

Someone correct me if I'm wrong but WOB arose on the Iowa board a couple of decades ago when someone who wanted to say "wannabe" instead said "want of be". Hilarity ensued and WOB was invented to cover this class of errors.

In earlier times this sort of goof might have been called a malapropism or, somewhat more recently, an Archie Bunkerism.

Some people take it too seriously. A misuse of a homophone can absolutely be a WOB.
It was Matt_Teach or something similar. He wanted to say wannabe but typed "want of bees". It is absolutely a malapropism. I think we also use WOB to include eggcorns, for phrases such as
"all intensive purposes". Google says:

Both eggcorns and malapropisms involve swapping a word for a similar-sounding one. The main difference is that an eggorcn makes logical sense in context (like "for all intensive purposes"), while a malaproprism is completely nonsensical or absurd.
 

What Would Jesus Do?

All-Conference
Nov 28, 2010
35,297
4,526
113
Sounds like another lefty getting its panties in a bunch over grammar.
It’s a shame that pretty soon they won’t know the difference as they have to make school easier on them for mental health reasons.
One of the annoyances of getting old is that I'm always hearing words misused. But too often, when I look them up, I find the "misuse" has become an accepted alternative.

I blame a lot of that on sports "journalists". They're the worst.

"Fortuitous" is one such word. It used to mean "accidental" but now, perhaps because the word resembles "fortunate", people use it to mean a happy or good accident. Soon, the core meaning (accident) may be gone entirely.
 

What Would Jesus Do?

All-Conference
Nov 28, 2010
35,297
4,526
113
It was Matt_Teach or something similar. He wanted to say wannabe but typed "want of bees". It is absolutely a malapropism. I think we also use WOB to include eggcorns, for phrases such as
"all intensive purposes". Google says:

Both eggcorns and malapropisms involve swapping a word for a similar-sounding one. The main difference is that an eggorcn makes logical sense in context (like "for all intensive purposes"), while a malaproprism is completely nonsensical or absurd.
Thanks for that correction - want of bees instead of want of be.

One of my favorites is "take for granite" - which seems plausible because we take for granted things that seem set in stone.

I think that superficial plausibility is what makes many of the best WOBs so enjoyable.
 

TJ8869

All-American
Dec 16, 2022
2,577
5,001
113
Disappointing that Wikipedia (I assume) doesn't list the real meaning of WOB.

Someone correct me if I'm wrong but WOB arose on the Iowa board a couple of decades ago when someone who wanted to say "wannabe" instead said "want of be". Hilarity ensued and WOB was invented to cover this class of errors.

In earlier times this sort of goof might have been called a malapropism or, somewhat more recently, an Archie Bunkerism.

Some people take it too seriously. A misuse of a homophone can absolutely be a WOB.
Homophones can be a WOB under certain circumstances. But in this case, fair/fare is not a WOB for the same reason that to/too/two and there/they’re/their are not WOBs.
 
Dec 4, 2001
5,398
17,540
113
Thanks for that correction - want of bees instead of want of be.

One of my favorites is "take for granite" - which seems plausible because we take for granted things that seem set in stone.

I think that superficial plausibility is what makes many of the best WOBs so enjoyable.
Two of my favorites are when people use tenants instead of tenets (tenants/tenets of christianty) and statue instead of statute (statue/statute of limitations). Another one I saw which I found amusing was a "spoiled asians letter" rather than a "spoliation letter".
 

m.knox

All-Conference
Aug 20, 2003
4,487
4,565
113
@m.knox - what about the children Trump raped and killed?

Another Violent Criminal Illegal Alien Was Arrested for Murdering Woman in Fairfax County, Virginia​


https://townhall.com/news/amy-curtis/2026/08/19/illegal-alien-fairfax-county-n2681528

On Monday morning, the body of a woman was found in a parking lot near Difficult Run Trail in Great Falls, Virginia. A jogger discovered the body and called police, who later identified the victim as 42-year-old Carmen Lizet Puch of Reston. Puch was lying next to her car with "trauma to her upper body."

Puch was the mother of a young daughter.
 

Rastafarian

All-Conference
Aug 21, 2025
1,338
1,948
113

Another Violent Criminal Illegal Alien Was Arrested for Murdering Woman in Fairfax County, Virginia​


https://townhall.com/news/amy-curtis/2026/08/19/illegal-alien-fairfax-county-n2681528

On Monday morning, the body of a woman was found in a parking lot near Difficult Run Trail in Great Falls, Virginia. A jogger discovered the body and called police, who later identified the victim as 42-year-old Carmen Lizet Puch of Reston. Puch was lying next to her car with "trauma to her upper body."

Puch was the mother of a young daughter.
Sorry to let facts get in the way of your bigotry and ignorance.


719​

The criminal conviction rate per 100,000 immigrants in Texas. This number comes from a study by the Cato Institute, which uses figures from Texas in 2015 as a case study to look at how crime rates compare among immigrant and native-born populations.

“The criminal conviction and arrest rates for immigrants were well below those of native-born Americans,” Cato’s Alex Nowrasteh wrote.

According to the libertarian think tank’s analysis, the rate per 100,000 residents in each subpopulation was 899 for undocumented immigrants, 611 for legal immigrants and 1,797 for native-born Americans
 
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