Ever met a disc golfer who can’t handle the word “frisbee,” by chance?
They’re few and far between, but take my word for it …
They’re out there.
But wouldn’t you know it, there might be a method to their madness …
And a legal one, at that.
In July of 1985, Wham-O filed paperwork to register “Frisbee” as a trademark. Ten months later, the legal deed was done, and officially, Frisbee became Wham-O’s. That’s fine and all, but back to the matter at hand: When writing, because of this, should you capitalize “frisbee” or not?
When used in general to describe disc-shaped objects that soar through the air, no. Which is great, because I pride Green Splatter on semi-competence in the grammar department, and I wasn’t about to comb through hundreds of blog posts to correct every single infraction.
On the flip-side of things, however, if referring to a saucer tosser-type toy within the greater Wham-O lineup, it needs to be capitalized. Here’s where things get interesting, though …
Let’s get beyond uppercase letters …
Have you ever wondered why “ultimate frisbee” transitioned simply to “ultimate” years back? Or why disc golf passed on “frisbee golf” for the name of the sport, even with Ed Headrick as Wham-O’s head of research and development? In BOTH instances, it was that pesky trademark.
Even in general instances, the “frisbee” term can’t be employed in marketing materials or money-making endeavors. Similarly, and without warning, rumor has it (that’s all it is) this is why Paul McBeth’s “Kong” suddenly became the “Zeus” back in 2019. The KONG Company’s KONG Extreme Flyer was (and still is) a rubber fetch frisbee for dogs – cease and desist, peeps.
Less of this, as was reported.
And in Headrick’s case, though working as a higher-up within Wham-O, the company didn’t believe in the long-term viability of a hippie-centric sport like disc golf, so it didn’t bend …
Bad call.
Breathe easy, dear friends …
Unless you’re outright talking about Wham-O’s lineup of fastbacks or plan to launch a disc company of your own from mom and dad’s basement, rock the lowercase “frisbee” like always.
You’re in the clear.
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