Top

Philologist formerly known as HotForWords

Sorry guys… I’m changing my name to &.

 So please cease all use of the HotForWords name and call me by &!

Got it?  :-)

Comments

There Are 143 Comments for “Philologist formerly known as HotForWords”

Your words...

You must be logged in to post a comment.

  1. resume builder on July 10th, 2008 3:36 am

    good job :grin:

  2. prospero811 on July 6th, 2008 2:09 pm

    testing 1, 2, 3

  3. mrchex on June 29th, 2008 7:15 pm

    :shock:

  4. kayros on June 14th, 2008 1:41 am

    очень круто!
    случайно увидел на youtube и вот я здесь))
    давно хотел “подкачать” свой английский, но всё было каким-то скучным.
    ребята, вас интересно смотреть!!!
    я вас буду советовать!

  5. hallidayadam on May 9th, 2008 11:57 pm

    I am wondering about the symbol .’. used for the word therefore. It is suppossed to be three dots but I was not sure how to get that on the computer. Sorry. Can you email me if you are going to answer this question

  6. donfelipegonzales on May 7th, 2008 5:22 pm

    Dear teacher
    I’ve seached for an answer to my question in the comments, and did not find it, so here it is: were you speaking greek during film?
    The video is excellent!
    Thank you for the lesson I remain your devoted student dear teacher &
    Amicalement
    Don Felipe

  7. sparrowhawk on May 2nd, 2008 9:58 pm

    cicero is pronounced with the hard c sound,{kekaro} not the soft c sound {sesaro} ….~and btw~ tell me the about the word latro?

  8. notthecheatr on April 3rd, 2008 9:59 pm

    All the math symbols (+, -, *, /, =, etc.)

    @ at
    $ dollars (and the cent symbol, and all the other currency symbols)
    % percent

  9. nickc1188 on March 30th, 2008 10:49 pm

    Wow, there’s nothing like hiding the inability to make intelligent comments by making snide remarks about people. Real classy, lividemerald. And how does one become a guru on endowment by judging via internet? Perhaps more importantly, from where did you get “football?” That’s not random, especially because football is associated with masculinity and therefore testosterone. The presence of the aforementioned chemical during the development of a male leads to better endowment, thereby contradicting your statement. My point is you made no apparent sense (which may have been your point, but a waste of calories nonetheless)

    lividemerald replied on March 30th, 2008 11:01 pm:

    Just a humorous remark (notice the rolling eyeballs?) on the juxtaposition of “micro” and “mac” (which had me thinking of a McDonald’s Big Mac). I was actually going to make a reference to Voltaire’s tale, Micromegas, but figured that was a bit obscure. I only mentioned football players because they are a big lot. Just playing with the juxtaposition, nickc1188. I offer plenty of serious assistance in the area of etymology, but I also enjoy humor. This web site is all about those two concepts, I think. I did not mean to offend you or anyone else. On the other hand, I do sometime make somewhat obscure (sometimes etymological, sometimes not) remarks for fun, just in case there is someone out there who has the background knowledge (or time to reference a dictionary) to “get it.” And sometimes it’s fun to be a bit silly. But a guru, I am not!

    nickc1188 replied on March 30th, 2008 11:14 pm:

    Thanks for clarifying that. Well played, though I haven’t read enough literature to pick up on that joke without being told.

    The last thing I want is to be clobbered by “trolls” like I was when I tried explaining the finer aspects of football on Boston.com. The apparent lack of intelligence among my responses was disappointing to say the least and I eventually just gave up on it.

    And the topic of judging endowment via Internet is probably not a good one in which to be an expert haha (we’ll leave that to the Paris Hilton’s of the world to have such expertise in all things related to… male genitalia)

    lividemerald replied on March 30th, 2008 11:29 pm:

    Here’s Wikipedia’s entry:

    Micromégas (1752) is a short story written in the 18th century by the French philosopher and satirist Voltaire. It is a significant development in the history of literature because it originates ideas which helped create the genre of science fiction.

    The tale recounts the visit to Earth of a being from a planet circling the star Sirius and his companion from the planet Saturn. This story and Voltaire’s ‘Plato’s Dream’ (another early precursor of science fiction) were probable[citation needed] influences upon H. G. Wells; the story itself is very much under the influence of Jonathan Swift’s Gulliver’s Travels.

    The technique of using an outsider to comment on aspects of western culture was popular at this period, and was used again by Voltaire in Zadig, and by Montesquieu in Lettres persanes (Persian Letters), amongst others.

    ***

    What Wikipedia doesn’t say is that the tale plays with notions of very small (Micro-) and very large (-megas), hence the title, which is obviously a juxtaposition of two latin prefices with opposite meanings.

    By the way, Micromegas and Candide are essential reading in French Literature. Oh, and Voltaire’s real name was François-Marie Arouet. His pen name is a (rather loose) anagram.

