David Harbour’s Jim Hopper made a big impression on viewers after the Netflix series Stranger Things debuted, but season two kicked it up a notch. Harbour’s Hopper dance was admired around the world and then some, and cemented him the coveted “dad bod” title. Now Merriam-Webster is making sure we know how to use it.
Merriam-Webster’s Twitter account has been deftly chiming in to comment on pop culture and world politics for a while now, but this new entry is extra special.
In ‘dad bod,’ the word ‘dad’ is technically still a noun. ‘Daddest bod,’ however, would make it an adjective. https://t.co/m7CyzRLgnH pic.twitter.com/2LnmL1SBnT
— Merriam-Webster (@MerriamWebster) December 8, 2017
To which Harbour, who has also been using his Twitter account to awesomely react to fans, replied:
Holy hell @MerriamWebster .
The old joke. When you look up ______ in the dictionary you see his face.
Now I am living in this joke. https://t.co/Bi5mXHLyBi
— David Harbour (@DavidKHarbour) December 8, 2017
As with a lot of zeitgeist items, we’re going to have to ignore the dictionary’s call on this one. Thanks but no thanks, Merriam-Webster, fandom’s preferred use of “dad bod” is here to stay.