What Does This Mean?
Gerund of the Brazilian Portuguese gaming verb smurfar, meaning playing on a secondary account at a lower rank than one's real level, usually to meet weaker opponents, as in "ele está smurfando no elo ferro". The label is often an accusation by other players, since many see this as unfair to newcomers.
REAL-WORLD EXAMPLE
""Esse cara está smurfando, ninguém aqui joga assim", escreveu o jogador."
LORE & ORIGIN
Portuguese -ando form of "smurfar", itself from English "smurf". English Wiktionary says the gaming use began with Warcraft II players who made alternate accounts called PapaSmurf and Smurfette, and that an earlier banking sense of "smurf account" exists. Wikipedia's Boosting article treats boosting as a different, paid practice. This entry covers the progressive form as used in chat, in which players accuse someone of being on a lower-ranked account. No dated first use of the form is documented. The related entries cover smurfar, smurfing and smurf queue.
MENTIONS OVER TIME
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