Awkward Turtle

Created by Zachary Arthur, last modified by Unknown User (jmb53) on Nov 20, 2012

NN a hand symbol made during awkward situations; "Well this is awkward (makes awkward turtle)" 86% of people surveyed knew this term.KChapman, 2010:  This term is definitely still in use at Geneseo.  The urban dictionary notes that the hand symbol is actually the American Sign Language sign for "platypus." J.Boselli, 2012: 93% of those surveyed felt the term had become obsolete, save for ironic usages. 

This entry was originally created by Z. Arthur, 2008

Comments:

100% of those surveyed were familiar with and could identify the term in its current sense. Surprisingly, 93% felt it was Geneseo-specific. 2012

Posted by jmb53 at Nov 20, 2012 15:37

I would agree with those who felt it was Geneseo specific. I have never heard it outside of Geneseo. And anytime I have used this in another place the people I have been with did not know what I was referring to. 

Posted by cmf9 at Dec 04, 2012 10:19

John, could you clarify your two entries above? They appear to contradict each other.

Posted by drake at Dec 16, 2012 21:18

Dr. Drake, I apologize for the mix-up. 100% of Geneseo students could identify the term, while 93% of them felt it was a) Geneseo-specific and b) outside of the rare ironic context, the term was obsolete. "Awkward Turtle" has become more of a cultural reference than a term used in daily conversation.

Posted by jmb53 at Dec 16, 2012 21:55

57.2% of those surveyed knew this term, while 14.3% knew it but were not completely sure what it meant, and 28.5% did not know it at all. These results indicate that the word is still in use at Geneseo, but maybe not as much as it once was (Nicchi, A-F, 2019). 

Posted by hjn1 at Apr 11, 2019 10:23

32% knew this term, 6% knew but could not define, 62% did not know this term. (Rumore, A-F, 2022)

Posted by mr46 at May 07, 2022 19:51

Document generated by Confluence on May 22, 2023 12:37

Created by Madison Young (mly5) on May 2, 2025.

Current students of the Geneseo institution. Male and female students who are currently enrolled.

Comments:

4.3% of students have heard of this word and could define this word, 4.2% of students have heard this word but could not define it, and 91.3% of students have not heard of this word and could not define it, thus, it is no longer relevant.

Posted by mly 5 on May 2, 2025, 1:19 pm.