Settling a long-standing and rather heated debate here at the offices of The A.V. Club, we finally know the correct pronunciation for the word GIF: However Paul Ryan doesn’t say it. Congratulations team “Jif, like the peanut butter,” your linguistic quirks have been vindicated through the power of partisan politics and spite:
That’s video of the current Speaker of the House engaged in an interview with Axois Media co-founder Mike Allen, following up a softball question about what he misses about just being a regular asshole and not a powerful one with a Nerf ball question about GIFs. Gizmodo transcribed their conversation, in which the adorable 47-year-old scamp excitedly describes what he does when he’s not thinking of ways to deprive poor Americans of health care:
Mike Allen: You’re known for texting your members. I understand that your texts have a new, fun addition …
Paul Ryan: Yeah! I learned this … You’re talking about GIFs, or giphies? What are these things called? GIFs? Yeah, these things are awesome! I learned about this thing three weeks ago, I didn’t know. Someone sent me one. I got one with Stifler here, doing “Yes!” It’s an Old School … He’s got a big mullet here. I send GIFs to people who really don’t expect it from me. I got one with Britney Spears doing this [a thumbs up], Captain Obvious. These things are pretty damn funny, I think. I send this to people who really wouldn’t expect it from me, and it’s fun to watch their reactions.
God help us when he learns about bitmoji.
[Note: Gizmodo, like The A.V. Club, is owned by Univision Communications.]