I've tried to figure out how on earth this ugly word (phrase?) "TL;DR" came to exist. My best guess is the usual guess: Either it isn't really a synonym for "s

I've tried to figure out how on earth this ugly word (phrase?) "TL;DR" came to exist. My best guess is the usual guess: Either it isn't really a synonym for "summary", or it used to not be a synonym but its original intent wore away over time until it became a synonym. In this case, "summary" is a neutral term. You can summarize good writing, you can summarize bad writing, and the word "summary" conveys no critical judgement. Whereas my impression is that "TL;DR" was invented not just to summarize but also to criticize: The term suggests that the original is needlessly verbose, and tends to imply that reading the whole original is a pointless waste of time. But my other impression is that the distinction between a "TL;DR" and a simple "summary" is eroding. This sort of thing can happen when a meme spreads far enough beyond the subculture that invented it: Folks pick up the gist, but miss the subtle colorations. Now I see writers TL;DRing things that are actually good, as a matter of routine. Which makes me suspect (or, at least, hope) that the meme's fifteen minutes of fame will soon be over and we'll go back to using "summary" again.