Slobbovia
English edit
Alternative forms edit
Etymology edit
From slob + -ov (“forming Slavic possessives”) + -ia (“forming placenames”). First used as Lower Slobbovia in the Li'l Abner comic strip in 1946, its capital named "Raswashingsputin, D.C.", and its culture largely bagel-based, with vague reference to poor but moderately developed countries similar to Eastern Europe. Later maps of Lower Slobbovia placed it in Manchuria and eastern Siberia.
Proper noun edit
Slobbovia
- (chiefly US) Used as a placeholder country name in textbook problems, classroom examples, etc.
- Coordinate term: Freedonia
- 1972, Arnold Birenbaum, Social Problems: Private Troubles and Public Issues, page 50:
- Suppose that there are 80 births in Lower Slobbovia during 1967, and that the population of Lower Slobbovia was 2,000 on July 1, 1967.
- 1991 December 22, Josef Joffe, “America's in the Balcony as Europe Takes Center Stage”, in The New York Times[1], →ISSN:
- (At this point, only readers who know the difference between Slovakia, Slavonia and Slovenia might want to proceed; Slobbovia doesn't count.)
- 2013 [1989], Steven Landsburg, Price Theory and Applications, 9th edition, Cengage Learning, →ISBN, page 267:
- The demand and supply curves for shoes are the same in Upper Slobbovia as in Lower Slobbovia. In Upper Slobbovia, shoes are subject to a price ceiling of $2 per pair (which is below equilibrium), and 1,000 pairs are sold per month.
- (roleplaying games) A play-by-mail roleplaying game notionally based on Diplomacy.