Via wryandstanley comes this useful tidbit:
A few weeks ago, I botched some minor thing at work. No big deal, and I was chided mildly via e-mail. I said the basic “thanks for the heads up” sort of thing, adding “must’ve been a brain fart”, only to wince at the expression “brain fart”.
Seemed a bit crude for this situation, yet I wanted something light-hearted and silly to note that I was indeed taking the suggestion in-stride. (Yes, sadly, sometimes in life, this sort of gesture is necessary.)
Hence was born: “brain burp”!
I’ve been using it ever since, and I invite you to use it as you see fit.
Thanks, I will. Especially because this very thing (well, not exactly, but close enough) happened to me last week. And I found myself totally at a loss for how to describe the origin of my screw-up. See, that’s just what I mean: when “screw-up” is too crass by half, “brain burp” may be just the ticket.
The Edge of the American West 
41 comments
May 30, 2008 at 6:00 am
jhm
I like “momentary lapse of reason.”
May 30, 2008 at 6:10 am
The Modesto Kid
jhm’s suggestion loses points for lack of profanity.
May 30, 2008 at 6:16 am
Jason B
How about “I suffered from a momentary cranial-rectal interface.”
May 30, 2008 at 6:49 am
eric
I’m curious to know the source of “helpeful”.
May 30, 2008 at 8:01 am
Duncan Carter
brain fade
May 30, 2008 at 8:46 am
ari
Helpeful is my own creation, thanks. But I have fixed it.
May 30, 2008 at 2:21 pm
Galvinji
And I thought “helpeful” was borrowing Chaucer’s language — I believe one of the more scatological Canterbury Tales hinges on flatulence as a plot point and would fit here.
May 30, 2008 at 2:26 pm
lw
I say thinko, like typo. Looks goofy when written, though.
May 30, 2008 at 2:51 pm
ari
Indeed, I was merely nodding in Chaucer’s direction. Duh.
May 30, 2008 at 4:27 pm
ben wolfson
“screw-up” is crass?
May 30, 2008 at 4:33 pm
Vance Maverick
I remember discussing this when Yglesias was contemplating subtitles. In my younger days I thought not. Now I hear “screw” in this phrase as a simple synonym for “fuck”, less abrasive in tone but no different in meaning.
May 30, 2008 at 4:56 pm
ben wolfson
It’s not “screw”, as in, “I screwed him/her/them”. It’s “screw” as in “I screwed up”.
The American Journal of Sociology deemed it acceptable in 1946.
I wouldn’t be surprised if “fuck up”, in the similar sense, comes from “screw up”, based on the analogy screw:fuck::screw up::fuck up, without this implying that the “screw” of “screw up” originates in the sexual screw.
May 30, 2008 at 4:59 pm
ben wolfson
But actually that conjecture is false, in fact, the oed says of “screw up” that “This use may have originated as a euphemism for to fuck up (see FUCK v. 3) after sense 13 below.” (“screw up” is defined in sense 12; sense 13 you can imagine.)
I still maintain that “screw up” is basically innocent.
Even the “fuck” of “fuck up” doesn’t mean copulate, so I don’t see the force of the claim that you hear “screw” as a synonym for “fuck” with no difference in meaning.
May 30, 2008 at 5:00 pm
ben wolfson
My comment above illustrates how stupidly so-called “smart quotes” are actually frequently implemented.
May 30, 2008 at 5:04 pm
urbino
I still maintain that “screw up” is basically innocent.
Let my “screw up” go.
May 30, 2008 at 5:15 pm
Vance Maverick
I’m with the Öd in its speculation here, and it’s because I hear “fuck” behind the euphemism that it makes me wince in sober/public contexts. My wincing, though, lacks the force of law.
May 30, 2008 at 7:07 pm
md 20/400
Brain Cloud is my favorite term.
May 30, 2008 at 7:12 pm
ari
“Brain cloud” makes me think of tumors, I’m afraid. Other than that, it’s a winner.
May 30, 2008 at 7:48 pm
andrew
Brain cloud makes me think of a tag cloud for one’s thoughts.
