Mamil

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Mamil[1] or MAMIL[2] is an acronym of "middle-aged man in lycra".[3] The term used to describe a middle aged man who rides a an expensive racing bicycle[1] for leisure, wearing tight-fitting bicycle jerseys and bicycle shorts.[2]

The neologism "mamil" has been reported as being created by British marketing research firm Mintel in 2010.[4] It gained further popularity in the United Kingdom with the success of Bradley Wiggins in the 2012 Tour de France and at the 2012 Summer Olympics[4]

Buying an expensive road bicycle has been described as a more healthy response to a midlife crisis than buying an expensive sports car.[5][6]

In Australia the popularity of cycling with middle-aged men wearing lycra has been described as associated with the Tour Down Under and the 2011 Tour de France winner Cadel Evans.[7] The current Prime Minister of Australia Tony Abbott has been described as a "mamil".[8] This rise in popularity has been echoed in the United Kingdom where Olympic, Tour de France, and UCI World Championships victories in recent years have spurred interest.[9]

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 Dominic Casciani (14 August 2010). "Rise of the Mamils (middle-aged men in lycra)". BBC News (British Broadcasting Corporation). Retrieved 14 December 2013. 
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 Wallace, Wade (2 September 2012). "Middle Aged Men In Lycra". The Sydney Morning Herald (Fairfax Media). Retrieved 14 December 2013. 
  3. ↑ "Mamil". Collins English Dictionary. HarperCollins. Retrieved 14 December 2013. 
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 Matt Seaton (11 September 2012). "The humble Mamil: why we need 'middle-aged men in Lycra'". The Guardian (Guardian Media Group). Retrieved 14 December 2013. 
  5. ↑ Jennifer Parker (16 November 2013). "In the Land of the Mamils: Where Men Are Men and Bikes Are a Semester at Yale". Bloomberg Television. Bloomberg L.P. Retrieved 5 January 2014. 
  6. ↑ "Mamil at the crack of dawn". The Brunei Times. 19 October 2013. Retrieved 8 January 2014. 
  7. ↑ Verity Edwards (21 January 2012). "A new species of mamil hits the road". The Australian (News Corp Australia). Retrieved 14 December 2013. 
  8. ↑ Huynh, Kim (16 October 2013). "Pest or indigenous species, the mamil abounds". The Sydney Morning Herald (Fairfax Media). Retrieved 14 December 2013. 
  9. ↑ http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2012/olympics/2012/writers/alexander_wolff/08/03/british-cycling-revolution/index.html

External links

Look up MAMIL in Wiktionary, the free dictionary.
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