Dictionary

rarepair en · NOUN

Pronunciation

• /ˈɹɛəˌpɛə/ (Received-Pronunciation)
• /ˈɹɛɹˌpɛɹ/ (General-American)

Etymology

Compound of rare + pair.

Meanings

1. (slang) A ship that generally receives little attention from fans and has few associated fanworks.
   • Rare pairs might also slash together people or creatures that are considered unnatural, such as a human character with a magical creature such as a centaur or a house elf, or Dumbledore with any young student from Hogwarts. 2011, Nina Kaipia, "Drarry, Snarry and Snape: The Queerest of the Queer - Heteronormativity and Queer Theory in Harry Potter Slash Fan Fiction", thesis submitted to the University of Helsinki, page 61
   • If a Yuletide reader requested a rare pair (Silver Surfer/Aunt May?) in The Marvel Cinematic Universe Avengers, that story will now assemble with its more popular Hulk/Iron Man and Captain America/Bucky Barnes fanfic colleagues in the Avengers tag. 2018, Anne Jamison, “Kant/Squid (The Fanfiction Assemblage)”, in Paul Booth, editor, A Companion to Media Fandom and Fan Studies, page 534:
   • With rarepairs and crackships, it's the unlikeliness or even impossibility of their coming together that gets you going. 2019, "Thefudge", "The Marvelously Crafted", Lemon, 1 February 2019, page 49

Forms