I’m Mischievous!
Why does mischief have the words bad and chief in it?
Author: HotForWords
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Extreme brightness on display here Smarty Pants!
Who or Where exactly did this ’she’s all about cleavage’ myth come from?
I think it’s about those with that mentality only see that (on the low end), and those that can see more and express that opinion are jealous and pathetic as Human Beings.
Either way, pity is the proper emotion, I think.
For your stats, this is a random lesson—Miss-achivement— thinking about the word apothecarry, because, placeboes are in the news. Crazy like quack and smack for Mack. How many drugs were developed just for that dependence affect. love your site ect..
Quote
“Logic is in the eye of the logician.” – Gloria Steinem “…lets war corporate drugs”…an American
Was the word borrowed “detention”?
The end of something or the start of something?
“The start of something bad.”
Dunno, just sounded like something like that.
my random lesson and what a good job you do, ‘there you go” capon
i give up ! what is the english word germans borowed?
That little Arnold Mouse that is in Just about every one of your videos is Cute looking like it is Tattooed on your arm. I don’t know if Anyone else seen it, but it is cute.
Hey marina i would like to know how Easter came to be easter. is it the result of some saint like valentines day? or does it have anything to do with jesus?
Hi Marina,
With the coming of Easter, I would like to know how Good Friday got to be called Good Friday. It seems to me it would be a bad, or sad day.
Hi Marina,
I’d like to find out why the word ‘Southpaw’ came to describe left-handed people.
Thanks,
Gdawg
The guys from PFW in Progress (http://www.patriots.com/rss/public/index.cfm?ac=rss&rssid=NA==) have had a long running argument as to the origins of ‘Cut the Mustard’. This was played out in their March 4, 2008 episode about 2/3 of the way through. Many of us listeners would like this argument settled once and for all by the true definitive authority on the internet.
Thanks
Hello, my dear Marina! Have you ever noticed that a lot of the comedy in the old movies deals with transposing the first letters of 2 of the words or transposing a beginning letter of one word with one of its middle letters. I learned long ago that that is called a spoonerism, BUT, about 2 years ago I encountered a synonym: METATHESIS. I started pronouncing it the way it looks, BUT the pronunciation guide “says” the emphasis is on the 2nd syllable, TA! It’s now one of my favorite words to say. Please break it down and give me the low down on METATHESIS! Thank you, darling!
To alx and buzzword, and anyone else who may have taken offense: I apologize for creating the apparent firestorm over my joke about Germans. I will tame the jokes in the future. Sorry.
To Marina: Sorry to have made you scold the whole classroom. What’s my punishment? Will you be holding me after class?
Signed,
Prospero
a/k/a cunning linguist
a/k/a master debater
Dear Teacher ,
You have not answered to my earlier mail on word “advise or advice “…which was asked under your lesson “Break a leg” …
But I am patient ….and in the meanwhile would like to ask the following question….
Where did the word “confetti” came from ?
Rgds,
Vineet
Wow what does one have to do, to stay after school????
Can you explain how the same word, when you say it, sounds the same but when you look at that word it’s spelled differently and has 2 separate meanings i.e “shore” and “sure”.
btw, marina, thanks for the “you can use these tags” thing. that’s helpful.
You ‘re doig a wonderful job . my word silk stockings
err this might be a little early considering that i asked a word an hour ago but i just thought of something.
how did the word bastard become such a vulgar and disrespectful word? where did it originate from? that’s a better question than football. sorry bout that 1
hi teach,
They look nice teach 
this may be mischief, but i like the way you got the whole attitude with moving your head back and forth in your video so for that its 3 stars. And as for the way( and i mean this in a good way) u make your boobs wiggle back and forth, that is just amazing and desrves a 5 star!!!!!
Keep up the great work
lmao
hey can you look for the meaning of the word football Marina? i always wondered why it was called that whne you play with it with your hands…
thank you very much!
Marina,
I always heard that kaput was German for dead. But I’ve never taken German classes, so I don’t know for sure.
Have a great weekend!
Andrew
Hi Marina!
My native language is Dutch, and there are quite a few strange words that I wish you could look into, however.. there’s one question that bothers me that actualy is almost the same in the Dutch language as in the English language.. Can you tell me weather the words, Reserved and Served have any relation to each other ? I mean, in a restaurant you can see tables with signs ‘reserved’.. Does this has anyting to do with the verbe ’serve’ ? like, this table is PRE SERVED ??
Funny thing is that in Dutch it is written gereserveerd and serveerd.
Thanks, and keep up the teaching.. or teasing..?!
bye,
Danny
I’m curious of the origin of the word Fetish.
Everything I can find is just definition related. Where does it come from?
The word “Testify” might be of interest to your students. The origin may seem a bit amusing to people today as it derives from the Greek word for “Johnsen.” This was no joke back then.
Skyggen
Marina, I am so glad you make sexy smart or is that smart sexy? Well anyway you’re definitely both smart and sexy.
My word(s): Husband Wife
Hi Marina,
the german word you mean is KAPUTT —> broken.
Nice greetings from Austria.
she said germans ain’t allowed to participate. I do think she meant “german-speaking”.
spoiler.
sry
Yes, no Germans or German speakers allowed. Also, no apologists or sympathizers also.
Uh!Oh!
Seems like some of the bad boys flicking chewing gum with their flexible wood sticks and passing rude notes to their mates at the back of the class are resorting to name-calling.
Well if that’s the case I’m moving up the front to polish teacher’s apples and pairs.
Hullo marinas morris,
Yes, I Prospero, have changed my name and moved to the back of the class. I am in the process of shooting spit-balls around the room, and dipping little girls curls into metaphorical ink wells.