    But you made a good point, i.e., even when expressing humor, there is a chance that it will be misinterpreted (rolling eyeballs or not). I should have stuck with Voltaire! :smile:

  10. nickc1188 on March 30th, 2008 10:01 pm

    For a far larger supply of symbols (as they pertain to computer use), open Microsoft Word, click the “Insert” tab at the top of the the screen, and then click “Symbols” from the drop-down menu. In the rare case those don’t suffice, symbols.com and a number of other sites can satiate this artificial demand for symbols (though I personally wonder if she really cares to see more symbols as I think this was just a joke…)

    Also WORD REQUEST: a word for pickup line. You seem to attract a lot of them lol

    aLx replied on March 30th, 2008 10:14 pm:

    there’s no microsoft word on macs anyway, I think.

    lividemerald replied on March 30th, 2008 10:39 pm:

    Microsoft and big macs, sounds like a bunch of football players with ED who are not well endowed.) :roll:

    nickc1188 replied on March 30th, 2008 10:40 pm:

    There is, but only for Mac OS 10.3 (Panther), 10.4 (Tiger), and 10.5 (Leopard).
    -There’s Office 2004, but that’s only an emulator, not the actual program running as it was originally designed.
    -There’s also Office 2008, which is part of the universal software initiative and runs natively on new Macs with newer operating systems. It requires Tiger (10.4.9) or newer, as well as Powerbook G4 processors or newer.

    Also, Mac users using iWork ‘08 should check this link out: [http://discussions.apple.com/thread.jspa?messageI D=6209948]. It explains it better than I could.

  11. serenitygod on March 30th, 2008 8:06 pm

    Actually I was wondering about the words sign, symbol, and symptom.
    Could you please do those? Thank you

  12. Charles Langelier on March 29th, 2008 12:47 pm

    Hi,

    What camera do you use to record - Really great image and sound

    Thanks

    Charlie

    Marina replied on July 15th, 2008 10:40 pm:

    Just my macbook.
  13. hot4u on March 28th, 2008 5:40 pm

    Thanks for Not changing your name… .

  14. travelinjack on March 28th, 2008 3:55 pm

    One of my favorite words is octopuses and I was wondering if you could do a show on this plural form of octopus and its origin because most people I know think the plural is octopi.
    Your fan-
    Jack

  15. tricovictus on March 28th, 2008 1:08 am

    Well i jus want to congratulate you for an amazing job, keep your name is perfect for you…
    i have a word request; where is the word “soccer” come From?

  16. Qermaq on March 27th, 2008 7:57 pm

    @ was originally used, BTW, to show the unit price of things. So 7 bananas @ $.25 = $1.75.

  17. Qermaq on March 27th, 2008 7:54 pm

    Hey, glad to see you took my advice and used the pronunciation audio at m-w.com. That was very funny. I love all the characters now: Pogo the kangaroo, Splash the mermaid, Arnold the mouse. That’s a great bit right there. Nice job overall!

    lividemerald replied on March 27th, 2008 10:04 pm:

    Wasn’t there a James Bond film named Platypussy? Took place Down Under, I think… :roll: I think in the film, James plays footsy &…..

  18. sapientiaadest on March 27th, 2008 7:32 pm

    I think the word

    “Graduation”

    is timely and interesting. :roll:

  19. -e- on March 27th, 2008 7:31 pm

    I think the homework answer is “#” “pound” because like the “&” “ampersand” it has a name that is completely different from the word it stands in for. &ampersand stands in for “and” while #pound stands in for “number”

  20. hotdamn on March 27th, 2008 7:29 pm

    Hey Marina,

    I got a nice word which is very forgein to most people who are not gamers. The word ‘Leet’ (aka 1337)

    It has its own language and own meaning

    Thanks. Show more of your … :lol:

  21. weeder14 on March 27th, 2008 6:57 pm

    Hi Marina. So glad you are not changing your name! As far as the homework goes, I can come up with two for you. First there is the c with the line above it ( unfortunartely I do not know how to do it on my computer) and then there is / as in m/h (miles per hour).

    Before I go, I have been wondering what the origin of the saying “shaggy dog tale”

    Thanks

  22. jerryyoung on March 27th, 2008 6:29 pm

    :twisted: hey beautiful Marina
    could you do a lesson on the word “a little bit of Poke through the Whiskers?”

  23. celtic col on March 27th, 2008 6:29 pm

    hi marina - love ur explanations

    my word is

    buggerluggs

    help me on that

    celtic col

    xxxxxxx

  24. fiercemonkey on March 27th, 2008 6:27 pm

    Dear HotForWords,
    We all know the sky is blue, but how come when we are sad we are considered to be blue too? Please do a segment on the word “blue”.
    Thank you so much, your trustee student,
    Fiercemonkey.

  25. goodirishboy39 on March 27th, 2008 6:14 pm

    Dear Marina,
    where did the @ symbol come from.

