Yuppie: Difference between revisions

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'''Yuppie''' is a [[neologism]] for consumers identified in the advertising category "Young Urban Professional" or "Young Upwardly Mobile Professional." The acronym [[pejorative]]ly describes said socio-economic [[demographic]] group as selfish, materialistic, and superficial people with excessive amounts of disposable income.

The word's origins are unclear. [[Joseph Epstein (writer)|Joseph Epstein]] is sometimes credited for coining the phrase in 1982,<ref>{{cite book | title = Movers And Shakers: A Chronology of Words That Shaped Our Age | year = 2006 | publisher = Oxford University Press | last = Ayto | first = John | isbn = 0-198-614-527 | pages = p. 128}}</ref>, though the word gained national currency in the [[United States]] when syndicated newspaper columnist [[Bob Greene]] used it in a story about [[Jerry Rubin]].<ref>{{cite book | title = Global Finance and Urban Living: A Study of Metropolitan Change | first = Leslie | last = Budd | coauthors = Whimster, Sam | year = 1992 | publisher = Routledge | isbn = 0-415-070-97X | pages = p. 316 | quote = This usage achieved national prominence when a syndicated columnist, Bob Greene, ran a story (''Chicago Tribune'', 23 March 1983) about Jerry Rubin, the one-time leader of the Yippies<nowiki>[...]</nowiki>}}</ref>

Syndicated newspaper columnist [[Bob Greene]] is credited with having plagiarized the acronym "Yuppie" from Alice Kahn, who wrote about them in the ''[[East Bay Express]]'' in 1982. The first known citation of "Yuppie" is the [[13 May]] [[1981]] Chicago Tribune newspaper article "Chicago: City on the brink", by R. C. Longworth.{{Failed verification}}<ref>[http://listserv.linguistlist.org/cgi-bin/wa?A2=ind0507c&L=ads-l&P=6888]</ref>

"Yuppie" entered wide use during the [[Gary Hart]] presidential campaign of 1984 as a neutral descriptor of the political demographic group of socially liberal, but fiscally conservative voters favoring his candidacy. When ''[[Newsweek]]'' magazine declared 1984 ''The year of the yuppie'' the word lost its political connotations and gained the negative and socio-economic connotations it enjoys today.