I was told it’s attention-seeking behavior
In that case I shall ignore you
+ 
don’t ignore him. he ain’t cool enough to hang out with us in the back anyway. he’ll move back up front soon so he can count marina’s hairs or something.
He’ll have a job! I’m plaiting them tightly together as I speak.
can’t see you, dude, because prospero is blocking the view since he’s sitting right in front of her, waving his arms around and all.
I’m round her beh… I mean round behind her; that’s why you can’t see me.
Yes, i am right in front of her. Can’t you see her arms around me in a loving embrace? Marina melts and swoons for her Prospero, the most cunning of linguists!
Dream on! That’s Koko’s arms around you as you’d see if you only opened your eyes and stopped looking inwards.
why don’t you just open a #hotforwords channel on irc or something. lol.
I often like to spend my time solving different types of puzzles. Everything from crosswords and cryptograms to sudoku and anagrams. Sometimes I even make up a few new puzzles for my friends. Could you do a show on the origin of the word “Puzzle” ?
Ok this is a weird Word Request. But I was reading Stephen Kings Pet Sematary and wondered why is was Sematary and not cemetery. And what is the origin of cemetery anyway?
What about the word “jiggered”. It means (in Britain – might have other meanings elsewhere):
1. Tired, knackered
2. Drunk
3. Suprised, shocked or confounded
4. Damned
In sense 2. it might come from “jigger” – one meaning of which is a (variable) drinks measure.
Sense 1 might come from there or from “jig” which is an energetic dance.
However, the latter two, which are possibly dialect forms of the word (I heard them a lot as a child in Suffolk) – well – it is hard to see how “surprised” or “damned” comes from “tired” or “drunk”.
A usage for sense 3 is “I’ll be jiggered” as an exclamation on hearing some surprising news.
A usage for sense 4 is “I’ll be jiggered if I am going to let that boy steal the bike”.
One site speculated that the word is of Anglo Saxon origin – but gave no evidence.
One site seems to quote the Oxford as saying it is a polite form of swearing – but that surprises me as my grandmother wouldn’t have used it so commonly if she thought it was even a polite form of swearing.
It could – just possibly – be related to “jiggery-pokery” which seems to be of Scandanavian origin.
Anyway – the history of this seems unclear – I wondered of you could throw any light on it.
Nick
Love your lessons by the way and your accent- where are you from??
ANyway I would like to request a word —- “jiffy” sounds very odd to me.
TIA
Heard you on the Stretch Show on MAXIM radio and hurried to your site. Looking forward to showing off all the knowledge I’ve learned here (altho I doubt if I’ll look as good as you talking about it).
WORD REQUEST: after seeing your vid about “break a leg” I’d like to know where the phrase “green room” came from. And why are they a color other than green?
Later…..
I would like to know more about the word “Misanthropy”
I never thought “head” was bad, and I can be a little mischievous in that respect, in that it usually has me coming and then thats the end,
KAPUT!
Marina, a word request: What does the suffix -tude stand for? It appears ini many delicious words like vicissitude, altitude, attitude, solitude, similitude and rectitude.
Surely your philologist heart must beat faster when reading about a suffix featuring in so many beautiful words?
How about the words Mellifluous or Petcock or Tumescent or Intumescence or Imposture?
Dear Marina:
re: meteorology
Why don’t meteorologists study meteors?
I`m i? Because i don`t think i did anything did i
what does SANNE mean?
Thanks for the reply but Kony from Algeria to be friendly from abroad express my feelings about it
Hi Marina,
Cheers to those great and very informative vids you made. my request word is “kudos”
Well kudos to you. Hope to see more of you in videos. ;D
What is the origin of the word … titillate?
Quiz of the day:-
Titillate.
1. Means to annoy someone – to get on their tits.
2. “Ti” from Scandinavian meaning “ten”. from which we get “tithe” in English. “Til” abbreviated form of “until”. “late” meaning “early (in the Morning)”. So “ten until late” indicating activities only indulged in after the kids are in bed.
3. “Tit” as in “Tete” meaning “Nipple” (Quiet Koko!) + corruption of “elate” meaning to excite. So something making the nipples erect.
Answers in a sealed envelope with a cheque/check for £1000 or equivalent in any solid currency.
“Titillate” comes from the Latin, “titilare” as to tickle. “Tit” as in “tete” is proto-germanic. “Tit” as in “boob” as in “marinas morris”. As amusing as this may be “tit” and “titillate” are unrelated.
Spoilsport!
And BTW it’s Bob, not boob.
duh. look who’s talking.
P
The self-titled marinas morris tittupped and titubated a tittle, like a tityra or a titmouse, for the tittering titularies. “Tata!” he shouted to his titties and the titmen, “that titmouse is a Titmal from Lake Titicaca, after all, ’tis true. Let us titivate these titlarks! Would that not be titillating?”
Hello Marina. I am still patiently waiting for an explanation of, “the whole nine yards”. Now I have another request, please, for, “hoisted by his own petard”. Thank you very much, keep up the good (mischievous) work. See, mischievous is not always a bad thing.
fishymack
Hello Marina. I am still patiently waiting for an explanation of, “the whole nine yards”. Now I have another request, please, for, “hoisted by his own petard”. Thank you very much, keep up the good (mischievous) work. See, mischievous is not always a bad thing.http://www.hotforwords.com/wp-includes/images/smilies/icon_wink.gif
fishymack
Dear Marina,
my friend got confused and misused the word “perineum”. Could you be kind enough and explain that for him?
Kind regards,
Ramon
Dear Marina,
I was hoping you could tell me the origin of the word ‘cocktail.’ I’m an ESL teacher and really appreciate your podcast. Cheers!
