Revertago

Apr 26, 2008

Revertago (re·verti·go) – As describe by Evan_Angel, however, coined by How I Met Your Mother’s Marshal

intransitive verb

Definition:

1. Go back to previous state: to return to a former state, often one perceived as less desirable or inferior while in the presence of people from one’s past.

2. Return in discussion: to return to an earlier topic in the course of a discussion while if the presence of people from one’s past. Discussed topics are typically “Al Bundy” like reminiscing of the one’s glory days and remember whens.

3. Return to old habits: to return to a former pattern of behavior, usually something less acceptable while in the presence of people from one’s past.

Interesting phenomenon here. The character of Marshal describes revertago as the phenomenon that occurs when people interact with family and friends and the parties “revert” to character they were when the people first met or became friends.

I was at house warming party last week. I knew this buddy from junior high and high school. Half the people there were people I have not seen since I graduated high school ten years ago. By then end of the night I literally felt like I needed to go out steal some cigarettes, tee-pee a house, and climb out of my moving car at high speeds. Don’t get me wrong, I reminisce just as much as the next person, but sometimes I don’t like remembering some of the stupid selfish things that I did. I was a bit worried when certain stories came out that I did not tell the wife.

Funny how I remember the stories a little differently. Maybe I'm just in denial about my past.