Buffy Speak - Television Tropes & Idioms

Any of a variety of speech patterns used to indicate that a character, while intelligent, is perhaps too young, too inexperienced and/or insufficiently educated (or simply talks too fast) to properly express the complex ideas and thoughts that they clearly possess. One of the most obvious elements is a lack of relevant vocabulary, leading to both unconventional adjectival-noun structures like "shooty-gun thing", and incomplete, foundering similes that turn back on themselves in frustration: "That idea went over like... like... like a thing that doesn't go over very well." Metaphorgotten is frequently a side effect. Often includes Oh God, With The Verbing! or similar.

Buffy Speak frequently combines these with idiosyncratic syntax and slang-like constructions that result in a distinct "flavor" to the character's speech. One of the more notable oddities is the use of definite articles with object nouns that do not normally take them (for example, "He does not inspire the trust"). In its most common manifestations it is a more intellectual descendant of Valley Speak, and bears some resemblance to the Southern Californese spoken by characters in the movie Clueless.

When properly handled, Buffy Speak can give the sense of a teenaged group's special jargon or argot without necessarily imitating anything actually found in the real world. Improperly handled, it can sound ludicrously fake and may damage Willing Suspension Of Disbelief.

Named for the distinctive speech patterns of the teenage characters in Buffy The Vampire Slayer — particularly its title character — who while sounding nothing like any teenager this editor has ever met or been, still somehow managed to sound like real teenagers. Buffy producer David Fury once noted that the characters "sound like Joss talks."

Contrast with Totally Radical. Compare I Pulled A Weird Al. See also Shaped Like Itself.