This is a word but i dont know how to pronounce it
Taumatawhakatangihangakoauauotameteaturipukakapikimaungahoronukupokaiwhenuakitanatahu
“Taumatawhakatangihangakoauauotamateaturipukakapikimaungahoronukupokaiwhenuakitanatahu”, which translates roughly as The summit where Tamatea, the man with the big knees, the climber of mountains, the land-swallower who traveled about, played his nose flute to his loved one.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Taumatawhakatangihangakoauauotamateapokaiwhenuakitanatahu
Hey, that’s what they called me in university!
Wait, wasn’t that, “the summit where buzzword, the man with small #$#$, the climber of mountains, the sword swallower who traveled about, played his skin flute….”?
People who are mischievous would, in French, be said to be méchant; the French “é” is a way of writing “es”, so “mé=mes=bad” + “chant” from “chanter” meaning to sing, so does that mean that karaoke is mischievous?
Karaoke apparently can be quite mischievous: http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2004/01/21/national/main595040.shtml
I think there’s been a lot of mousechief going on in the classroom lately. I even heard the bird call that mouse is known for using in this video, so it must still be lurking about. That mouse is trying to be chief here at HotForWord, as it obviously tried to mouscle in and avert Marina’s authority in the last lesson, the mousechievous little scamp!
But of course mice know very little about philology, so that mouse better stop all this mousechief and let the real word chief (chieftess?) run the show around here. 
Sorry, mouse.
Then again, maybe I’m being unfair to that titmouse and it was simply tittering for our trusty teacher as it will often do. If I recall from my lessons, that mouse started in the video for the word Muscle, and has had a recurring role since. I’ll have to keep an eye out for it in other videos as I watch the past lessons to catch up. The more I think about it, maybe it isn’t the mouse causing such mischief. Perhaps some sort of harlequin is on the loose, a merrymaker making mischief. I wouldn’t be too worried about mischievous behavior in this classroom, as I just can’t see things here ever ending badly, not with the miss we have as a chief.
Speaking of Miss Chief, my word request related to this lesson is ‘mayhem’, my trusty teacher, a strange sounding word whose origin I’d be curious to hear if it so interests you.
Okay, I’m going to go catch another lesson before calling it a night, but i guess I will try to do this lesson’s homework (which could have been a tad more specific IMHO), but I will guess the word ‘kaiser’, as that might have to do with capare or chevere, as there is a similar sound to ‘capare’ and ‘kaiser’, and the head of the German state used to be the kaiser. But that is just a guess, as I need a little more specificity on the question before I’d feel clearer about whether I got the answer right for this assignment. Or maybe I’m just misconstruing that the homework is not a specific German word to tie to this lesson, but any German word that might tie into this lesson. I guess I’m no better than the mouse when it comes to philology. Of mice and men…
Thanks for another interesting, fun lesson. Clever too, how a lesson on mischief ‘ended badly’ with a blooper abruptly cutting off the tail end of the video. I just hope the mouse’s tail wasn’t cut off.
Peace, Errin : )
consider julius caesar, errin.
He made a damn good salad, as I recall. Hold the anchovies, though, please.
yeah, and he was fucking cleopatra. bastard. :/
So what? Cleopatra was a slut. She married two of her brothers, then married Julius Caesar (she did him the first night they met) and then married Mark Antony! And those are just the ones she married! I’m sure she did Pompey as well! She was like a doorknob – everyone had a turn! It’s no coincidence that she was born in “69″ B.C., that’s for sure.
so? I don’t see your point. :/
She was also what one might describe as a “handsome” woman…. Link
she looks better in the asterix movie anway.
prospero811, it was another time another place. Concepts of marriage, sex, gender, politics were very different from our own. The words we select to help us describe and relate to another culture may also cause confusion and disassociation as well. You do not gain much understanding by just judging another culture by comparing it to your own. By considering cultural contexts you may realize that certain social behaviors were ideally suited for their environments. Which allows a society to function, humans to reproduce and the species to succeed. That being said and before someone brings it up, my cultural relativism has its limits and I have my ethics. The enduring principles of hypocrisy.
Buzzword, I was kidding (and yes, this is Prospero… I have been promoted from grand Shakespearean wizard to my new title).
I was joking, not judging. I will start by saying that the politics of gender, race, religion, etc., can make us overly sensitive. No feelings should be hurt by my scoffing at the promiscuity of a despot who has long since been dead, lo these 2000+ years.
Having said that, to say that other cultures have different mores, customs and practices is really just a meaningless tautology. It begs the question, so to speak. If they didn’t behave differently and think differently, then they wouldn’t be a different culture now, would they?
I am certainly entitled to opine as to the efficacy and the beneficence of different culture. I am neither confused nor disassociated when I compare a culture to my own. A comparison is not necessarily a negative judgment. I could simply say, that Cleopatra was slut (an overly promiscuous woman). Your opinion may differ, if you are applying a different definition of slut, or do not think Cleopatra’s conduct rises to slut level. However, neither is a “judgment” per se, until we place a value (negative or positive) on that opinion. Sluttiness is a good quality, except in the case of my girlfriend who I want to be exhibit slutty behavior but limit same to me (and not her brothers or every general that swings his sword through the door).
Moreover, if one is not to “judge” other cultures, then on what basis does one judge our current culture? Certainly, certain regrettable behaviors are “ideally suited to” our present day “environment,” correct? And yet we judge many of those behaviors negatively, do we not? And if we may have ethics relative to our present culture, surely we may do the same relative to other cultures?