    Your Student,
    goodirishboy 39

  26. mr.right on March 27th, 2008 5:56 pm

    hello marina

    i have 1 question and 1 request, why do you have to change your name to ampersand (&)?

    and my word request is what is the origin of the word “dragon” was wondering that for awhile if you got time can you search the origin

    please and thank you

  27. fireduck01 on March 27th, 2008 5:05 pm

    Hello marina, how are you doing? can help me w/ a phrase request
    and they are yellow pillow puddy of the puddycat and what dose the E stand 4 in the gr8est sorth Gernal E? LEE thanks fireduck01 :razz:

    ps your show is the best :mrgreen: :lol:

  28. eroxx on March 27th, 2008 4:49 pm

    Hello marina
    I have a phrase request, “COLD TURKEY” what does a turkey have to do with it?

  29. pj on March 27th, 2008 4:44 pm

    hey marina :)
    can you tell what is sikhism mean ??
    and where is that came from ??
    please find it if you can becouse i realy need to know what is dat mean n where it came from i hope we will see you soon on youtube with this word :) thanks!

  30. yourssincerely on March 27th, 2008 4:40 pm

    Hot for words brilliant.
    Marina -very yummy….

    I dont know if you have done this one before - but the story behind it is really cool - so should you decide to present it - .
    “Yours Sincerely…”.

    Wax on…wax off… :wink: .

    Salaams

  31. apollo on March 27th, 2008 3:32 pm

    If one should look at their computer keyboard they would see a few of these symbols you spoke of, Right! $-money, %-percent, @-at, =-equals, -greater than, #-number, +-plus. I believe these are just a few. Another is the symbol for infinity. Also the peace symbol which I have learned is the combination of the letters N and D in some form of old english. If you haven’t guessed it yet, the ND stand for Nuclear disarmament. Ive forgotten the specific language or writing style though I believe it it english. Can you figure that out?

  32. japooki on March 27th, 2008 3:29 pm

    @@@@@@@@WORD SUGGESTION@@@@@@@@@@@
    hello &, :lol:
    i looked on the internet and found out that the longest word in the english language is “Taumatawhakatangihangakoauauotamateapokaiwhenuaki tanatahu”. you will notice that in the middle (koauauot) it has 6 vowels in a row. it has 85 letters and is the name of a place. “Pneumonoultramicroscopicsilicovolcanoconiosis” is a lung disease and has 45 letters. the longest word ever has 189,819 letters and i am NOT going to paste it in here. my computer might crash. :lol:
    i think these are great candidates for your videos. btw, i love your videos. email me back plz.
    (insert your famous “ba-bye”) :lol:

  33. michael_le_ on March 27th, 2008 3:05 pm

    Is that A&G Cashmere?
    Anyways, can you post where the word “Tattoo” came from? Thanks!

  34. thepartyer on March 27th, 2008 2:14 pm

    i was wondering if u could find the origin of the word hypnosis

    thank you

  35. hotrocky on March 27th, 2008 1:22 pm

    Dear Marina, A few days ago, CBS News did an article about Antarctica. The commentators all said “Antartica” throughout the program. Not even once did they pronounce it “Antarctica.” Our local weatherman also talks about “Artic” winds from the North. This drives me nuts. Can you comment on this?

  36. hotrocky on March 27th, 2008 1:20 pm

    My dear Marina, could you do a lesson on the words “Jealous” and “Envious?” I constantly hear people say jealous when they mean envious. They say things like: “I’m jealous of her beauty,” when they should say, “I’m envious of her beauty.”

  37. rhoadess on March 27th, 2008 1:08 pm

    Hi teach, and other fellow students
    Well it seems that the not looking and only listening has helped a bit, but we’ll see how long that’ll last. Actually, I am less distracted and can focus more on the lessons. That was a very interesting lesson, about the ampersand, it seems the word “and” must have been used way to much in Rome. What’s funny is that the name for the symbol is longer than the actual reason it was invented (”et” went to “&” to “and” to “ampersand”). Oh well, as long as we know what & means, (et it doesn’t mean the person “&” formally know as Hotforwords) it should all work out.

    For the homework assignment, I must find another monogram, and I feel the $ dollar sign is a good one, although it’s origin is fuzzy. One theory is that the dollar sign is a mixture of the abbr. for the United States i.e. U-S, if we overstrike them the bottom part of the U vanishes into the S. I can’t make the symbol with the two bars, but it can be done with mac OS X fonts and LaTex (go here to find out how). The theory I like though is the one that comes from the Bible.

    And the people spake against God, and against Moses, Wherefore have ye brought us up out of Egypt to die in the wilderness? for there is no bread, neither is there any water; and our soul loatheth this light bread. And the LORD sent fiery serpents among the people, and they bit the people; and much people of Israel died. Therefore the people came to Moses, and said, We have sinned, for we have spoken against the LORD, and against thee; pray unto the LORD, that he take away the serpents from us. And Moses prayed for the people. And the LORD said unto Moses, Make thee a fiery serpent, and set it upon a pole: and it shall come to pass, that every one that is bitten, when he looketh upon it, shall live. And Moses made a serpent of brass, and put it upon a pole, and it came to pass, that if a serpent had bitten any man, when he beheld the serpent of brass, he lived.
    Numbers 21:5-9 KJV

    This verse foreshadowed what Jesus came to do, to conquer death and sin. We can cross reference this with the words of Jesus Christ in the NT, where Jesus reviles to Nicodemus that the serpent on the pole in the Torah actually represented Jesus Christ taking on the curse of sin & death, imposed on mankind by the serpent in the garden of Eden.

