The way that man's mind has with words is indeed--well, I'm having trouble finding a word that hasn't been overused, such as "genius," "amazing," and so forth. Other writers wish they had Joss Whedon's instinct for words.

Maeve | September 24, 14:09 CET

Effulgent?

Nebula1400 | September 24, 14:17 CET

Here I was thinking it was first taken from Buffy. I know we've been saying Shiny since Buffy.

nixygirl | September 24, 14:36 CET

Effulgent:
http://www.askoxford.com/concise_oed/effulgent?view=uk

Ironically, it's a synonym of "shiny" :P

[wcip]Angel | September 24, 14:44 CET

Exactly! ;-)

Nebula1400 | September 24, 15:09 CET

nixygirl - I'm with you on that and I've really noticed it in rewatching Buffy since Firefly popularised the word. For me it will always be something that Buffy or Cordelia would say and when I first heard it on Firefly I saw it as a Buffy and Angel shout out.

The earliest I remember specifically is when Buffy calls the animals "shiny and new" in The Pack (and I have to get my mind out of the gutter when I make a connection with Madonna's Like a Virgin). I'm pretty confident she uses it as a single word later, including in response to being given something or told good news. Cordelia I'm sure uses it several times - I see it as her word more than anyone else's; at least pre Firefly.

Anyway, that doesn't contradict the answer in the Q+A on the board - just suggests an earlier origin.

Edited - for some horrid spelling. Also - let's not forget the 'shiny happy people'- AtS4 and elsewhere!

[ edited by purplehazel on 2005-09-24 13:28 ]

purplehazel | September 24, 15:10 CET

Shiny. I thought it came from sunshine.

Koos | September 24, 15:38 CET

That life giving thing!

purplehazel | September 24, 15:50 CET

"Shiny Happy People" is a song by REM though :)

[wcip]Angel | September 24, 16:12 CET

Yes - that's what I meant by 'elsewhere' - I figured the episode title is a mix of that and the 'happy clappy' god-botherers.

purplehazel | September 24, 16:54 CET

Actually, "shiny" is used all over Buffy and Angel. Here's an almost-complete listing:

The Pack (Buffy): Suddenly the animals look shiny and new.

The Prom (Xander): I myself am dipping into my road trip fund to procure a shiny new tux, so look for me to dazzle.

Doomed (Xander): I always got a big laugh watching Buffy kick your shiny white bum...

The Replacement (Xander): Doesn't he see the shiny thing? (lots more references to the coin)

No Place Like Home:
GILES: It appears to be paranormal in origin.
WILLOW: How can you tell?
GILES: Well, it's so shiny.

Shadow: (Dreg) Forgive me, shiny special one. I beg of you to rip out my inadequate
tongue.

I Was Made to Love You: (Dawn) Maybe he's a gigolo. Was his shirt all shiny?

Intervention: (Spike) Wait. I'm not sure I'm a satisfied customer. She looks a little shiny to me, you know, uh...

Spiral:
ORLANDO: Shiny.
GREGOR: Yes, I suppose it is.
ORLANDO: Pretty little girl, she's shiny too.
GREGOR: (to Dante) Watch him, make sure he's comfortable.
ORLANDO: So shiny. Pretty little shiny key.

Bargaining: (BUFFY) It was so ... clear ... on this spot. I remember ... how ... shiny ... and clear everything was. But ... now ... now...

Tabula Rasa: (SPIKE) Dad can drive. He's bound to have some classic midlife-crisis transport. Something red, shiny, shaped like a penis.

Older and Far Away:
BUFFY: Run off, huh? Afraid to face a true warrior?
She gets up and sees the sword.
BUFFY: Ooh, shiny.

Lessons (Halfrek) Oh, who are they kidding with this happy, shiny crap?

Bring on the Night: (Andrew) Huh. She seems like a good leader. Her hair is shiny. Does she make you stab things?

Lessons: (Spike) Well, you're not staying here. You can't buy me off with shiny beads and sweet talk.

City Of (Angel) Excuse me. 'scuse me. I’m sorry. But has anybody seen my
car? It's big, and it’s shiny.