And lastly, in any event, who cares? Whether I, you or anyone else expresses consternation or any negative judgment relative to another culture, they do not have to abide by our prejudices, do they? They may do as they like, and give us the proverbial middle finger.
Alas, it seems MY hypocrisy knows no bounds…. Doc Holliday, Tombstone.
alx, you are quite correct: http://cleopatra.hit.bg/Cleopatra.jpg (cleopatra and her pussy…cat)
I did think ‘caesar’ when I gave my answer, alx, thanks for noticing. I knew Marina mentioned that chief came from various latin words or latin slang, so took a shot in the dark that the German word derived from the same thing as chief. And even then, I was very open about saying I was taking a shot in the dark, as the homework assignment was severely lacking in specificity. I tried to sugarcoat it to avoid any counter-commenting from our dear teacher, but, in my honest opinion, a much better choice of words could have been used by her when handing out a homework assignment to her students, as clear communication is important to teaching, especially assigning tasks and asking questions of a wide student body. Now, i know this is just an online video classroom as well as an entertainment/artistic experience that is completely self-participatory, but if there is any place to mince words and be didactic, it’s here at Hot For Words. I learned from other homework assignments in past lessons because they were quite clear. This one just left me confused. Sorry.
No big deal… some of us don’t learn unless things are very clearly presented to us. I’ve still learned a hell of a lot from Marina and her website, so I don’t mind that I flubbed a homework assignment so bad. And there’s nothing wrong with me being honest and coming from a friendly constructive criticism point of view, if I am so genuine.
But anyway, alx, thanks for catching what I was trying to get at… that capare or chevere were related to caesar and therefore kaisar. It’s all latin based, and the roman empire gave basis for the holy roman empire which gave basis for Prussia which gave basis for Germany. My wildly misfired shot in the dark just ended up sinking the Bismarck.
sometimes I think role playing as a mischief would be sweet
Great lesson.Marina,Thanks.Its been sugested that Kaput is the german word,but i thought kaput was a russian word…
..% stars as always.
No, Kaput is definately German, however I do not know if there is a Russian word that sounds the same as the German word Kaput, or not; let a lone what it would mean, I doubt it would be a cognate.
Thanks for the” input” romantic101..Can you tell me if the word “input’ is german?Thanks
no, it’s not.
Wow I have learned so much. Thanks a googol!
I’d like it if you could tell us the origin of the word, “Gay.”
It is supposed to be a word that refers to “Happy”, but is instead used as a synonym to homosexual.
WHEN DID THAT HAPPEN?
I was wondering that too. The change must have been within the last 80 years or so, because I’ve read many journals who refer to the word ‘gay’ as being happy and in a good mood. There was nothing that society saw bad or negative about that word.
i think intelligence is hot and sexy
but where did it come from intelligence and how it is smart?
Great Lesson Marina:
but nowadays, mischief isn’t always annoying, nor does it always end badly.
Take buzzword and Alx for instance… they’re just plain funny!
I will not compete with Germans, this homework is totally unfair…. like everything these days
lol. germans ain’t allowed to participate. what’s so unfair?
Yeah, I was so stoked when I heard the homework, but I can’t participate, lol. oh well, it’s still fun either way
Gasp! Russia is boycotting something!
Yes , I am boycotting the homework
I am going to start a revolution… (just kidding)
Don’t kid around, you say you want a revolution, I’m up for it!
goddamn hippies.
revolution can look so much better.
“Those who make peaceful revolution impossible will make violent revolution inevitable.” John F. Kennedy
“the revolution needs new songs.” ( böhse onkelz )
Eric Cartman said it best of the goddamn hippies: “They talk about saving the world but all they do is smoke pot and smell bad.”
Revolutions are the locomotives of history.
hitman and alx,
I was going to post this earlier, evolution. By the way I am really pissed off at all the shit that just occurred. Really pissed, I … really pissed off. Like to hell with propriety my ape shit knuckle swinging self is pacing the cage. Which pisses me off even more. Fucking sock puppets.
yeah, things are a little weird around here right now. who’s who and all.
D
thanks for the link, though, buzzword. also clicked on the related videos thing and found mata hairi. haha.
It’s not fun to compete with Germans anyway. They tend to get pissed off and start invading countries and setting up concentration camps. Best to just leave them out of it.
Actually that’s speaking of the heavy headed Jew who wishes he was German.
. But overall, Germans are quite respectful and fun to debate with.
fucking
…
Cunning Linguist and Master Debater wrote;
It’s not fun to compete with Germans anyway. They tend to get pissed off and start invading countries and setting up concentration camps. Best to just leave them out of it.
Totally out of time ,
think a little before writing thing like that
You guys need to relax. It’s a joke. Jeez….no wonder the western world is in decline. Hypersensitivity is running rampant!
Fight! Fight! Fight! Fight! Fight! Fight!
Just wait ’til I get started on the Limeys…. when I get through with old Tommy Redcoat… beef eating, warm beer drinking, bad teethed……
doesn’t have to do anything with hypersensitivity. it’s a touchy subject, and you got to see it in a greater context. germans of my generation don’t have anything to do with that, we don’t want to be associated with those things, you know, it gets annoying.
just mind your own fucking wars.
I don’t really want to talk politics on here. who the hell are you anyway to talk about invading countries and concentration camps.
That’s the spirit, alx! Have at it! What we have these days is too much sensitivity! It’s this whole “can’t talk about or joke about certain things” attitude that gets Danish and Norwegian embassies burned to the ground all over the world for a free press publishing innocuous cartoons.
Who am I to talk? A human being with the right to say what I want. I’m of the George Carlin school of humor and unlimited speech. If you tell me I can’t joke about Germans, then I guess the Muslims have every right to stop the Danish newspapers from spoofing Muhammed…..