    And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of man be lifted up: That whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have eternal life. For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved. He that believeth on him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.
    John 3:14-18 KJV

    Don’t paraphrase me on this, because this is just my theory on it’s meaning, but the serpent represents sinful flesh, which was conquered by God’s Son, who took on sinful flesh by becoming a man, and being tempted in every way mankind is tempted, he never sinned, as our father Adam did. This Son of God, and man, was obedient unto death on the cross. Anyone who trusted in the word of God and looked upon the serpent of brass on the pole was healed of their serpent bite, likewise, anyone trusting in the word of God, whom died for our sins on the cross also will be healed from it’s (the flesh’s) sinful nature.

    So at one time the Germans had a coin called a Thaler, such that one side had the serpent on the pole, and the other side had an image of Jesus Christ on the cross. And so this is where the symbol for the dollar likely came from. (you can see an image of the Thaler here) :neutral:

  38. jhace2k on March 27th, 2008 12:46 pm

    Hey there HotForWords, what does it really mean to be “photogenic”?

  39. native_sinner on March 27th, 2008 12:18 pm

    I would like the know where the word “hump” came from….

    Thx you HotForWords…

    Your student

    Native_Sinner

  40. politricks5 on March 27th, 2008 11:06 am

    HAHAHAHAHA AH HAHAHAHA..etc..> :grin:
    Literally, laughing aloud here, thanks BillyB I needed that.

    I had a similar experience with a Professor of Economics. He would explain complex ideas and theories using the simplified example of his predilection for Philharmonic performances.

    Honestly, I went the entire semester without knowing what a ‘ New Yoh Philamony’ was.

    By the way, great transcription above. Was it “You hear my voice and if you pay close you have listened to me very good”?

    *still chuckling*
    :wink: :wink: Rink Rink.

  41. scorpio_ylo on March 27th, 2008 10:49 am

    i got a word reguest tell us where the word dinosuar came from

  42. nlsmafia2008 on March 27th, 2008 8:13 am

    Dear Marina- :grin:
    What is the word that defines the “the fear of beautiful women ” ?

  43. nlsmafia2008 on March 27th, 2008 8:11 am

    Hi Marina- :smile:
    These two words or symbols are commonlt used these days in chatrooms when a person is addressing or listing a group of people,
    it is ” et al ” . Would you please be so kind to explain the irigins of this? I am a recent subcriber having just received my fourth video from your “Hot For Words” video postings and I love what you are teaching and your methods of teaching.Take care now,
    nlsmafia2008

  44. blazetamer on March 27th, 2008 7:48 am

    Being a Firefighter for over 20 years and a Fire Service instructor I think that a great word for “Class” would be CONVECTION. Due to the definition of the word it would be a GREAT lesson for HOT for Words….. :evil:

  45. courto76 on March 27th, 2008 7:19 am

    Marina, I think I already know this one but….. I want to know if it is what
    I think it is. “mind your P’s and Q’s”

    Cheers, courtney

    jeffsstress replied on March 28th, 2008 8:59 am:

    Irish phrase. Irish women used to tell their husbands :evil: “mind your pints and quarts” before going to church.

  46. fyshdoc on March 27th, 2008 7:16 am

    wow! that’s all i can say everytime i watch your lessons.

    question: the origin of “meteorsm” ? many thanks for the answer.

    as for symbols with meaning, how about these: #, $, and the symbol for one cent which i don’t have on my keyboard.

    thank you

    always your faithful student
    fyshdoc

  47. lokeinlyesmith on March 27th, 2008 7:03 am

    Hey, I was wanting to request the phrase “smart aleck”. I didn’t know what an “aleck” was, so I looked it up, and it’s supposed to be a form of Alexander? To call someone a ’smart Alexander’? That doesn’t make much sense… Thanks. :mrgreen:

    Bob replied on March 27th, 2008 9:44 pm:

    I’m not going to be tempted to mention alx in this connection. :grin:
    Oh! Damn!
    Now I’m one too :lol:

  48. svish on March 27th, 2008 6:29 am

    Hi Marina,

    Great lessons!

    I have a word (or phrase to be more exact) that have been bugging me for a long time. I was hoping you could maybe help me with it? :sad:

    The phrase can actually vary, but usually goes something like “Do you mind ?” or “Would you mind ?”. For example, “Would you mind taking out the trash?” or “Would you mind picking me up at the train station?”

    What is bugging me is that I don’t quite get what mind here means. And also, to me, it feels like both the answer “Yes” and “No” is kind of a positive response. So there is like… no way of answering negative to those questions :p

    (Hope that made some sense at least :p )

  49. prospero811 on March 27th, 2008 5:51 am

    Hi Marina,

    Great video.

