Spinal Tap-ian

See also: spinaltapian, SpinalTapian, Spinaltapian, SpinalTap-ian, and Spinal Tapian

English

Alternative forms

• Spinal Tapian
• spinaltapian
• Spinaltapian
• SpinalTapian
• SpinalTap-ian

Etymology

From the fictitious rock band Spinal Tap, as depicted in the mockumentary film This is Spinal Tap (1984).

Adjective

Spinal Tap-ian

1. (informal, usually mildly humorous) Of, pertaining to, or resembling the fictitious rock band Spinal Tap, especially with respect to its excessive behavior, its very high turnover of members, or its use of sound amplifiers with a maximum setting of 11 (instead of the usual 10).
   • 2007 Oct. 2, ogblay, "I Am Prepared to Give Up at Any Time," blogspot.ca (retrieved 27 Oct 2015):

     Without fail, each movie registered a 9 or 10. Only the movie Sky High deviated from this range, coming in at a SpinalTapian 11.

   • 2013 August 29, Victor Flores, “Oregon’s Toughest Task: Replacing Alonso and Clay”, in FishDuck.com: Oregon Football Analysis, retrieved 27 October 2015:

     The decision to name Malone (redshirt junior) and Hardrick (true junior) starting linebackers was one of the biggest stories from Monday’s release. . . . The fact that they won hotly-contested starting jobs after battling injuries speaks Spinal Tap-ian volumes.

   • 2013 December 10, Peter Simpson, “Yes to play classic albums live in Ottawa, other Cdn cities”, in Ottawa Citizen, Canada, retrieved 27 October 2015:

     Yes’s list of former members since its founding in 1968 is of Spinal Tap-ian proportions.

   • 2014 June 13, Michael Bialas, “Leonard Podolak and Jessee Havey Reunite to Rebuild a Duhks Dynasty”, in Huffington Post, retrieved 27 October 2015:

     Podolak felt fortunate to have siblings Sarah and Christian Dugas join a group that ultimately, he said, "led a very Spinal Tapian kind of existence" involving "record company and management and internal band craziness."

   • 2014 July 9, Gregory Han, “3D Printing Is Comfortably Correcting How We Heal”, in design-milk.com, retrieved 27 October 2015:

     On a scale from 1-10, the hype about the potential of 3D printing has reached a fevered mark deserving a Spinal Tap-ian “11”.

   • 2015 July 29, Jess Hahne, “Look out, it's Sharkmuffin!”, in Creative Loafing Charlotte, US, retrieved 27 October 2015:

     Brooklyn garage-rockers Sharkmuffin are hitting the road with their 14th drummer. It's Spinal Tap-ian.

   • 2015 October 26, Colby Cosh, “Trudeau’s subway ride after the election was both a clever tactic and a good thing to do”, in National Post, Canada, retrieved 27 October 2015:

     The fact remains that Trudeau, with a few minutes of presence in a space open to the public, dialled up the contrast between himself and the outgoing PM to a Spinaltapian eleven.

See also

• up to eleven

Further reading

• "These go to eleven" (YouTube excerpt from This is Spinal Tap) Band member Nigel proudly displays amplifiers that can be dialled "one louder".