May 30, 2008 at 8:10 pm
md 20/400
Brain Cloud makes me think of Joe Versus the Volcano. I did have a link to the wiki entry, but wordpress ate the html.
I live in constant hope that someone will make a good light opera/musical out of that movie.
May 30, 2008 at 8:10 pm
The Modesto Kid
Brain cloud makes me think of an ominous presence in a science-fiction novel — one which will play a dire role in the history of human civilization.
May 30, 2008 at 8:13 pm
andrew
I don’t know why I was so looking forward to watching Joe Versus the Volcano – I was in junior high at the time – but I remember being so very disappointed when I finally saw it.
May 30, 2008 at 8:16 pm
ben wolfson
Brain cloud makes me think of cloudberries.
May 30, 2008 at 8:19 pm
md 20/400
JvV is such a hoot. I don’t think it was advertised that way and that had an effect on the reception. I recall it being billed as more of a romantic action comedy. A follow-on to Splash and Big. In fact I think it is a perfect Gilbert & Sullivan plot. So silly.
May 30, 2008 at 9:06 pm
The Modesto Kid
Brain cloud makes me think of cloudberries.
Ben Wolfson: objectively pro-zombie.
May 30, 2008 at 9:51 pm
urbino
Brain cloud makes me think of an ominous presence in a science-fiction novel
An “airborne toxic event?”
Count me among the JvV likers. My expectations were low, though.
May 30, 2008 at 11:06 pm
learnlotsbetty
My boss and I sat around for a few minutes the other day trying to find the polite way to say “we don’t want to blow our whole wad.”
May 30, 2008 at 11:14 pm
urbino
And?
Nice user name, btw. Makes me think of “Mustang Sally,” and some blues song I can’t quite place.
May 31, 2008 at 3:28 am
The Modesto Kid
we don’t want to blow our whole wad.
Is it possible to blow only part of one’s wad? I thought wad-blowing was an all-or-nothing proposition.
May 31, 2008 at 6:09 am
Jason B
If not blown all at once, does it not cease to be a wad? It would then be a particle–a wadling, if you will.
June 1, 2008 at 8:30 pm
ignobilitor
I’ve been using ‘brain bubble’ for many years to describe this.
June 2, 2008 at 12:24 pm
It’s about air-conditioning. « The Edge of the American West
[…] by eric UPDATED TO SAY, EXCEPT: BECAUSE I AM IN LATE-ACADEMIC-TERM SLEEP-DEPRIVATION BURNOUT (OR WHATEVER YOU WANT TO CALL IT), THIS IS FOR MAY 2, 1901. YOU MAY OR MAY NOT […]
June 5, 2008 at 4:29 pm
Stanley
Whoa, ari reads my blog? I am flattered.
June 5, 2008 at 4:41 pm
eric
Why? It’s smart and well written.
June 5, 2008 at 4:47 pm
Stanley
Aw, shucks, guys. I like your blog, too [awkwardly scuffs shoes in the dirt].
June 5, 2008 at 4:52 pm
ben wolfson
Why? It’s smart and well written.
So why be flattered if a nincompoop such as Ari reads it? When a fellow smarty—such as eric—reads it, there’s cause for feeling flattered.
June 5, 2008 at 4:58 pm
andrew
I think the flattery is increased by the fact that this blog lacks a blogroll, making each link or mention of another blog all the more significant.
June 5, 2008 at 4:59 pm
Stanley
zOMG, ben reads my comments? My head just exploded.
June 5, 2008 at 5:07 pm
ari
You say the sweetest things, Ben [awkwardly scuffs shoes in the dirt]. Also, blogrolls are so second-wave blogosphere. We’re way beyond that here.
June 5, 2008 at 5:49 pm
Vance Maverick
So if Ari reads Stanley’s blog as a guilty pleasure, Stanley should be flattered. But if Ari (or Eric) reads it because it’s smart and well-written, Stanley should be, what, ashamed?
June 5, 2008 at 5:59 pm
ben wolfson
Basically, yes. What, Stanley should be proud of being called a nerd?