Sure it’s a touchy subject. But your generation does have something to do with it, if only because your parents and grandparents were involved. That’s like an American saying that he has nothing to do with black slavery and the elimination of the indigenous populations. Certainly, we did not commit those acts, but they are part of our culture and heritage.
Certainly no offense is intended, but I think if offense was taken it is a result of thin skin.
Now my charms are all o’erthrown,
And what strength I have’s mine own,
Which is most faint: now, ’tis true,
I must be here confined by you,
Or sent to …. Coventry.
Adapted from Prospero’s Speech in the epilogue to the Tempest by William Shakespeare.
Sometimes one can go too far in which case observe the Zen saying “When in a hole, stop digging”.
It’s getting Tempestuous so I’m outta here.
yeah, right, because I was accidentaly born in germany I got something to do with that, sure.
no, it’s not a result of thin skin. you just don’t joke about war and certainly not about concentration camps. sorry, but this is way out of line.
you sure can talk about germans. just, please, do it appropriately and mind the historical context.
of course we can talk about it. guess what germans do since ‘45. we’ve been talking more about it than anyone else.
you won’t see me joking about the iraq war, or guantanamo, or abu ghraib. do an image search on google and tell me if this is funny. tell me if this is something we should talk about on here. tell me if this is something we can joke about.
well. have it your way. this discussion ends for me right here.
OK. children! Settle down in the back! It is DEFINITELY DETENTION FOR ALL OF YOU!
No jokes about wars or people… no blaming one generation for a previous generations.. etc… Let’s get back to the subject at hand.. and that is… hmm…. I don’t know.. I lost track!
thanks, marina.
Sorry , I feel guilty because i started with the revolution/boycot and some started saying stupid things, In addition i have nothing again other countries/cultures.
I will share this video with you:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MmAgEnzw1yw
(Don’t worry, the video is in English)
Is about Marina, the uploader is RussiaToday (A Russian point of view of nowadays news I hope you like it)
Greetings
Has the heat died down yet?
Is it safe to come back in?
Hitman, you say you feel guilty but I was the one who started with that stupid remark about the war, never thinking for a moment that it would escalate in the way that it did, so I feel that I owe a grovelling apology to you and alx and anyone else who has been offended by this sorry affair. It just goes to show that you can’t be too careful with certain matters and I have learned my lesson.
Also I want to apologise to Marina for introducing such an unpleasant exchange into her web site.
I hope you will all forgive me,
Bob
I’m confused, bob. are you cunning linguist and master debater as well? huh?
Wait, did bob use a sock puppet? Is marinas morris, cunning linguist and master debater the same guy?
The problem was equating all Germans to Nazis. That is very culturally insensitive to modern Germans, even if meant in jest. And we are dealing with an online blog here wherein anybody in the world can pop in and take part. Even then, this is a public forum, and the power of words means that they will be read and reacted to, and can incite chaos or conflict if not chosen well.
The last thing Marina should have to be doing is having to personally correct such conduct on her own website. Everybody should take a lesson from this exchange that we are guests here of Marina’s, that we are lucky to benefit from her philological video lessons and to have a forum provided for us word freaks to seriously (and not so seriously) discuss all matters big and small when it comes to philology and our teacher’s lessons.
Suppose this were a real classroom and there was a principal overlooking this exchange between students. What would that principal think of Marina for such conduct among her students? He would think she was a poor teacher and rate her poorly if he were giving her a professional evaluation the day something like this broke out in the classroom. Does Marina really deserve that? She’s owed the biggest apology by any and all students that let this get out of hand, not just Bob, who is obviously a good guy who just made a bad joke that was very insensitive to Germans. This may not be a real classroom, but it’s her gig, people, her pet project. Her videos, her website, all the other things she does that IS Hot For Words… we’re part of that if we interact here. And anybody who has interacted here knows that Marina is not just very intelligent and very beautiful, but she is very nice to, and helpful to her students. Good karma means that we return the favor in kind, play nice among the student body, and add what we can in the commentary to build onto the lesson before us, not distract from it. Enough mischief, friends. Let’s give our trusty teacher something she deserves… students she can trust to support her and Hot For Words so it will be a fun, enjoyable, educational experience for all. I didn’t take part of the exchange until now, but I accept your apology, Bob. Thank you for manning up like that, and admitting your mistake. Happens to the best of us.
I’m confused and pissed. So, who is cunning linguist and master debater? Prospero811 or marinas morris? Is one guy all three? I can’t take any apology seriously without understanding the nature of the crime. I’m really pissed. Somebody needs to explain. This was a cool site, to ruin it just to satisfy the humor of somebody lurking in the shadows is fucked up. How am I supposed know who am I addressing now? Which one of you is guilty? How do I know errinf isn’t a sock puppet? This just sucks. I’m just responding to the posts of alx, hitman and marina until… something changes. Whatever.
LAST POST
Just for the sake of clarity, I wish to make this statement:-
1. Prospero811 restyled himself as “Cunning Linguist and Master Debater” for reasons best known to himself. (How he did it I do not know as editing of log-in name on the profile is not allowed.)
2. The entity mentioned in 1. above is not to be confused with “Cunning Linguist” who is a different, and presumably entirely innocent, subscriber.
3. Marinas Morris did not use any puppets, of whatever kind.
4. Marinas Morris is now hauling down the flag and falling on his own sword, and a chastened Bob is emerging from the wound and slinking away to hide until recent events are forgotten.
Good Bye and, once again, Sorry.
