I just wrote an email to a friend I hadn't heard from in more than a year. I've been thinking about her lately because I realized that, of all the people I know, she'd be a likely candidate for Brokieism. I have no idea whether she's seen the movie, obviously, but she's kind of romantic and open-minded and movie-loving and has other ineffable qualities that make me think she could be a candidate.
Anyway, because it's been a while since I used her email address and wasn't sure it still worked, I signed off with "drop me a line, say if you're there."
Do you think that if she's a Brokie she'll get it? Even though I spelled "you're" correctly? If she writes back, but doesn't mention Brokeback, of course I'll ask her outright if she's seen it. But I couldn't help testing if she was attuned enough to catch this.
Does anybody else try to sneak those hints into conversation to see what happens? Do you say "tell you what" or "I swear" or "on the QT" or "putting the blocks to" -- not only because it's fun to incorporate those terms into your vocabulary, but to see if the person you're talking to reacts to them?
Does anybody look for examples of this in print? I just read something (on Slate, I think) that referred to a "one-shot deal" and I almost thought it was secret code until I realized that, if so, the writer would have just said "one-shot thing." So I dismissed that one, but I remain on the lookout. If I see even one word that has that special BBM resonance, I at least wonder. Anyone else this crazy?
