fridging

fridge

1. informal A shortening of "refrigerator." The "d" is included in the spelling to approximate the pronunciation of this part of the word. How many times have I told you kids not to leave the fridge open? When you have three teenage sons, it feels like the fridge is always empty! Hey, can you put the milk back in the fridge for me? Thanks.

2. slang In works of fiction, to kill off a female character or have her become severely injured or incapacitated solely for the purpose of motivating a male character. The term, coined by writer Gail Simone, refers to a Green Lantern comic in which Green Lantern's girlfriend is murdered and left in a refrigerator. It's so obvious that they fridged her so her hero boyfriend would fight the bad guy! Of course they fridged the story's best female character to advance the plot involving her husband. Wait, the protagonist's girlfriend is suddenly in a coma? OK, so they're fridging her to raise the stakes for him—annoying.

fridging

slang In works of fiction, the practice of killing off a female character or having her become severely injured or incapacitated solely for the purpose of motivating a male character. The term, coined by writer Gail Simone, refers to a Green Lantern comic in which Green Lantern's girlfriend is murdered and left in a refrigerator. It's totally fridging—they only killed her off so her hero boyfriend would fight the bad guy! Hmm, the story's best female character suddenly dies to advance the plot involving her husband? Like we don't all recognize fridging when we see it! The protagonist's girlfriend is suddenly in a coma to raise the stakes for him? Sounds like fridging at its finest.