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May 12, 2005

Slang of the Week: groupie (noun)
a (usually female) fan who follows a celebrity, such as a sports figure or musician, especially for sex

Example:
John was sick of playing drums for the band, but he didn’t quit because he knew he’d miss the groupies.

Celebrity quote:
“A groupie was more than just some girl who wanted to get laid* by any member of the band. Sure, it may have been like that in the late '70s and the '80s, but when we were doing it, it was more about being a part of the scene. It was about being embraced by the group, like we were embraced by all of Led Zeppelin, who, I must say, adored me.”
- Super groupie Pamela Des Barres

Probably the most famous groupie in recent years was Penny Lane (played by Kate Hudson) in the 2000 movie Almost Famous. But while the character was named for a Beatles song, she was modeled in part on Des Barres, one of the most notorious groupies of the 1960s.

In her 1987 autobiography, I’m with the Band: Confessions of a Groupie, she tells the story of her many successful conquests, including Mick Jagger, Jimmy Page and actor Don Johnson, among many, many, many others.

And while Penny Lane’s fictional groupie club was called the Band Aids, Des Barres was a member of an all-groupie rock band sponsored by experimental musician Frank Zappa. The reportedly untalented GTOs (which stood for Girls Together Outrageously, Occasionally, Only, Openly or Overtly, depending on the day) also had their own private slang, which included words like moche (disgusting,) chickwebli (all of us,) and bozo-ing (daydreaming.)

What’s new at Slang City?
“Hey, let's deflower the kid.” Translated quotes from Almost Famous.

*Find the definition for get laid here (warning: adult subject matter)