‘Jersey Shore’: Pauly DelVecchio Says Calling Women ‘Grenades’ Wouldn’t ‘Fly Anymore’
Jersey Shore invented a new vocabulary for themselves and fans alike. The term “grenade” was often used to describe someone who the men viewed as a threat to a potential hookup. Find out why Pauly DelVecchio thinks the term “grenade” isn’t cool to use anymore.
‘Grenade’ had a totally different meaning to the ‘Jersey Shore’ cast
The term “grenade” meant something entirely different to the roommates on Jersey Shore. For DelVecchio, a “grenade” was the “unattractive friend” in a group of girls. “There’s always one friend that’s great and there’s always that other, unattractive friend, so we call her the ‘grenade,'” DelVecchio explained to Vulture. “The reason we call her a grenade is because she always blows up at the end of the night. They’re always like, ‘I don’t have anybody to meet, so I wanna go home.'”
Like “GTL” and “Come at me, bro,” “Grenade” became a popular term for the cast of Jersey Shore and the general public. Unfortunately, it evolved into a societal descriptor with a negative connotation. As Vinny Guadagnino explained, the term’s meaning evolved over time. “A ‘grenade’ evolved to mean a fat girl, which was never the case,” he said, adding: “The original definition of it was when you’re hanging out with a girl, she has a friend, and you need your friend to entertain the other friend who he might not be attracted to, but he’s just being a good wingman. It could be any-looking person — it’s just someone your friend has to sacrifice himself for.”
Pauly D says the term ‘grenade’ wouldn’t fly today
In the 2018 interview with Vulture, DelVecchio admitted using “grenade” to describe a person probably wouldn’t be OK anymore. “I don’t know how much it could fly,” he said. “You better be careful nowadays on television, [because] people are more sensitive.” As it turns out, the people who were guests of the Jersey Shore cast were always sensitive.
Being featured on ‘Jersey Shore’ was painful for some
During the early days of Jersey Shore, friends, family, and outsiders the roommates invited to the house were featured in episodes. As long as a release form was signed, anyone’s likeness was free to use — regardless of their state. For most, that was as drunk as drunk can be.
For others, it was a sober trip to the Shore Store for a birthday gift. For some, their Jersey Shore experience is fun to relive. But for others, the experience is painful to relive. Someone featured on Jersey Shore shared a tweet on Reddit explaining their appearance on the show. More importantly, they shared how they felt watching their episode. “How does it feel to be a rando on Jersey Shore?” the tweet read. “You sign a release form just to watch your episode and find out how ugly [the cast] think[s] you are.” It’s unclear who this person was in relation to Jersey Shore, but what is clear is the pain they felt hearing what the roommates had to say.
Fortunately, because DelVecchio thinks using the term “grenade” is no longer cool, many fans are likely to follow in his footsteps.
