Quote
1. Quote - Listen to the quote and guess what the slang means.
“I’m definitely surprised that people are still talking about Linsanity.”
- Basketball star Jeremy Lin talking about the recent excitement over his success. (Miami Herald)
Definition
1. Definition - Study the definition.
the excitement generated by the sudden success of basketball player Jeremy Lin
2. Use - Learn how the slang is used.
At the beginning of this year, very few people had heard of Jeremy Lin. Now, the American basketball player of Taiwanese dissent is one of the most famous athletes in the world.
How did this happen? With a series of great performances, Lin helped his team, the New York Knicks, win seven games in a row. As people around the world watched what was happening, they began to feel excitement for the 23-year-old. His jersey sold out and people started making signs about him to hold up at games. Lin was in every newspaper and on every TV station. Linsanity had begun.
Linsanity is a new slang word that is a combination of Jeremy Lin’s name and the word insanity, which means craziness. Linsanity describes the sudden global interest in this new star who, weeks before Linsanity began, was worried he would be released from his team because he wasn’t good enough.
Hopefully, Linsanity is just beginning. Lin has continued to play well and could be a star for a long time. His fans may have years to think of fun ways to play with his name. For example, some say his skills are Lincredible, especially the game he played on VaLINtine’s Day.
Are you a fan of Jeremy Lin? Try making a new word with his name.
See articles and clips of English, baby! staff talking about Linsanity in the Chinese and Taiwanese media on our blog.
Examples
1. Examples - Hear some example sentences.
“Last year, no one had heard of Jeremy Lin. Now Linsanity is everywhere!”
“I am toally Linsane. I watch every game Jeremy Lin plays!”
“It’s complete Linsanity in my city. I see Jeremy Lin jerseys everywhere.”