    Lots of symbols are out there. In the legal field, sometimes the Greek “delta” and “pi” are used to represent “defendant” and “plaintiff” in a case. Symbols are used for all the major currencies, like the $ and symbol for pound or euro. And you are familiar with the TM and “r” in a circle for trademark claims and registrations.

    The # sign is used for “number” or “pound.”

    Mathematical symbols like the + and - sign or the x or “dot” for multiplication, etc., are used.

  50. pelnied on March 27th, 2008 4:57 am

    Hey Marina. I would like to request the word hippopotomonstrosesquippedaliophobia

  51. savagecunes on March 27th, 2008 4:19 am

    my grandpa was a russian that was a nazi. i am nowhere near any of that. anyway my question is bout my last name: kunz. where did it come from and what does it mean?

    Bob replied on March 27th, 2008 9:40 pm:

    Didn’t Marina do that in the third Maxim Radio Show?
    Or am I being mean?… I Mean facetious. :lol:

  52. savagecunes on March 27th, 2008 4:12 am

    i wanna know what supercalifragilisticexpialidoshis means and where it was derived from? thanks in advance

    buzzword replied on March 27th, 2008 6:00 am:

    marina has already done this word. At the top of the page, click on lessons then word list. Being busy with knowing all of physics, I thought you might have missed this detail. Since you know all of physics, could you complete the equations for quantum chromodynamics functioning at the level of atomic nuclei? Physicists would be very excited if you could.

    savagecunes replied on March 27th, 2008 6:21 am:

    Are you talking about the Schrodinger equation? Why would you want to get into that here? But, if you must then I can explain it to somebody eager to know.

    hitman replied on March 27th, 2008 7:20 am:

    Don’t be mean Buzzword, he knows a lot of physics, surely he has some nuclear bombs in his garage and he won’t doubt using them.

    buzzword replied on March 27th, 2008 10:45 am:

    I just thought I would ask you something that you would consider worth knowing m8. You seem a little unsatisfied, perhaps looking for a challenge. I couldn’t compete with you, you are far superior to me. I don’t know a damn thing about cats, schrodinger, feynmen, heisenberg, godel or any of those mathematical, physicist types.

  53. hitman on March 27th, 2008 4:02 am

    Ω electrical resistance
    µ = 10^-6 (used in electronic commonly)
    λ = various coefficient and half life :grin:
    Δ =variation
    and so on…

    savagecunes replied on March 27th, 2008 4:12 am:

    i know all of physics. why r u asking her about it????

    hitman replied on March 27th, 2008 5:33 am:

    I am not asking about physics,I just wrote some examples

  54. charliek on March 27th, 2008 3:20 am

    Priviet, Marina:

    My Marina says hello also. My favorite symbol that represents a word is $, for dollar.

    Still waiting for the answer to where the word “jewelry” originated.

    Thank you. Specibo.
    Charliek

    savagecunes replied on March 27th, 2008 4:13 am:

    africa. ask her something worth knowing m8.

  55. 3215121 on March 27th, 2008 1:49 am

    @ = at

    and the old symbol of and looks more like a RG

  56. stas-russia on March 27th, 2008 12:42 am

    Марина!! Привет.
    очень рад что тебе удалось создать такой проект! случайно набрел на ссылки в сети и теперь изучаю значения слов.
    надо бы наших тоже подучить))
    самые лучшие пожелания из Москвы!
    Стас

  57. popaul on March 26th, 2008 11:57 pm

    Hello & ….

    WORD REQUEST : ADDICTIVE
    ADDICTION

    Ive sent a msg on ur latest video also about this word
    Would appreciate to have the definition of you miss Hotforwords imean &.

    Im a guy that gets addicted to things…+ jayz made a song called I know About Addiction in Love factory! so See ya &. Thank you marina!

  58. shrevem on March 26th, 2008 11:46 pm

    i’m curious about a little translation here. when you look up latin origins of words, we usually see similarities among many of the latin-based languages. my question is regarding false cognates between english and spanish, and why does “yo” in spanish mean “I?” and another, “embarazada” in spanish means “pregnant.” how can they sound almost identical but mean something completely different?

  59. Boyd on March 26th, 2008 11:39 pm

    Just needed to correct my typo. Use of the word “Love” in tennis for keeping “Score”. or you could use terms for golf which could be alot of fun. Thank you &.

    Woops, I mean Hotforwords! There that is better :mrgreen:

  60. Boyd on March 26th, 2008 11:35 pm

    Thanks for keeping your name. Word request is about the use of the word Love is tennis?

  61. biohazard9 on March 26th, 2008 10:27 pm

    I also want to request a word.. well.. it’s more like a phrase..

    How did the phrase easy as “a piece of cake” came about?

    Cheers!

  62. funkmasterw7 on March 26th, 2008 10:19 pm

    I got a word request:
    I know you grew up in Russia, so are there any interesting or notable words in English with origins in Russian?

    Thanks!

