serendipitous lowbrow deconstructions

[Matthew Ryan]

I've always seen it used (with a healthy amount of irony) in this context
(from Wikipedia):
 The verb *pwn* (past tense: *pwned*, *pwnd*, *pwn'd*, *pwnt*) as used by
the Internet <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Internet>
gaming<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Video_game>
subculture <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Subculture>, means to beat or
dominate an opponent (*pwned* can mean "*to be to be made a fool of*").
While it probably originated as a typographical
error<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Typographical_error>of the word
*own*, it is now used intentionally by many members of the subculture. The
term has become so ubiquitous in Internet circles that it is often used
outside of gaming contexts- for example, "He just got pwned in that
debate<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Debate>"
or "The bears <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bear> pwned that
hunter<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hunter>
."

 On 10/8/05, Rcfchess at aol.com <Rcfchess at aol.com> wrote:
>
>  In a message dated 10/08/2005 10:48:57 A.M. Eastern Standard Time,
> kelber at mindspring.com writes:
>
> My kids tell me that the hot new phrase used to indicate that something is
> desirable ("cool" to an oldster like me) is "it pwns" -- variously
> pronounced "pwins," "pawns," or "p-owns." They think it derives from an
> on-line typo ("pwns" instead of "owns") that caught on like wildfire,
> virtually overnight.. Somewhat akin to how LOL, IMHO, etc. entered into
> common usage.
>
>
>  Kind of scary that a stupid typo can become a cultural phenomenon,
> especially overnight...but I guess there's no review board on these
> things...
>
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