Confabulation

(For other confabulations, see Confabulation (Disambiguation))

Also shortened to confab, an early (and obsolete) term for a small convention. In the early days of convention, fans developed a vocabulary with many fine distinctions by size and function. None of this survived long. Today a con is a con is a con.

From Fancyclopedia 1, ca. 1944

A fan gathering larger than a fan visit (that is, it should involve fans from more than one locality besides that in which it occurs), but not being built up or attended or conducted like a conference. The name is a new one, and almost the only events so called so far have been the Washington Confabulations. The first of these was in early 1940, when Perdue, recently arrived from Wyoming, Rothman, not long from Philadelphia, and Speer, of Washington for more than a year, got together and called themselves a confabulation. The second was in the summer of 1941, when Dr and Mrs Swisher visited the Washington Worry-Warts, and Chauvenet came up from Charlottesville. This Confabulation issued the Washington Manifesto. Joe Gilbert's visit in October was also called a confabulation. Unger has referred to the Scientiforums as confabulations.

---

Fanspeak

1940—

This is a fanspeak page. Please extend it by adding information about when and by whom it was coined, whether it’s still in use, etc.