  63. labbatt78 on March 26th, 2008 9:06 pm

    +plus, =equals, -minus and “quote

  64. vectorial on March 26th, 2008 8:23 pm

    æ is contraction of ‘a’ and ‘e’ or not?? what is it?
    is less than
    ° graus
    Ø is empty
    § pharagrafh
    … is ‘etc’ and etcetra

    And what about

    :) is happy :smile: :( is sad :sad:
    :õ is crying :cry:
    :D so happy :grin:
    and million others ;p

  65. nighteye on March 26th, 2008 8:20 pm

    I am the α and the Ω :mrgreen:

  66. mendes on March 26th, 2008 8:18 pm

    % £

  67. hellskitchen23 on March 26th, 2008 8:07 pm

    A very funny lesson, 5 stars as usual. I’d like to know if you could tell me the history of the word “kitchen”, as this word kind of applies to me a little. Perhaps you could wear a chef’s jacket and/or hat for the video? Just an idea. Thanks. :grin: :grin:

    Marina replied on March 27th, 2008 7:28 pm:

    hellskitchen23, or it’s the place that people used to tell me in the comments of my first few videos that I should be cleaning! :-)

    JD replied on March 29th, 2008 2:02 am:

    I miss those days when you used to record your videos with your kitchen in the background. Maybe you could do a future video with the kitchen in it for old times sake. Thanks.

  68. ross175 on March 26th, 2008 7:52 pm

    this lesson is funny, i’ve here are some interesting words you could investigate, the words entrance and exit

  69. dj32 on March 26th, 2008 7:50 pm

    We use @ for at and $ for dollar. Your site is way cool and so is your show.

  70. violaman on March 26th, 2008 7:39 pm

    There are these symbole too from the greek alphabet (the most popular):
    α: alpha Ω: omega
    γ: gamma θ: theta
    β: beta Δ: delta
    κ: kappa(just like the mark)

    usually we use them for math physics and chemistry to definite many things or for algebraic resolution
    ex: θ for an angle, α for alpha radiation

    and there many others(that I don’t know the meanings so… Help me Hotforwords!!!!)

    nickc1188 replied on March 30th, 2008 9:37 pm:

    They also have scientific meanings, such as Lamba and half-life (for radioactive or otherwise degrading materials), or Ohms (electrical impedance, mostly as it pertains to sound), Delta (for change… in anything really - mostly just involves a subtraction equation), etc.

    nickc1188 replied on March 30th, 2008 9:42 pm:

    comment withdrawn, should have kept reading down the comment bar

  71. garlnx on March 26th, 2008 7:25 pm

    We use “@” to shorten the word AT. It’s also used in Email addresses. Nice video and & would have been nice too. funny but nice

    garlnx

  72. bobsully on March 26th, 2008 7:00 pm

    ®

    Thanks for not changing you name HotForWords!!!

  73. buzzword on March 26th, 2008 6:55 pm

    Your audio was picking up background noise, are you using a different mic?

    alx replied on March 26th, 2008 7:01 pm:

    sounds almost like someone was vacuum cleaning or mowning the lawn or something. :/

    Marina replied on March 27th, 2008 8:53 am:

    My macbook fan makes noise (it’s on then it’s off.. ).. I have a separate mic.. but I think it also picks up all the surrounding noise.. so now I think I need to invest in a directional mic I think they call it.

    alx replied on March 27th, 2008 10:22 am:

    damn. so close … :/

    nickc1188 replied on March 30th, 2008 9:34 pm:

    I think a shotgun mic would suit what you’re doing. It focuses on a very specific area so that ambient noises don’t interfere, which is great for video where the director wants to sample only the sounds coming from the area that the camera can see (while this is effective for voice sampling and accuracy, it’s not so great for cinematic… never mind, don’t need to impress you with my amateur sound knowledge lol). B&H Photo Video has a pretty good variety of good, high quality audio supplies as well as some decent information on the products. Abe’s of Maine is also very similar, though not as informative because they’re strictly warehousing. If you find a particular model you want, I’d also check PriceGrabber. Again, keep up the good work.

  74. slatorious on March 26th, 2008 6:50 pm

    Marina,
    I just saw the episodes Bad Cop 1 and 2, and it made me think of an unpleasant word from World War Two. Would the word KAPO be related to the word COP?

    COP was defined as a policeman.
    COP was also defined as a thief.
    KAPO fits both definitions.

    Not a pleasant subject, but still a valid question.
    KAPO could be related.

    I hope this word choice does not offend you.
    That is not my intention.

  75. toysjoe on March 26th, 2008 5:59 pm

    I would love to have a lesson on the word “discombobulated”! It’s the weirdest word I’ve ever seen! Well, one of them, at least.

