Inspired by B. Pranger’s spirited use of the word nice, a group of us in my college dorm began using an over-the-top pronunciation of the word to convey that whatever was being spoken about was deemed agreeable. Did you hear we won the game by 15? Niiice!
We turned a simple word into more of a phrase, and I was a chief instigator. It came to be known as “verbal italicizing.” We also decided that when the word was written, nice should have three i’s and an exclamation point to reflect the energy behind the usage: Niiice!
This also led to identifying the opposite of Niiice! for situations that required a negative description. That word was deemed Downtrodden! Still “verbally italicized,” but no alteration on the spelling. We are almost out of beer. Downtrodden!
Hand gestures were soon adopted for both Niiice! and Downtrodden! – although I am unsure if these gestures mapped to official sign language.
Sidebar: Urban Dictionary claims a similar usage of Niiice. Our use of said word occurred in 1994-1995 and predates Urban Dictionary, if not most of the web.
My further contribution to the Niiice! phenomenon manifested itself in two ways. The first and most regarded way was the creation of The Niiice! Patrol.
The Niiice! Patrol consisted of riding my bike in the hallway of our dorm’s floor after heavy drinking. My bike was labeled with a cardboard The Niiice! Patrol sign (this sign still exists, currently in storage). I wore a The Niiice Patrol!-labeled helmet, too. Safety first.
Our dorm was an old Ramada Inn, so the hallway was a decent length and the carpeting was thin and worn, meant for high traffic. This allowed me to pick up speed while cycling down the hallway and upon severely jamming on the breaks I could create some serious skid marks. The skids slowly disappeared over time.
It was a spectacle that lasted only a few minutes each time, but was typically enjoyed by those that had imbibed that particular evening.
Now the second manifestation of Niiice! occured at our college’s Winter Break between 1994 and 1995 (or was it 1993 and 1994). I had my eye on a particular girl (now my wife), but she already had a boyfriend that lived down the hall from me. I wasn’t actively pursuing her (yet), but my calculating thought was that if she happened to call me to hang out over break that would be a step in the right direction. Piggybacking on the Niiice! trend, I created some homemade “business” cards with my phone number and handed them out to friends on the floor before the dorm shut down (this was before cell phone proliferation, apps, etc.). There were lots of people I had built strong friendships with that would possibly call me to catch a movie or whatever, but that was secondary to the mission. Of course I made sure the girl received a card.
I can’t tell you why Niiice! was spelled in the traditional fashion here. Maybe it pre-dated our new spelling. Phone number (at my parents’ house) has been removed.
My dad picked me to go home for break and my spider sense was tingling as we neared our neighborhood. We pulled into the driveway and I wasn’t even out of the car yet when my mom called out from the house that someone was on the phone for me.
It was the girl. Niiice!
My mind raced with possibilities as I struggled to actually listen to the words she was saying. Slowly the purpose of her call was made clear to me: she had misplaced her student I.D. and was wondering if I had seen it. Downtrodden!
Um, no, I didn’t see it. The call was short with awkward pauses and forced exchanges of pleasantries. It was then that my mind started to catch up with everything. I began to sense, or maybe I just wanted to sense, that this was not the true reason for her call. I said nothing that would help clarify the situation. We hung up. I never heard from her again over Winter Break, and I did not pursue her because of the boyfriend.
But a New Year’s Resolution was subconsciously rolling around in the back of my head. The rest is history.