O.k., let me chime back in.
alx – no offense was intended, nor did I compare as erinnf suggested that I did, all Germans to Nazis. I made a joke about the stereotypical German temperament. And, nobody blames the Germans of today for the sins of their fathers. It was a joke.
Yes, Cunning Linguist and Master Debater is the same person as Prospero811. While editing of log in names is not permitted, if you go to the account information screen you can change your screen name at will. I thought the phrase “cunning linguist and master debater,” albeit juvenile and childish, was quite funny.
Marinas Morris is a completely different person and is to be considered wholly innocent and blameless in regards to the crimes I am alleged to have committed.
I will throw myself upon Marina’s tender mercies. In a most humble manner I ask for her forgiveness for creating this wonton disturbance in her classroom. And, I think I should be disciplined as a result. I am bracing myself for a good talking to, and I think I deserve a spanking as well. That will teach me.. Yes, that’s it – a good bare handed spanking from Marina should work just fine to correct my behavior.
Funny one hitman.. That’s a funny interview. I told them to send me a higher quality one so that I can put it up. The bit about the paparazzi was made up.. but it makes for good television in Russia I guess
Zdravstvuy, Marina!
Thanks for the video and your “investigation” of the origin of the word mischief… I never took the trouble to look it up myself…
But that word was sure turning up often in Victorian novels I had to read for my literature exam. Is there an antonym for “mischief”, hm… Don’t think so, but it would be something with bon-, ben-, chief… LOL
My word request is “cancer” and how it came to mean both a crab and a deadly disease.
Ya, I’ve always been curious to hear the word origins of all the signs of the Zodiac. It’d be cool if Marina could do a few of them, as she has capriciously already done a video lesso that included capricorn. Maybe she could even get her evil twin to do a lesson about my sign, which is Gemini. That evil twin can’t be too bad, since she has a degree in philology too. I wonder where I can send her a word request.
Here is a word request and a phrase request. What is the origin of the phrase “Ducks in a row”? Could it be “Duks in a row”, meaning trail markers or “Dux in a row”, meaning leaders?
“this video has been removed by user.”
huh?
Maybe the video felt cheap and disrespected by the “user” who once having had his fill of the video simply sneaked out in the middle of the night without saying goodbye?
the meaning of a word is its use in language, in its language play (this is a very important term), there has to be a context, a structure.
and, it depends on what your notion, your concept, your idea of a certain word is. he says that he can’t really answer a question like “do you believe in god”, because that depends on what concept the questioner associates with “god”. thing is, you can’t really find out. you can’t get in his head. so, the answer should be something like, “maybe, possible, perhaps, I don’t know. I don’t know because I just don’t know what your idea of ‘god’ is.”
not sure what this has to do with anything, but then again … I don’t really understand your question.
P
uh, this was meant to be a reply to buzzword’s weird question …
so, the meaning of a word is its use in language? So how does one go about using an infinitely long word and where does the punctuation mark go?
Trouble is, if you did manage to get inside his head, you would likely find it completely empty except for a thin piece of horizontal thread: and if you should cut the thread, both of his ears would fall off.
Zen masters have been known to say that, if you need to ask the question, you are not capable of understanding the answer.
Confucius is far wiser than Buddha or any Zen master:
Man who stands on toilet, high on pot
Man who put penis in peanut butter jar, fucking nuts
Passionate Kiss like spider web, soon lead to undoing of fly
Man who farts in church sits in own pew.
Man who eats jelly beans, farts in color.
Man who sniff coke….drowns!
Man’s secretary not permanent feature until screwed on desk
Man who catch many fish is master baiter
Man with hole in pocket feel cocky all day
…. errr.. peanut jar… not peanut butter jar….
other than that, Confucius say many wise things…
The term zen master is actually an Americanized term which is oxymoronic. Zen is not mastered, and those that have achieved Zen do not refer to themselves as masters.
You are quite correct, Errin, in your second sentence; however, I was not using the term “Master” in the sense of one who has achieved a Black Belt in a Martial Art, for example, but as the nearest western approximation to the word “Roshi”, the Japanese word which implies a teacher.
Yet even the word “Teacher” is not completely fitting, as one cannot “Teach” Zen in the way that one can teach English or Mathematics. As I understand it, the role of the Roshi is more that of a guide; maybe not even that, as a guide would accompany the student along the way, whereas the Roshi acts more as a signpost, a finger pointing the way for the student to follow on his own and to which to return for an assessment of his achievements. Perhaps the closest I could get to an equivalent meaning is a Briefing/Debriefing Officer.
Nevertheless, all the western literature that I can recall uses the word Master as the western word for a Roshi.
How would you translate Roshi, master errin?
I assumed you were using Zen Master humorously, and not seriously, as if often is, such as when the ‘zen master’ ordered a hot dog and asked for ‘one with everything’. I didn’t mean to be corrective of you so much as add into the general discussion that was going on about. And yes, it is a failing of Western literature and American culture to not have a better word than ‘master’ to denote one who is knowledgable in zen buddhism. I’m from California, the new age and cult capitol of the world, where I’m sure zen master became a popular term in the 1970’s when gurus, yogis, and other such ‘master’ types. I never even heard of a Roshi until now, so thanks for that, and next time I’ll make sure to be more specific in my comments so as not to come off as standoffish when I am merely blathering about a subject matter that caught my eye.
