Mission Impossible: Changing the term "steeping" to "aging."

[Kemosabe]

while i agree that steeping should be changed to aging, i dont think it matters much to the average vaper. i dont think most people know what steeping truly is, so when they hear it referred to aging liquid, thats all they associate it with. then again, i could be underestimating the general population's intelligence (which is kinda hard to do lol).

After going roundabout in a court, then driving through a traffic circle called a roundabout, followed by driving on a parkway to park in my driveway, I wondered why we call it driving since a person really pilots an automobile. So imagine my surprise to find a thread about steeping...

to loosely quote the late great George Carlin, "why do we call buildings, buildings? Theyre already built. We should call them builts."

 

[EddardinWinter]

Good morning, dedicated vapers.

Situation: Allowing a recently purchased or recently mixed bottle of e-liquid to rest and reach the desired flavor profile is currently referred to as "steeping." This is inaccurate. Steeping is soaking a solid substance in a liquid in order to extract compounds (usually flavors) or to soften the solid.

The proper term for what we do with new liquids is "aging," and is similar to the process used to make an undrinkable brew turn into a delicious adult beverage.

Your mission, vapers, should you choose to accept it, is to refrain from using the "S" word when referring to the process of aging your e-liquids.

As always, should you or any of fellow vapers be caught or banned, the ECF will disavow any knowledge of your actions.

Good luck, vapers!

Well, yes and no.

The definition I get for steeping is:

steeping - definition of steeping by the Free Online Dictionary, Thesaurus and Encyclopedia.

v.tr.
1. To soak in liquid in order to cleanse, soften, or extract a given property from.
2. To infuse or subject thoroughly to.
3. To make thoroughly wet; saturate.

I think NETs are still in the extraction process when many ship, so they require "steeping" to complete their extraction. I know this is true of HHV liquids.
You could argue that definition 2 applies to any liquid that is being steeped to change its flavor.

On another site:

Steeping | Define Steeping at Dictionary.com

verb (used with object)
1. to soak in water or other liquid, as to soften, cleanse, or extract some constituent: to steep tea in boiling-hot water; to steep reeds for basket weaving.
2. to wet thoroughly in or with a liquid; drench; saturate; imbue.
3. to immerse in or saturate or imbue with some pervading, absorbing, or stupefying influence or agency: an incident steeped in mystery.

Again, I think what e-liquid is doing is applicable to definition 1 and perhaps 2.

And on Webster's

http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/steep

transitive verb
1: to soak in a liquid at a temperature under the boiling point (as for softening, bleaching, or extracting an essence)
2: to cover with or plunge into a liquid (as in bathing, rinsing, or soaking)
3: to saturate with or subject thoroughly to (some strong or pervading influence) <practices steeped in tradition>

Again, I think what e-liquid is doing a good fit for definition 1. I see no solid reference, except on Wikipedia.

I get that you are thinking of steeping a tea bag by saying its a solid being extracted into a liquid, but I don't see it anywhere else defined that way. I think the term is on reasonable ground here in the world of vaping, and I don't see any reason for it to change.

 

[Hoosier]

We don't want someone to take a new 30ml bottle of liquid and try to stuff some mint and tea leaves in it.

I doubt that is the first thought, but steeping was here way before I ever found ECF, but only lately has it become confused with airing-out, or breathe, and being lumped in and called the same thing. Which, I think, makes a fairly simple to understand term more confusing.

My cousin still uses smoking terminology for vaping. She "smokes" her "ecig" and her husband "smokes" his too. They will never pickup nor use any new terminology. Much like we "drive" a car which comes from driving an animal or group of animals in a particular direction, but we pilot ships and aircraft even though driving a car is more like piloting a ship or plane than it is driving an animal. Drive as it relates to cars should be confusing to a newbie, but it has a long history of common use so it isn't.

I don't like the word "irregardless" meaning the same thing as regardless because it makes no sense to me, so I always use "regardless", but I don't try to change other's use of the word. It doesn't matter what folks like me think, it is part of the lexicon now and in our English dictionaries. I find the attempt to change word usage humorous. I laughed at a co-worker who insisted I call dirt "soil" too. (He is correct, it is soil, but dirt has already been entrenched in the lexicon.)

I'm all for making things less confusing to newbies, but I will always find this topic humorous. It pops up every few months so I stay entertained.

 

[Ansah]

While we're at it, can we get people to stop saying that they're "nauseous"? As in "36mg nic made me nauseous"?

NAUSEATED.

Thank you.

