As The Cookie Crumbles: “Haboobies”

Whereas this thread is important (thanks joeeddy) in showing how some Americans are so xenophobic they have issues with foreign words being used to describe weather events most typical in the countries where these words originate, many of this thread's commenters seem to miss the point.

These bigots remind me of the people that object to calling the eastern Pacific warming trend as an "el nino" event. How hate-filled does one have to be to start thinking this way?

What if a haboob met a tsunami? Would it be a tsuboobi?

I'm a twenty-four year old Arab American. I have lived in the Middle East for more than a decade, Kuwait specifically, which gets Dust Storms quite regularly. Many of my friends and family speak Arabic. And do you know where I first heard the word haboob? From Rachel Maddow as part of the new best thing in the world after this event in Phoenix, Arizona. But for someone to allege that using an Arabic word is insulting to soldiers returning from the Arab speaking nations they were occupying, well thats just ridiculous. As this posted article points out at the link, many of the most commonly used words are Arabic. For those that didn't bother to check the link, this is the demonstration:

I’m gonna write a few sentences and and I’m gonna challenge you, dear readers, to identify the words in our common usage which derive from Arabic. Choose yer Fighting Words!

1) Admiral Kirk ordered his aid to check the cork on the coffee.

2) A gerbil, a giraffe and a gazelle walk into a bar for a jar of the local elixir, but they garbled the order and got jasmine marzipan.

3) The Mahdi strewed all the mattresses in his harem with orange and lilac blooms.

4) The Sheik served sugary syrup along with the sherbert after his game of racquetball.

5) In the dentist’s office, I read a magazine about macrame.

6) They met over juleps; it was kismet.

7) The Arab performed alchemy in the alcove with alcohol and amber.

Instead of chocolate, the Copt kept carob candy in his cassock.

9) Bill O’Reilly was tripped up by his loofa and his yen for falafel.

10) When the 7-Up truck exploded, it was like a lemon-lime monsoon.

11) The chef prepared an unusual tabouleh with spinach and a hint of tarragon.

12) The mullah wore a sash of saffron muslin and satin mohair.

13) The Ayatollah’s arsenal, hidden behind the barbican, included a 50 caliber rifle.

14) The crimson wine swirled in the carafe as the felucca sailed onward over the azure sea on the haj.

15) The fakir, clad in tattered calico, stacked the alfalfa in the adobe shed.

Answers on the jump…

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Answers underlined (star-paranthesis since we can't underline on Current):

1) **Admiral** Kirk ordered his aid to **check** the cork on the **coffee**.

2) A **gerbil**, a **giraffe** and a **gazelle** walk into a bar for a **jar** of the local **elixir**, but they **garbled** the order and got **jasmine marzipan**.

3) The **Mahdi** strewed all the **mattresses** in his **harem** with **orange** and **lilac** blooms.

4) The **Sheik** served *sugary syrup* along with the **sherbert** after his game of **racquet** ball.

5) In the dentist’s office, I read a **magazine** about **macrame**.

6) They met over **juleps**; it was **kismet**.

7) The **Arab** performed **alchemy** in the **alcove** with **alcohol** and **amber**.

8) Instead of chocolate, the **Copt** kept **carob candy** in his **cassock**.

9) Bill O’Reilly was tripped up by his **loofah* and his yen for **falafel**.

10) When the 7-Up truck exploded outside the **Ramada** Inn, it was like a **lemon-lime monsoon**.

11) The chef prepared an unusual **tabouleh** with **spinach** and a hint of **tarragon**.

12) The **mullah** wore a *sash* of **saffron muslin** and **satin mohair**.

13) The **Ayatollah’s arsenal**, hidden behind the **barbican**, included a 50 *caliber* rifle.

14) The **crimson** wine swirled in the **carafe** as the **felucca** bobbed like a **cork** over the **azure** sea on the fabled **haj**.

15) A **fakir**, clad in tattered **cotton calico**, stacked the **alfalfa** in the adobe **shed**.
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I actually learned from this list. There are some words that I think these "patriots" had better consider before banning the use of Arabic: such as alcohol, amber, magazine, orange, mattress, jar, coffee and, the best one of all, ADMIRAL!!! Yeeeeeah...

Ha!!! Boobies!!!

I see nothing wrong with the use of the term Haboob. Think of this, If you have one haboob rolling one way and another haboob rolling the other then you can say that you are "Abreast" of what the sitituation is. =P