Room With a View (Cordy) Yup, there it is. My whole life – pre here. Five trophies with some of the shiny worn off.

To Shanshu in L.A.:
Nabbit: It's my turn to be dungeon master. What do you think of my cape?
Cordy: Shiny.

Benediction:
Fred: Oh. Standard issue army surplus Geiger counter.
Gunn: We picked it up at a yard sale.
Cordy: Shiny.

Shiny Happy People:
WESLEY: What type of demons, would you say?
ANGEL: Shiny.

Awakening (Cordy) Drop the Hallmark crap. That might placate the shiny-happys over there, but I'm working with a little more investment.

Soulless (Angelus) Bet he loves to rub that shiny bald head against her soft, milky skin. Mmmm...good...

Magic Bullet (Fred) Why should we be the only shiny, happy people?

Just Rewards (Spike) I can see why heroes like you get rewarded with the shiny new glass and chrome. Why didn't I think of that?

The Cautionary Tale of Numero Cinco (Angel) We do it whether people remember us or not, in spite of the fact that there's no shiny reward at the end of the day... other than the work itself.

You're Welcome (Cordy) That's right, pal. They dazzled you with shiny objects and beautiful things

MissKittysMom | September 24, 16:58 CET

Well I've recently seen Older and Far Away in which Buffy says: " Run off, huh? Afraid to face a true warrior? Ooh, shiny!"
Of course she is talking about a shiny sword though so I'm not sure that counts :)
There are definitely a couple of examples of Cordy using it just to mean good though, off the top of my head in To Shanshu when David Nabbit asks what they think of his cape, Cordy replies "Shiny" and in Benidiction:
Fred: "Oh. Standard issue army surplus Geiger counter."
Gunn: "We picked it up at a yard sale."
Cordy: "Shiny."
Again, I don't think that's a contradiction, in fact Joss didn't actually write any of those episodes, though of course that's not to say he didn't write those lines :)

ETA: Oops posted at the same time, though a lot of those were the original use of the word as opposed to just meaning good as it does in Firefly.

[ edited by Paul_Rocks on 2005-09-24 15:08 ]

Paul_Rocks | September 24, 17:07 CET

Miss KittysMom - you've located the main statements I thought of but couldn't remember well enough

and


It's the one word respones that made the word most memorable to me - the actors could imbue it with whatever layers were most fitting.

purplehazel | September 24, 17:09 CET

Yup, a lot of those are "correct" uses of shiny, but it does show not only heavy use of the word, but some evolution towards a stand-alone use of the word as "good."

MissKittysMom | September 24, 17:10 CET

All of this has happened, and all of it will happen again.

Polter-Cow | September 24, 17:32 CET

Deadwood uses "shiny" a lot, too.

Invisible Green | September 24, 19:24 CET

We like "shiny" in this house. Oh yes we do. It's in heavy rotation.

GrrrAargh | September 24, 20:45 CET

Very interesting. Quite the coincidence that folks in the Old West did actually use it...and it makes our Joss look even smarter! :-D

UnpluggedCrazy | September 24, 21:19 CET

Also very interesting that 'The Wild Bunch' was one of Joss' favorite shows and that he had this desire to create a space western show such as 'Firefly'. I think Joss is a cowboy at heart in the way a writer will roam the range.

Now, how this connects with the term "shiny", I'm still working on that part. Give me time, I'll figure something out.

Madhatter | September 24, 21:41 CET

Talking of Joss-words, I loved it when I heard Gregory House say "My bad". Surely that's straight out of Buffy (or is it a common American phrase?)

SweetMarilyn | September 24, 21:44 CET

My Bad comes from hip hop slang.

eddy | September 24, 22:06 CET

Ah! My bad:)

[ edited by SweetMarilyn on 2005-09-24 20:36 ]

SweetMarilyn | September 24, 22:32 CET

Oh, man, I knew I could count on you guys getting all those quotes together. Buffyverse fans are amazing. I'm not calling myself amazing, I know it sounds like it...I'm calling you guys amazing though. I'm OK, but NOT amazing.

Harmalicious | September 24, 23:42 CET