Troll (disambiguation)

Template:Notoc Troll can have several different meanings:

• A Troll is a fictitious, mythological creature.
  • A troll in Norse mythology.
  • A troll in J.R.R. Tolkien's fictional universe of Middle-earth
  • A troll on Terry Pratchett's fictional flat world the Discworld
  • A troll in J K Rowling's fictional universe.
  • A troll in the Dungeons & Dragons fictional universe.
  • A troll in the Warcraft series of games
  • A troll in the Artemis Fowl series.
  • Various representations of trolls in American folk culture, notably as troll dolls popular in the 1990s.
• Internet trolls, Slashdot trolls and Yahoo! trolls are people who are deliberately inflammatory on the Internet in order to provoke a vehement response from other users.

  (This usage is derived from "trolling for fish" below, and not from mythological trolls, above, but the metaphors are now so frequently confused that those who troll (baiting people for angry responses, as if for fish) are far more often referred to as trolls, than trollers.)

• Antagonist / trolls are people who join groups and disrupt them with gossip, personal attacks, and misdirected seeking of sympathy for overblown or fictitious injuries. See Eran on trolls <http://esoterica.bichaunt.org/Trolls/Troll04.html> and Haugk on antagonists.<http://www.stephenministries.org/On_line_store/viewitem.cfm?ItemID=29>

  (This usage is intentionally derived from a metaphorical reference to mythical trolls; see Eran's essay.)

• Trolling for fish, the practice of fishing by drawing a baited line or lure behind a boat. Should not be confused with trawling, done with net.
• Trolltech is a computer software company from Oslo, Norway
• Trollspeed is an automobile performance company from Trollhättan, Sweden
• The Fremont Troll is a piece of public art in Seattle, Washington.
• The Troll Gas Platform, one of the largest and most complex engineering projects in history. Built by Norske Shell.
• Troll was a small Norwegian car manufacturer.
• In music
  • Three Dead Trolls in a Baggie, a Canadian band known for songs like "The Toronto Song" or "The War of 1812."
  • Troll is a Norwegian black metal band.
  • Troll was also a Swedish pop band, remembered mainly for their single 1989 hit single "Jimmy Dean".
  • Troll, a San Francisco based psychedelic band.
  • Troll metal is a subgenre of black metal, itself a subgenre of heavy metal music.
  • Troll tuning is one of several Norwegian folklore tunings that differs from modern Major and Minor tuning.
• In the SCA a troll is the person who collects the admission fee at an event. (Also the verb for collecting admission fees).
• Patent troll is a derogatory phrase describing an individual or company with a patent portfolio containing important patents, which it never intended to commercialize.

Additionally

File:Saabtrollsticker.jpg

SAAB car sticker

• In Middle English the word "troll" (derived from French troller, or 'wander') is attested from 1377 and was used to mean 'to go about, stroll'; later this term was derogatively applied to those women who followed soldiers with the purpose of prostitution and probably evolved into the word trollop ('strumpet, prostitute'); these meanings are now archaic, although stroll ('to walk about in a leisurely manner') is certainly still in everyday use.
• The word "troll" as used to refer to the mythical creature derives from Old Norse troll, 'giant, fiend, or demon'. Possibly related to Old Norse trolldomr, 'witchcraft' and Swedish trolla 'to charm, to bewitch'.
• Trollhatten is a place (Trollhättan) in western Sweden which boasts Trollywood, a film production facility.

Slang usage

• Trolling can mean walking. This is more or less basic slang now (from stroll), but it used to be polari.
• Residents of Michigan's Upper Peninsula frequently refer to residents of the state's Lower Peninsula as "trolls", making joking reference to the fact that all Lower Peninsula residents live "under a bridge" (i.e., to the south of the Mackinac Bridge that connects the state's two parts).
• Troll, Caltech slang for a student who studies hard. Also used as a verb to troll which means to study.
• Troll, derogatory term in gay male slang for an unattractive, usually overweight, gay man (implied: who is looking for sex with young men). Also a verb to troll meaning to cruise for sex.

Movie

• There are also two films called Troll, from 1971 and 1986: (see IMDB search)