Eggcorn Forum

Men and women with well-defined muscles, especially abdominal muscles, are said to be “ripped.” The word looks like it might be the past participle of “rip,” but no one is sure what the connection is between “rip” and a ripped body. The best explanation I have seen for the origin of the term is that “ripped” is a variation of “rippled.”

The term “ripped” first appeared in bodybuilding vocabulary during the 1970s. For readers of this forum who haven’t seen a ripped body, I offer this picture of me. (OK, it’s not me. But it could have been, if I had worked on my tan, exercised, avoided rich desserts, had a face transplant, and aged backwards.)

In recent years people have taken to using “ribbed” in contexts that call for “ripped.” “Ribbed” is a more etymologically transparent term-chiseled muscles sometimes look like they have rows of underlying ribs pressing against the skin-and the word “ribbed” has a long history of referring to things with ridges or undulations (ribbed stockings, ribbed grass, ribbed condoms).

One could argue that “ripped” and “ribbed” arose separately as descriptions for the übermuscled. I suspect, however, that the slang term “ripped” has somehow licensed the extension of “ribbed” into descriptions of musculature. If so, “ribbed” may be an eggcorn.

Examples of “ribbed” referring to muscles:

Article on a self-help site: “The mountainous biceps, the chiseled chest muscles and the ribbed abs are all part of such dedication and hard work. ”

East Indian web site post: “Shiamak’s troupe dancer Anisha has an amazing body. Technically speaking, my sister Shamita has a more ribbed physique.”

Web ad: “Lose Fat Fast and Get Ribbed Abs”

Health article: “Many people set out on a quest to get ribbed abs, but most of us usually give up long before we get there.”

Web ad summary: “My good old buddy there had ribbed six pack abs and a crazy athletic body,”

At the opposite pole from the athlete with six-pack abs is the beer-bellied couch potato. His six-packs are the fermented variety. Oddly, a large number of web sites attribute to this person a “bear belly.” Perhaps the profiles of overweight men remind these writers of lumpy bears.

Examples of “bear belly:”

Comment in a car blog: “I’m sick of…Toyotas that appeal to people with pleated chinos, pear-shaped mommies, stressed out bear-bellied daddies….”

Post on a debate site: “I’on know ‘bout y’all, but a crowd full of bear bellied folks in red, donning cowboy hats and screaming yeehaww sure made my black a&$ feel a sense of belonging”

Sport blog article: “softball is not exactly a sport played by a group of bear bellied men with a keg sitting on second base. ”

Last edited by kem (2009-06-28 17:26:53)