pro tip en · NOUN
Etymology
Originally merely a sum of parts collocation (= professional tips), as for example in pro tips for solid joints [in woodworking] (Popular Science, March 1959), pro tips for hunting with a camera (Field & Stream, September 1978), and pro tips on the course or court from golf pros and tennis pros. In the era of videogaming, the camel case solidification as ProTip, a name for small pieces of gameplay advice used as screenshot captions in GamePro magazine, added a lexicalized dimension to yield a true compound. The advice in a hoax version of a ProTip for id Software's Doom ("To defeat the Cyberdemon, shoot at it until it dies") was so comically obvious that it later became an Internet catchphrase.
Meanings
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(idiomatic) A useful piece of advice.
Pro tips on which games your child should play, how long they should play for, how to limit screen time – and what to do if their friend plays violent games
2017 May 11, Ellie Gibson, “Children and video games: a parent's guide”, in The Guardian:Shoppers picking up ground beef, for example, encounter the stork on in-store shelf ads near the meat section, where a speech balloon near his ample beak says, "Pro tip: Serve your burgers with a Vlasic pickle. Amateur tip: Don’t."
2011 April 25, Andrew Adam Newman, “Taking Pickles Out of the Afterthought Aisle”, in New York Times:
Forms
| Spelling | Features | Labels | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| pro tips | Number=Plur | lexicographic | |
| pro-tip | alternative | lexicographic | |
| ProTip | alternative | lexicographic | |
| protip | alternative | lexicographic |