Funny too, how you jokingly refer to me as ‘master errin’ as I have indeed done some mastering, but not in the zen department. More like the sub dom realm, which I can’t really go into detail about here (it is just one of my hobbies, like wordology and such, but is a little too dark to discuss in this classroom). Funny because women I have interacted with as a master are never allowed to call me ‘master errin’. They have to call me by my name and it has to mean ‘master’ to them. They’d get in trouble if they called me ‘master’, ‘master errin’, or anything other than ‘Errin’, as even not capitolizing my name is a mistake that is considered an insult. But that’s the kind of roshi I am when playing such sub dom games with consenting adults. Actually having somebody call me ‘master errin’ outside of the sub dom realm was quite serendipitous and humorous to me. Especially when coming from a dude! lol Of course, you never meant it THAT way. ha. I just wanted to share a little of my ‘master’ knowledge in exchange for your Roshi tidbit. Bet you didn’t expect the anecdote I shared in reply.
The “meaning” of a word is what that the speaker intends a word to express or indicate, or what is actually expressed or indicated. Clearly, it is possible for the same word to have a different meaning from the speaker’s perspective or from the listener’s perspective. That can result in one or the other, or both, being mistaken as to the word’s meaning.
This does not render discussion impossible, however, as the parties can come to an agreement about what particular words mean.
What in sam hill are you talking about?
buzz, I was addressing alx’s issue regarding the “meaning” of words.
The post stated that in Sweden words can be infinitely long. What kind of statement is that? It has no real bearing on anything. Didn’t Wittgenstein think that such statements only added to the confusion of linguistic philosophy? This is admitting that me trying to understand philosophy is like trying to push a brick through my head. This may very well be a dumb ass question.
does that help?
Yes! My philosophy teacher sucked. Now I’m going to be second guessing everything I say.
Nipple! Nipple!
That is a very pleasant KOKOnut.
It’s probably correct to say “indefinitely” long, rather than “infinitely” long. It’s a process of concatenation. I think it’s true in Finnish as well. I can see the Swedes bragging about the long words, since they tend to have some sort of superiority complex, and the Finns are crazy so it’s not surprising that their words would devolve into gibberish.
Good point prospero811, significant distinction between, “infinite” and “indefinite”.
Hello beauty!
Just wanted to know if you can tell me more about the newly issued English word “ombudsman”.
Did you know that, in the Swedish language, words can be infinitely long.
Kram
alx, what would Wittgenstein have to say about that?
Nothing. He’s dead. Or was this answer too existential?
errinf,
mind the subjunctive.
….so’s my Johnson…or as they say in Sweden, Yonson.
Dear Marina,
First, I want to say I really enjoy your videos. Very original.
Since many these days try their hand in videos (myself included),
there is a term used frequently in the film industry. That word is
juxtaposition. I know it’s used in placement, side to side I believe.
Anyway, I thought it might be a good one with the different spelling and strange way it is used. Where did they get this thing?
Thank you so much for your online school.
Take care and God bless.
Carl (Skycarl)
Adore your lessons HFW, and you as well
I’m curious though, where did the word “hindsight” come from? I know it what it means but have no clue how it came about.
N.
marinas morris,
I’ll try to answer your question here since it’s easier to find …
basically, there is no difference.
maybe “recursion” refers more to the actual act or operation whereas “recursivity” tends to refer to the ability? maybe a native speaker can help me out here.
as I said before, it’s applying a structure or rule to itself. without recursion, we wouldn’t be able to embed or insert one sentence (phrase) into another.
I don’t
uh. where the hell did this “I don’t” come from? wtf. ignore that.
Thanks alex,
That’s what I thought but wanted to be sure.
Recursivity and recursion are not quite the same. Recursion is a word that is mainly used by mathematicians and computer programmers. Recursivity I’ve never actually heard in use and isn’t in my dictionary, but is one of those words that a native speaker would understand because of the use of familiar suffixes.
They both come from “occur” – I’m not going to look up the dictionary definition or derivation – but basically means “to happen”.
“Recur” is “re-” + occur. To happen again
“Recursion” is recur + “sion” (pronounced ’shun’) which makes the verb into a noun. Means 1. a return, 2. the repeated application of a procedure to the previous result in order to obtain a sequence of numbers or a more accurate approximation of the result.
“Recursive” is recur + “sive”. The -ive suffix makes the verb into an adjective. So, of or involving a procedure that can be repeated.
Recursivity is recursive + “ity”. The -ity suffix makes something into a noun – but this time just denoting a quality or ’state of’ or sometimes the amount of. So “recursivity would mean the quality of being recursive or the amount of recursion.
You could say, “The degree of recursivity in the computer program was very great as it used a lot of recursion to achieve its result.”
Hope this helps – it is a bit geeky really.
By the way, my sons like your videos – but I am not sure they heard much of what you said
I had to concentrate myself!
Nick
Thanks for that, Nick – clear as crystal now (Whoever she is…
)
Oh! God! that damn war again!
Who cares if it’s geeky?
We’re all geeks together… (to the strains of the Eton Boating Song)
and geeks in the best concentration camp ever…
Yes Buzz, I know there have been other wars since, most of which the west have walked away from with their arses in a sling.
Starry desert night
Sleepy men on guard
Shock and Awe
Hi Marina,
Thinking about the homework assignment regarding the borrowed German word, I would say that caput was borrowed into German to make kaput.
As always, great video and nice outfit.
Eric
Darn… someone beat me to it…
Me too!
Kaput has also been borrowed into Norwegian but, curiously, according to my dictionaries, not into Danish; maybe an occupation word then?
Oh! Shit! Don’t mention the war.
Sorry!
Bob
Member of M.A.S.
Founder of S.A.M.
no, prospero, no one beat you to it yet. not really. I’m being pedantic here, though.
Marinas Morris,
I am not sure what you mean by an “occupation word.” Denmark, like Norway, was occupied by the Germans in WWII.
Oh, what is M.A.S. and S.A.M.?
Thought you’d never ask!
