"FAIL"

I was all set to write a blog post about the expression 'fail' (as in 'epic fail') creeping into the mainstream, when I found out that Christopher Beam already did a much better job of it than I would have on Slate back in October.  It's a great read and you should check it out.

It's kind of like your Dad trying to work "rad" into a conversation though when conservative bloggers and summer tv previews co-opt an expression originating amongst forum-trolling gamers.

Like everything supposedly cool that enters into the mainstream, there's a certain element of "it was cool until you started doing it" here.  Shit, and in fact I guess I'm pretty uncool for coming late to the party in highlighting this little bit of lexicon.  But I swear, I knew about it back in '04.

Now my question is, is there a term for something being no longer cool because it has hit the mainstream?  I guess you could interpret that as 'Jumping the Shark' in a more universal sense.  But I'd rather there be a german word like shadenfreude that means that exact thing.  I'll have to look around for that one.