Talk:downstroy

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For Translators: Most likely a phrase with the words "to throw down," "and," "to destroy." Search for Jah and downstroy in various languages on Google for confirmation. - Blade Hirato 00:37, 25 Aug 2004 (UTC)

First, this word does not appear to come from the Bible, at least not the KJB and almost certainly not any widely-known modern translation. Google produces only about 900 hits, of which about 2/3 are related to the band Soulfly, which has a song of the same name. Others appear to be related to an account or band named "Downstroy". One outlier is a page entitled "People before FLOOD vex JAH & downstroy their souls!", which doesn't match the definition originally given (their souls are the enemy?). From all appearances, this is a rasta variant of "destroy," with "down" blended in for extra texture and impact, much like it is in "downpressor". -dmh 02:06, 25 Aug 2004 (UTC)

This is not a protologism. It's already in use.

For example, on 6 August 2002, some random person using a pseudonym says, on some random public internet forum: "It is like you are not allowed to believe that Jah will come to downstroy babylon and to reign from Zion, because then you are automatically put in a certain corner."

On 24 October 2001, another random person says, on some forum New Yorker magazine happens to run "My goal is simply to undermine, in my own small way, what the United States has come to represent in the world ... to sabotage that representation ... to sabotage the legacy of colonialism...to downstroy U.S. hegemony, as we used to call it in the olden days."

On 7th December 2004, a person whose identity appears completely unidentifiable says, on a site not easily traced to any particular individual "Most of these proselytizers are well meaning but on a deeper level they seek to downstroy I and I livity."

Other quotes, which I can't be bothered to date or link, include

  • In Nigeria, Shell oil is downstroying villages.
  • He used to write some good stuff, but now it's just whining about his faith, downstroying things.
  • He utters curses, looks scary, and declaims, in no uncertain terms, that those things which do currently piss him off will soon pass away (or better yet, get 'Downstroyed'), to be supplanted by things unknowable but probably even scarier.

etc., etc. My guess is that if we turn to printed sources we'll find yet more.

While we're at it, we should probably add "downstruction", as in

  • In the Apocalypse, where John sees visions of the final downstruction of babylon, in chapter 5 the Savior is presented as "the Lion of Judah".