Nauseous vs. nauseated is one of my pet peeves too, though the point about language being a dynamic thing, changing along with the people who use it is well-taken. The verbification of nouns, for instance, has been going on for centuries, probably for as long as language itself.

I like "steeping", and will continue to use it, despite the fact that I fully understand that it is lexically inappropriate for the reasons stated by the OP. Why do I like it? Why will I continue to use it? Because I do, and I will.

 

[Butters78]

Remember when sick meant that you were ill or didn't feel well? Now it means that something is really nice.

 

[Coastal Cowboy]

Well, yes and no.

The definition I get for steeping is:

steeping - definition of steeping by the Free Online Dictionary, Thesaurus and Encyclopedia.



I think NETs are still in the extraction process when many ship, so they require "steeping" to complete their extraction. I know this is true of HHV liquids.
You could argue that definition 2 applies to any liquid that is being steeped to change its flavor.

On another site:

Steeping | Define Steeping at Dictionary.com



Again, I think what e-liquid is doing is applicable to definition 1 and perhaps 2.

And on Webster's

Steep - Definition and More from the Free Merriam-Webster Dictionary



Again, I think what e-liquid is doing a good fit for definition 1. I see no solid reference, except on Wikipedia.

I get that you are thinking of steeping a tea bag by saying its a solid being extracted into a liquid, but I don't see it anywhere else defined that way. I think the term is on reasonable ground here in the world of vaping, and I don't see any reason for it to change.

I reasonably disagree.

In our usage, the liquids are already mixed. The manufacturers of the flavorings have already steeped the solids in a liquid base to extract the flavor compounds. By the time we get it, it's a liquid that has already undergone a steeping process well before the flavors were mixed with the nic base. Same with DIY liquids. By the time I put one of my DIY creations in a dark place to condition, I'm aging it just like I do when I set a fresh batch of Pale Ale in the closet to carbonate, condition and age.

The point being that you are waiting for a liquid to reach its flavor profile after all of the compounds have been added to it. That's not steeping. That's aging.

FWIW, those bottles of ale are ready to drink in about the same amount of time it takes for a bottle of Boba's Bounty or Backwoods Honey Flue to reach their flavor profile--about two weeks.

 

[mare ze dotes]

It can change. I have been here a year and I have seen 'juice' being replaced by e-liquid. (YEA!) I think it is a matter of as we go on things will change as people think.

 

[EvilZoe]

I shall call my mod "Fred".

 

[djezewski]

I use the term vape(one in a while I will type smoke by mistake, actually psychologically a good thing for me) I use the term steep not age..uncap or air out. I rarely ever have juice ready to use...menthol's and Halo are all that come to mind..but then I have probably only have used a dozen vendors.

 

[HauntedMyst]

While we're at it, can we stop saying "Cedric the Entertainer"? That's a misnomer if there ever was one.

 

[zahzoo]

Alternative Nicotene Delivery Device- ANDD (pronounced ANDI)-

What do you think? Can it replace PV or Ecig?

I like the term Cloud-o-Mizer... you got a visual result with a bit of the business end added on.

 

[EvilZoe]

Personal Delicious Cloud Producing Device.

 

[Hoosier]

Personal Electronic Nicotine Inhalation System

 

[Coastal Cowboy]

Personal Electronic Nicotine Inhalation System

HauntedMyst and Butters are going to kick themselves for not thinking of this.

 

[EddardinWinter]

Butters must be ill.

I'm going to permit you the position shift you have made from "lack of solids disqualify it from being steeping" to, "the extraction is over" that you made rather smoothly. I will just say that it doesn't have to be extracted to qualify as steeping in two of the three sources I cited.

I agree the application is imprecise, but I do think it is close. And I like the term.



Tapped out

 

[mare ze dotes]

IDN, I was thinking this was a good thing to say by the OP. to make things more understandable. I would of appreciated that!

 

[Anjaffm]

Golly gee! - I am just learning the English vaping terms. Steeping / aging ... hm... In German we say "reifen" which means "to mature" and also what wines and cheeses do, to get their flavor. So, it is more like "aging".

By the way, I just love this:

Personal Electronic Nicotine Inhalation System

 

[Kemosabe]

Remember when sick meant that you were ill or didn't feel well? Now it means that something is really nice.

Ill Bill is very sick

 

[OlDogNewTricks]

Wow, that clip brought me back, sheesh, flashback. For semantics, I would mostly agree with you but since we don't get anything from the container that juices are in (thank God) I think infusing is the most accurate. Just my two cents. Good luck and have fun!

 

[OlDogNewTricks]

Yeah, I am sucking away on my.... Oh wait! Oh Dear God! No wonder I rarely leave the house ;-)