Dictionary

Boaty McBoatface en · PROPN

Pronunciation

• /ˈbəʊti məkˈbəʊtfeɪs/ (Received-Pronunciation)
• (Southern-England) audio
• /ˈboʊti mɪkˈboʊtfeɪs/ (General-American)
• [-ɾi-] (General-American)

Etymology

The proper noun was coined by the British BBC Radio Jersey presenter James Hand in 2016 as a humorous response to a public online poll held by the British government to name a new polar research ship. Despite the fact that “Boaty McBoatface” won decisively, receiving 33% of the overall vote (over three times as many as the second most favoured option), the organizers of the poll ultimately named the ship after British broadcaster and naturalist Sir David Attenborough. The name was instead given to one of the autonomous underwater vehicles (pictured) carried aboard the ship. The noun may be analyzed as boat + -y (diminutive suffix) + Mc- (patronymic commonly used to form Irish and Scottish names) + boat + face, and was possibly modelled after “Hooty McOwlface”, a name given to an adopted owl which went viral on the Internet in 2012. The verb is derived from the noun.

Meanings

1. An autonomous underwater vehicle launched in 2017, currently in service with the British Antarctic Survey to study the polar oceans.
   • The UK's favourite new yellow submarine, Boaty McBoatface, is in training for grand challenge. Scientists plan to send the long-range autonomous vehicle under the sea-ice of the Arctic – from one side of the ocean basin to the other. 2016 October 17, Jonathan Amos, “Arctic Crossing Planned for ‘Boaty’ Sub”, in BBC News, archived from the original on 30 Nov 2024:
   • I am proud to say that the royal Arctic survey ship will be named after David Attenborough. There was strong support for Boaty McBoatface. I think the submarine on the boat will be named Boaty McBoatface but, quite rightly, Attenborough will take top billing. 2016 May 11, David Cameron, Prime Minister, “Engagements”, in House of Commons Debates (House of Commons of the United Kingdom), volume 609, London: Parliament of the United Kingdom, archived from the original on 05 Aug 2024, column 617:
   • With sheets of water pouring from its body, the UK's most famous robot – Boaty McBoatface – was winched up after 55 days at sea. […] Boaty has completed a more-than-2,000km scientific odyssey from Iceland that could change what we know about the pace of climate change. It was hunting for marine snow – "poo, basically" in the words of one researcher. This refers to tiny particles that sink to the ocena floor, storing huge amounts of carbon. 2024 August 10, Georgina Rannard, “Down into the Ocean’s ‘Twilight Zone’ with Boathy McBoatface”, in BBC News, archived from the original on 08 Oct 2024:

wikipedia: Sir David Attenborough · wikipedia: BBC Radio Jersey

Boaty McBoatface en · VERB

Pronunciation

• /ˈbəʊti məkˈbəʊtfeɪs/ (Received-Pronunciation)
• (Southern-England) audio
• /ˈboʊti mɪkˈboʊtfeɪs/ (General-American)
• [-ɾi-] (General-American)

Etymology

The proper noun was coined by the British BBC Radio Jersey presenter James Hand in 2016 as a humorous response to a public online poll held by the British government to name a new polar research ship. Despite the fact that “Boaty McBoatface” won decisively, receiving 33% of the overall vote (over three times as many as the second most favoured option), the organizers of the poll ultimately named the ship after British broadcaster and naturalist Sir David Attenborough. The name was instead given to one of the autonomous underwater vehicles (pictured) carried aboard the ship. The noun may be analyzed as boat + -y (diminutive suffix) + Mc- (patronymic commonly used to form Irish and Scottish names) + boat + face, and was possibly modelled after “Hooty McOwlface”, a name given to an adopted owl which went viral on the Internet in 2012. The verb is derived from the noun.

Meanings

1. (humorous, neologism, transitive) To hijack or troll (a vote, especially one held online; or an organization conducting such a vote), by supporting a joke option.
   • Some of the time was ceded to "fan favourite" movies voted for by the public, but the segment was inevitably Boaty McBoatfaced by a handful of hardcore Zack Snyder zealots, which meant that Hollywood's most prestigious night had to grind to a halt so that everyone could watch the Flash enter the Speed Force. 2022 March 29, Stuart Heritage, “If it takes Will Smith's slap to make people watch the Oscars, is it doomed?”, in Katharine Viner, editor, The Guardian, London: Guardian News & Media, →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 19 Nov 2022:
   • [Donald] Trump is Boaty McBoatfacing the presidential election. 2016 May 3, @GeorgeWept, Twitter, archived from the original on 13 Dec 2022:
   • The Oscars got Boaty McBoatfaced and that's like, the sixth worst headline of the night, that's how bad the show was. 2022 March 28, Sarah Marrs, “The Chaoscars”, in Lainey Gossip, archived from the original on 19 Nov 2022:
   • On this week's episode, Sonny Bunch (The Bulwark), Alyssa Rosenberg (The Washington Post), and Peter Suderman (Reason) ask if the Oscars made a big mistake by allowing a potential Boaty McBoatfacing situation by opening up voting to the Twitter-based masses. 2022 February 28, Sonny Bunch, “98: Is the Video Game Movie Curse Broken?”, in The Bulwark, archived from the original on 07 Dec 2022:

Forms

Deriveds

McBoatfacing · McBoatface

Synonyms

McBoatface

Translations (1)

fi täyttää yleisöäänestys vitsiäänillä (to hijack or troll (a vote, especially one held online; or an organization conducting such a vote), by supporting a joke option)

wikipedia: Sir David Attenborough · wikipedia: BBC Radio Jersey