In the multi-part storyline that opened the fifth season of the popular TV series "Happy Days" back in 1977, the Cunningham family - along with Arthur "Fonzie" Fonzarelli and several other of the show's major characters - made a trip to Hollywood after Fonzie is invited for a movie audition.

Part of the storyline involved a rivalry that develops between Fonzie and an obnoxious character who calls himself the "California Kid." The Kid challenges Fonzie to prove his bravery by water skiing over a shark; Fonzie meets the challenge and jumps the shark, proving himself once again the better man while at the same time giving the world of popular culture a new catch phrase.

"Happy Days" ran for another six seasons after that, and the episode in which Fonzie jumped the shark was reportedly one of its most successful at the time it originally aired. Even so, many so-called experts cite that episode as the moment when "Happy Days" hit its peak and began a downward spiral in terms of quality. As a result, the phrase "jumping the shark" has come to denote the moment when any TV series starts going downhill.

In recent years the phrase has cropped up in reference to things other than TV shows. Some people even use it when discussing aspects of their personal lives; not long ago I was exchanging e-mails with an old acquaintance of mine who has been through some bad times lately - divorce, the loss of his job and the resulting financial difficulties they caused - and he referred to his decision a few years back to move out to the west coast as the moment his life "jumped the shark."

That got me to thinking about other phrases born out of our fascination with pop culture and how they might be used to describe certain life experiences.

For example:

"Pulling a Leno" - This describes someone who is a success at his job, gives it up for another, fails miserably, and launches a campaign to get his old job back with no regard whatsoever for the person who took that old job and is making the effort to be a success in his own right.

"Pulling a Sheen" - This phrase denotes the actions of an individual who is paid for more than he deserves for a job any number of people could do just as good or even better, behaves in a manner that cause him to lose his job, goes on a verbal rampage in which he lays the blame for his self-destruction at the feet of everyone but himself, then announces he wants his job back but will only take it if they give the already overpaid jerk even more money AND THEN threatens to sue when his bosses finally get tired of his shenanagins and hand him his richly deserved walking papers.

"Palinator" - A person who devotes all their time and attention to keeping themselves and their family in the media spotlight, while at the same time complaining about the media coverage they receive. Such individuals typically insist on sharing their views on topics they seem to know little if anything about, and then complain when their lack of knowledge is so obvious that it is pointed out by others.

"Releasing Your Inner Shatner" - This refers to a person who is so comfortable with their place in the universe that they not only do not mind when others make fun of them, but quite often take the opportunity to beat others to the punch by poking fun at themselves. (In many ways these individuals are the diametric opposite of the aforementioned "Palinators," and from all available evidence tend to be both happier and more stable.)

"Seinfelded" - Named in honor of the final episode of a sitcom whose popularity in the first place has always been as much a source of mystery to me as that of Charlie Sheen's erstwhile gravy train, this term refers to the feeling of disappointment people inevitablly experience when a much-ballyhooed event fails to live up to expectations.

"AfterMASHed" - This is a term very similar to "Seinfelded." In this case the term describes the feeling of letdown when an event or activity is successful to the point of being legendary and prompts organizers to mount a follow-up, which in turn falls so far short of the original's success that years later many people have forgotten that the follow-up ever took place at all.

"Trumped" - This refers not to winning a trick in a bridge game or holding some sort of valuable resource that can be used to your own advantage, but rather to the act that has occurred when someone manages to earn - rightfully or otherwise - such a high level of public notoriety that the rest of us simply cannot go anywhere without seeing that individual's name plastered all over the place. (Suitable synonyms include "Oprahfied" and "Ellenated.")

"Tramp Steamer" - Once upon a time, this phrase referred to a certain kind of commercial nautical vessel many of our ancestors rode on when they originally came to America. Nowadays, of course, it means a gathering of self-absorbed losers where one might run into such faux celebrities as Paris Hilton or the Kardashian sisters...

(Copyright 2011, by John A. Small)