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Slang of the Week: half-baked (adjective)
Not fully thought out

Example:
Janine’s ideas on love, like her pastries, were half-baked.

Celebrity quote:
"I think the approach to recording Kid A and Amnesiac was a bit torturous. We didn't really commit ourselves to finishing and it took quite a bit of time, so you have these half-finished and half-baked ideas hanging around for quite some time."
-Drummer Phil Selway, from Radiohead

This week’s column comes to you from a late night trip to the convenience store, when I walked past the Ben & Jerry’s display and noticed pints of Half Baked ice cream. Like many Ben & Jerry’s flavors, it's a slang play on words, so called because it contains unbaked cookie dough.

Chubby Hubby, another longtime B&J favorite, means “slightly overweight husband” while Everything But The… refers to the saying that something contains everything but the kitchen sink – in this case, nuts, peanut butter cups and chocolate chips as well as two flavors of ice cream.

More recent additions include Karamel Sutra, an apparently orgasmic experience, and the equally sexy Makin’ Whoopie Pie. You’re probably familiar with the expression makin' whoopee (having sex), as the famous Gus Kahn standard has appeared in countless movies, including Michele Pfeiffer's version in The Fabulous Baker Boys. However, if you’re not from New England, you might not have heard of the whoopee pie. This dessert consists of two slabs of chocolate cake with whipped cream in the middle.

But back to the original expression, Half Baked is also the name of a 1998 movie with a somewhat different play on words. Baked means high on marijuana, and the three main characters in the movie spend most of their time in that state. The title refers to their questionable plans to get a friend out of jail after he kills a horse by feeding it junk food.

What’s new at Slang City?
“Don't get 818 on me.” A reader asks about this mysterious comment from the movie Go. What’s 818? Find out in the latest Ask AC.