M.A.S. = Marina Adoration Society
S.A.M. = Save Arnold Mouse
Ahh, I see.
Well, I can understand the Marina Adoration Society. My member… er… I mean… I AM a member of the Marina Adoration Society as well. I’ve developed somewhat of an addiction, to tell you the truth. It’s not something I feel is a problem, though. So I won’t be joining M.A. anytime soon. I’m going to wait at least until I reach her… er… I mean, rock bottom.
As for this “Save Arnold Mouse” business. I don’t expect you’ll attract many members. Arnold’s days are numbered. There’s a feral cat licking its chops right now It’s curtains for Arnold, see? Curtains, I tell ya!
Um, Bob that war has been over for a long time. We’ve had several others since then, wars and occupations. You’ve got to keep up. This internet thing, its good for current events too, not just looking at pretty women.
Over? Did you say OVER?
Buzzword, nothing is over until WE decide it is!
Was it over when the Germans bombed Pearl Harbor?
Hell, no!
the germans? I thought that was the japanese?
err … “were”.
B.A.M.
Bad Ass Marina
Prospero811… LOL
Great line from Animal House – lest you think there are no other cosmorons in here.
alx, it’s a humorous quote from a movie… yes it was the Japanese, and it is “was” not “were” (you were right the first time).
ah, okay. thanks.
I was just being Mischievous!
Got to enter into the spirit you know.
The movie is Animal House, and Bluto goes on a rant…if you haven’t seen it, check it out. It’s a classic!
I got to stay quiet. no fair. :/
Don’t sulk or I’ll send you a video of a Delta crash.
Kaput, which means over or dead.
One word I’d really like to know the origin of is one of my favorite words (and one I tend to use a lot whenever I’m writing my sappy love scenes in whatever I’m working on) is the word “darling.” What exactly is a darling and why do we call our beloved “my darling?”
Marina, will you tell me if I’m wrong or right?
I can tell you, too, you know. from now on, I’m alxgirl. wanna see a pic?
You’re both BAD girls – but I like bad girls
Bob
Member of M.A.S.
Founder of S.A.M.
No alx, no. I’m imagining you to be a young Tony James of Sigue Sigue Sputnik. Don’t ruin that for me. Um, Bob… sorry to turn you down. I understand Koko is looking to hook up, I’m sure you would appreciate her animal intelligence.
well, at least generation x fits. plus, there was a time when I was experimenting with my hair. long time ago. :/
Wrong or right about what buzzword?
rofl. buzzwordgirly probably sent a mail or something. ha! he should get detention for ignoring “please write it in the comments below”.
alx is right, I didn’t want to put an end to all the fun. As for detention I might be a neo maxi zoom dweebie but your a pissy little nark. I’ll be kicking you and all your German philosophers ass’s later. He and Wittgenstein smoke in the boys room. See you in detention alxgirl, you lousy Marlene Dietrich wannabe.
there’s no german philosopher I like. except maybe schopenhauer because of his polemics against hegel and academics. haha.
wittgenstein was born in austria.
and yes, we smoke in the boys room. what else is there to do?
Pay no attention, Marina.
Buzzword and alx are just a couple of apple polishers. If you had a chalkboard, they’d be fighting over who gets to clean it for you and clap the dust out of your erasers.
This Wittgenstein is a bad influence. He needs to be kicked the heck out of class First he’s boozing it up with Schlegel, Heidegger, and Kant (a real pissant), and now he’s smoking in restrooms with alx. It shocks the conscience, I tell you. Now, alx, the little tattle-tale, is calling for buzzword to get detention and buzzword is threatening alx, (not to mention the drunken Wittgenstein) with physical violence (all the while using poor grammar and punctuation).
It’s obvious who the disruptive students are at the beginning of your last few videos. I wouldn’t be surprised if one of those hellions brought that damn titmouse into your classroom, letting him loose to run roughshod all over your videos. I suggest you throw both of their sorry asses into detention. That will teach them to misbehave in class, drink, smoke, narc, and hang around with obnoxious rodents and philosophers!
…just a suggestion….
Whoa, look who just came riding in on a white horse! It’s prospero811. There’s a Somali proverb, “Myself against my brother, my brother and I against my cousin, my cousins and I against the world.” Everybody in the back of the class is about to come up there and kick your ass. I got a can opener to open up that suit of shining armor to do it. So me and alx are apple polishers. You know, Marina has to sit down to do the lessons just to keep you from kissing her ass. Me and about 35,000 other people can’t see Marina in any of videos because your eager spazzing hand is flailing about trying to get her attention. Call me facetious will ya? I’ll go viking berserker on you with both horns.
propero811 anyone messes with you, I got your back, word.
So, the gauntlet has been thrown down, buzzword?
O.k. then. I will pick it up, and I will do so with vigor!
Somalis have proverbs? I thought the Somalis (and their cousins and brothers) were busy fighting with the Ethiopians for Bob Geldoff’s attention!
Now you threaten me with physical violence too? How dare you, buzzword? How DARE you!? If you’d like to step outside, I will kick your sorry ass so bad your children will be born dizzy! The problem is, though, that your ass is so fat, I’ll have to kick it twice just to get the job done!
Now, buzzboy, run along! You can go play with that glorified hamster, Arnold!
With warmest regards,
Prospero
your mother, d00d.
P
Speaking of shining armor, does the word “Renegade” have an interesting story? And is there any relationship between amor and armor – other than they both end in “mor”?
Here it is over year later…how!..buzzword-are you wrong or right?
…[cooking]
Since you’re talking about ring tones, perhaps you could look into the word “Ring”.
could you look into the word “pod”. your voice has my attention