English

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Etymology

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From slan and the novel Slan (1940) by A. E. Van Vogt. By analogy to the superior but persecuted mutants of Van Vogt's novel.

Phrase

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fans are slans

  1. (dated, fandom slang) Science fiction fans are more intelligent and more creative than other people.
    • 1950 March, F. Towner Laney, “Fanzine Scope”, in Spacewarp[1], number 36, pages 10–17:
      Under the title "Stfans -- Race of the Future", Joquel dissects the "fans are slans" theme which back in 1941 was being considered with a surprising amount of seriousness, and comes up with the obvious conclusion of phooey.
    • 1959, Richard "Dick" Harris Eney, Fancyclopedia II[2]:
      FANS ARE SLANS Literally understood, "fans are superman mutants" -- or, at least, "fans are smarter than most people" -- but actual semantic content is according to the mood and attitude of the user.
    • 2000 April 27, Pete McCutchen, “Re: Mr. Ordover, I disagree”, in rec.arts.sf.written[3] (Usenet), message-ID <4uvggsgbbt3gsqrobf2o1prj0offlhpuch@4ax.com>:
      "Fans are slans" is a way of saying that we're smarter than other people. (Which is true, actually, but rather impolite to bring up in mixed company.)
    • 2003 November 8, Danny Low, “Re: Mundanes' secret weapon?”, in rec.arts.sf.fandom[4] (Usenet), message-ID <okbrqvghahmsaoc59jmjotlk60807s92i6@4ax.com>:
      Fanish culture is very tribal in nature and overly concerned with superiority as fans are slans.