quadrophenia

[ironside]

what does this word mean ?

[sire]

Even Websters does not have a definition for this word. The items which keep coming up are:- A double album by the Who & a film of the same name. Is this of any use?

[andy-hughes]

It's a phrase invented by Pete Townsend for his rock opera of the same name. The hero, Jimmy , felt so confused that he felt he wasn't just schzophrenic, he was double that, quadrouple schizophrenic - 'quadrophenic'.

[rosyrussell]

I think it could well be linked to the notion of quadraphonic sound reproduction which was introduced by Pye records in the 70s.

[ironside]

• Does it mention this in the film andy or is that just Townsends take on this ?

[GruntFuttock]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quadrophenia

[Postdog]

Andy is totally right on this one. It's not a recognised word as such, but far from being Pete Townsends take on it, he actually defined it as explained. This is an extract from Wiki on it.

"The name is a modification of the unscientific notion of schizophrenia as a multiple personality disorder to reflect the four destinct personalities of Jimmy, the opera's protagonist."

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quadrophenia

[ironside]

THANKS ALL, WHAT A CLEVER LOT YOU ARE... That was my first question here.

[brachiopod]

If I remember correctly, the album carried a little pseudo-dictionary-style entry along the lines of;

'quadraphenia - (qwa-dr�-phee-nia) - n. .....'

with a definition, phonetic spelling symbols and all (I forget the exact wording). I remember thinking when I bought the album (at the time of the film's release, c. 1978) that it was a real word because of this official-looking definition on the sleeve notes, and that I just had a crap dictionary!!