    I’m probably the youngest student in this class, at 16 years of age!
    YAY!!!!

    toysjoe replied on March 26th, 2008 6:07 pm:

    Or, we can do a lesson on why the word is “grateful” instead of “greatful”

    Isn’t a grate some sort of metal barrier?

    alx replied on March 26th, 2008 6:13 pm:

    cf. grace … “gratitude” … “(to) say grace” …

    toysjoe replied on March 26th, 2008 6:14 pm:

    cool thanks. didn’t know that.

    buzzword replied on March 26th, 2008 6:47 pm:

    I think I remember saying YAY!!!! after everything I said when I was sixteen. er… no, now I remember I always said, “fuck you”. But I was a very discombobulated young man.

    toysjoe replied on March 26th, 2008 7:26 pm:

    Don’t be so mean. What is your problem.

    buzzword replied on March 27th, 2008 7:03 pm:

    apologies, sometimes my wit doesn’t translate well into the written form. I was implying that youth is a time of unrestrained expression. However for different kids that expression comes out differently, “YAY” or “Fuck You!”. For me, a discombobulated youth I was constantly pissed off. The, “fuck you” was not intended toward you at all. I say, “YAY!” much more frequently now but it sounds rather ridiculous. You, being sixteen, “YAY” is real and vital and I’m jealous. Don’t trust anyone over thirty.

  76. sweaterhugger on March 26th, 2008 5:33 pm

    There is the @ symbol for the word at.

  77. politricks5 on March 26th, 2008 5:14 pm

    Boiiiiiiiing! Booooiiiiiiiinnng! :shock:
    How about the Male and Female symbols - the circles with the arrow and cross, respectively?

    Thanks for the video!
    You seemed a bit rushed during the ‘nonchalant’ vid, but this one was nice and fun~

    Oh wait, Tiro was in charge of what??? Keeping track of bitches? or pictures? It sounded like bitches.

    BillyB replied on March 27th, 2008 8:31 am:

    Tiro “the pimp” as you think, was actually in charge of written speeches
    Back when I went to trade school, I had a teacher from Taiwan. Although he’d been a teacher in Canada more than 10 years, his accent was so thick, a casual listener could only pick up the odd word now & then. He explained why he didn’t try to sound more Canadian, (No one sounds more Cabadian than American Broadcasters) by saying ” You heh’ ma voy & f’ you pa’ cos you hav lessen me way good”. So if we wanted to learn the technical stuff we had to decipher what he was saying first. Anyways he was way better than the one other teacher choice, (dry as burnt toast)
    We could get him off topic when things got tiring in class, just asked about his daughter. She was a gorgeous, popular, top ten actress & singer in Taiwan & he had pictures & stories that could keep him going for hours. Ah yes memories, we affectionately remember him as “The Taiwanees Terror”
    BTW, Did Marina talk in the nonchalant video :?:

    politricks5 replied on March 27th, 2008 11:08 am:

    BAH HAHAHAHA..etc..> :grin:
    Literally, laughing aloud here, thanks BillyB I needed that.

    I had a similar experience with a Professor of Economics. He would explain complex ideas and theories using the simplified example of his predilection for Philharmonic performances.

    Honestly, I went the entire semester without knowing what a ‘ New Yoh Philamony’ was.

    By the way, great transcription above. Was it “You hear my voice and if you pay close you have listened to me very good”?

    *still chuckling*
    :wink: :wink: Rink Rink

    BillyB replied on March 27th, 2008 2:06 pm:

    Good guess, you would have probably made a passing grade. We in the class actually had discussions about what was said to see if we heard the same things. All the older auto tech’s in our little city know what “meggaline fos” means. No other city in Canada would have a clue what we were on about. (Magnetic lines of force) but thats what we learned and it still is a bit of a joke when we phone other shops in town & talk to the guys from our era. Any ways to translate a little better your guess at my accent ” You hear my voice & if you pass the course you have listened to me very good.” Cheers :smile:

  78. jimmy weaver on March 26th, 2008 5:14 pm

    I would love you to tell a story concerning the word “convivial”
    Pretty Please Marina

  79. train.insane on March 26th, 2008 5:12 pm

    Too funny….

    how about the use of, effect or affect?

    theoddgeteven replied on March 29th, 2008 10:12 am:

    I agree this “affect” and “effect” are a real “bug-bur” for proper usage. This could sound like and feel like the famous “Duct [duck] tape video.

  80. eh11211 on March 26th, 2008 4:59 pm

    How about this one Marina, ~ (tilde)?

  81. schoolboy1111 on March 26th, 2008 4:47 pm

    Well the best one i can think of is Pi but there is no type letter for it.

    __
    I I 3.141445634693563894638947671356793247864785638976 83!
    Close enough.

    Another word that seems to be a little to hot for talk is titallation. I’ve always thought the meaning was; An ecstatic feeling that usually derives from the expression of others. Ok, one more. Ecstatic, either word would do.

  82. hdc169 on March 26th, 2008 4:32 pm

    lol i love the end!!! and id like to no if u could tell me the meaning of the word “Hot” and why its used in so many different ways :arrow: :smile:

    Marina replied on March 26th, 2008 4:46 pm:

    You did a video request right hdc169? I will def. do that word if I can make an interesting video out of it! So stay tuned :razz:

    hdc169 replied on March 26th, 2008 4:53 pm:

    thank you so much marina and yes i did! :smile: :smile: :smile:

  83. grandmaster on March 26th, 2008 4:27 pm

    i’m new to the site, it’s fun as to watch ur vids and read comments! ,) bloody excellent idea, i tell ya!

    listen, could u try and somehow finally solve the “dinkum” mystery?
    “struth” is used a similar way down under, i’d just like to know why…

    cheers! ,)

  84. Mad_Dud on March 26th, 2008 4:21 pm

    # hash, sharp.

    HFW, can you explain word “Roger that!” used by military soldiers who confirm received orders?

    savagecunes replied on March 27th, 2008 6:22 am:

    wikipedia m8

  85. HarveyArtifex on March 26th, 2008 3:53 pm

    Excellent Video as always. I didn’t think ampersand made a good name either.

