JeffDedeJeff/
- This article is based on an expression coined from the classic 286 PC game Jump Man Jeff, a freeware clone of the original Jump Man.
JeffDedeJeff,
adj. 1. Slow to learn or understand; obtuse. 2. Tending to make poor decisions or careless mistakes. 3. Marked by a lack of intelligence or care; foolish or careless: a stupid mistake. 4.Dazed, stunned, or stupefied.
Origins
JeffDedeJeff is an expression coined from the classic 286 personal computer game Jump Man Jeff, a freeware clone of the original Jump Man. In the game the user was presented with a playfield in which he was to successfully navigate without colliding with robots and other obstacles. Upon completing a level, the user was sent to a successively harder level in which the number obstacles and robots were increased. The expression JeffDedeJeff originates specifically from the Try Again screen after he or she has lost a life. When failing to make it across all obstacles or robots, an oddly animated character begins to dance and leap across the screen. Although limited in sound quality, the character is heard making a distinctly audible sound. Players were quick to identify the sound was very similar to the name Jeff as the title of the games hero. However, due to the poor performance of the 286s internal PC speaker, a visible stuttering sound could be heard between each section of speech. Thus, players of the game coined the phrase JeffDedeJeff, matching the distorted sound generated from the PC Speaker.
Due to the extreme difficulty of the game, users were frequently sent to the Try Again screen, only to be forced to complete the whole level again. It was soon realized that much of the mistakes users were making were simple, careless, and foolish in nature. Thus users frustrated with the games deceptively difficult challenge frequently used the phrase JeffDedeJeff to describe the generally stunned nature of their mistake, when playing carefully or lack thereof.
Common Usage
While its usage is considered generally obscure, the phrase is still repeated by users of who played the original game. Players commonly use the phrase to describe a stupid or careless action, but more often than not, use the term to describe their stunned or stupefied reaction to another player of whom made the careless mistake.