    I was wondering if you could explain the origin of the word “Finish” or “Finished” and does it have any relation to Finland?

  86. alcapone on March 26th, 2008 3:47 pm

    € = euro
    ¥ = yen
    can’t remember more for now…

  87. runawayscott on March 26th, 2008 3:10 pm

    Let’s see there’s;
    @ = at
    # = number
    $ = dollars
    % = percent
    as you can probably tell I’m just staring at my keyboard as I’m typing this.
    But seriously where can i find those pictures you’ve been showing at the end of your videos?

    theoddgeteven replied on March 29th, 2008 10:08 am:

    and I’ll add

    = is equals
    + is plus
    > greater than
    < less than

    Opps Ok,….that is math stuff right! How about the triangle of three dots which I cannot figure out how to reproduce with a key board.

    In any event the three dot triangle means “therefore”.

    techiegirlaz replied on April 14th, 2008 10:49 am:

    Just a quick little urban meaning for your 3 dot triangle.
    Also in the latin culture double for the saying “Mi vida Loca”
    I realize thats more a saying than a word but many ppl around here have that tatoo. Although meaning therefore would make it kind of funny.

    nickc1188 replied on March 30th, 2008 9:20 pm:

    sketchy… jk not that I wouldn’t feel inclined to sidetrack on a chance visit to Google (with that all-tempting “Images” tab), but I’m not sure if I would be so bold as to say it on her website… although I implicitly just did. Oops. Oh well - I’d be lying if I did try to be high and holy about it. Plus, I used a double negative in my first sentence, so she’s already out of my league (aside from the whole “she’s famous and beautiful while I’m another anonymous college student” thing)

  88. pdawg on March 26th, 2008 3:04 pm

    Please teach us the proper way to pronounce “Medvedev”

  89. dimitristrobbe on March 26th, 2008 3:01 pm

    ‘we’re sorry, this video…’ what happened? :shock:

    dimitristrobbe replied on March 26th, 2008 3:05 pm:

    sorry, seemed to be a temporary problem with Youtube… :roll:

  90. alx on March 26th, 2008 2:58 pm

    if I recall correctly, ” 7 ” was also used as a sign for “et”. even in words, not just for “and”.

    alx replied on March 26th, 2008 3:16 pm:

    yeah, founf it. that text is old high german.

    it also says that it is a roman abbreviation.

    so … did they have both — & and 7?

    alx replied on March 26th, 2008 3:17 pm:

    argh. “found”.

    BillyB replied on March 26th, 2008 6:12 pm:

    Does that mean Germans designed my keybord? 7& key :roll: or just coincidence.
    Love German cars but hate the way the wheels are held on, (No Nuts)
    well actually do like the fact that they are held on, but no thought is given to the poor sap at the side of the freeway with a flat 7 no autoclub membership. Oh, its dark 7 it’s raining 7 the handle is missing for the jack 7 when finally getting the wheel off, theres no way to line the wheel up with the little stud holes in the dark 77… What makes you think it happened to me? It’s just a hypothetical situation. Cheers

    alx replied on March 26th, 2008 6:37 pm:

    well, yes and no.

    “Konrad Zuse’s electromechanical “Z machines”. The Z3 (1941) was the first working machine featuring binary arithmetic, including floating point arithmetic and a measure of programmability. In 1998 the Z3 was proved to be Turing complete, therefore being the world’s first operational computer.” (–> link.)
    konrad zuse was born in berlin, he was german.

    and, of course, the Z3 had a keyboard.

    sapientiaadest replied on March 27th, 2008 7:30 pm:

    I think the word “graduation” is timely and interesting. :roll:

  91. JD on March 26th, 2008 2:56 pm

    Another 5 star lesson!
    This one was so funny & preposterous that I thought you released your April Fools Day video too soon.
    VERY entertaining… & I learned something too.
    You are truely a triple threat: Intelligent, beautiful & humorous!

    insanegamer219 replied on March 27th, 2008 11:28 am:

    hey Hotforwords can you do a lesson on the word sex

    dxsaul replied on March 27th, 2008 5:54 pm:

    HI MARINA, HEY CAN YOU DO A SHOW WITH THE WORD (CHUPACABRAS)

    big andrew replied on March 27th, 2008 6:08 pm:

    Hey, (&), I mean HFW where did the term “the whole Kit & Kibutal” come from, what is a Kitbutal?

    lividemerald replied on March 31st, 2008 12:24 am:

    For starters, it’s not Ki(t)butal, it’s caboodle. The whole kit and caboodle. Just giving you a nudge in the right direction…