Spitting Image Answer
Here is the answer to the Spitting Image game…
Plus a surprise visit from my sister doing what came out as a Magibon impression,
though she tells me it was entirely by mistake.. I decided to run with it in the editing 
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Posted on March 29, 2008 · Filed Under Lessons
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My mom first saw me Doppelganger about 20+ years ago and tried to talk to her, only to realize who she wasn’t. Since then my other has been seen by many who know me and have let me know that she keeps changing her looks (hair color, cut, etc) matching mine for years. Wish I could meet her.
Thanks for showing people that just cause you’re smart doesn’t mean you aren’t sexy!
Congratulations, Marina,
Number one slot on Google for the term “Magibon”; a great achievement.
To emulate you I am thinking of changing my name to Magibob.
i am a bit late but i think the word is Doppleganger. i know this from playing too much D&D…
Who performs the song at the end of this video and what is it called? Can I buy it on iTunes?
My pseudo-doppelganger (often imitated, never duplicated jk that’s a little vain, though he really isn’t an exact reflection of myself per se) played Rufio in the movie “Hook.” To be quite honest, I had hoped for more from my doppelganger (though I suppose he’s made it a hell of a lot further than I have thus far in life, having starred in a popular childrens’ movie).
Also, I suspect that he’s shorter than I am because he appears to be the same height as Robin Williams, who’s a self-proclaimed “wee-little man” and listed on various celebrity height websites as being between 5′6″ and 5″8″ (Robin Williams Live on Broadway, funny stuff, check it out - I believe this is from his segment on an experience with a female gorilla) (the other factor in play is camera angles… they did make Elijah Wood and Sean Astin look half the height of Ian McKellan in Lord of the Rings so…).
I’m wondering about the word “DUFUS.”
This word seems to refer to an unusually dim-witted or klutzy person. But what if there are more than one? Is the plural “dufusses?” This just doesn’t sound right to me. A busload of dufusses…
In accordance with the Greco-Roman conventional pluralization rule regarding -US suffixes, I like to think of it as “dufi” instead, but then one must carefully pronounce the long “i” sound at the end to get the desired effect. Maybe I’m being overanalytical.
Hahaha this post was hilarious. “Dufi!” I have to find ways to use this in my everyday life lol.
Marina i’m buildining a personal site, but how can i put in it, a banner ofyour site? please help me
something arround 34.4 KB (35229 bytes)
lol.
Haha, that’s funny. lol.
Doppelganger.
So, how did “John Doe” come to mean an unknown person?
Yours in philophilia…
Dear Teacher,
Some time ago, I asked for the origin of the phrase “dead heat”. I’m not sure if I requested it correctly (I think I sent it to your email, which I now see you can’t open), so I’m posing the question again.
What is the origin of the phrase “dead heat”? We use it to describe a situation when two or more people are all very close in a race or competition. I’ve heard the word a lot lately, when people say that Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama are in a ‘dead heat’. I suspect ‘heat’ refers to a race of some sort, but I don’t know why we’d call a race a ‘heat’. And also, I don’t know what’s ‘dead’ about it.
Please help. I love your show.
Your greatful student,
ejhollan
I’m 0638989002 on youtube!!
i would like you to research the history and origin of the word VAMPIRE.
I think it’s a very interesting word since its from serbian language and I’m
from Serbia, and its used all around the world.
Hi Marina,
I was wondering: in practically every video lesion you publish, you say “Hot-For-Words decided to investigate.” But do you DECIDE to investigate, or do you CHOOSE to investigate?!
Please investigate the origin of DECIDE, and determine if you are really that bloodthirsty, or if you openly and freely choose to do what you do!
Thanks,
S.A.M.
Aha, but did she really “decide” or “choose” at all? Hmmm, sounds like your opening the door to philosophical, not philological, discussion.
She could have decided to investigate.
–verb (used with object)
1. to solve or conclude (a question, controversy, or struggle) by giving victory to one side: The judge decided the case in favor of the plaintiff.
2. to determine or settle (something in dispute or doubt): to decide an argument.
3. to bring (a person) to a decision; persuade or convince: The new evidence decided him.
–verb (used without object)
4. to settle something in dispute or doubt: The judge decided in favor of the plaintiff.
5. to make a judgment or determine a preference; come to a conclusion.
[Origin: 1350–1400; ME deciden < MF decider < L décīdere lit., to cut off, equiv. to dé- de- + -cīdere (comb. form of caedere to cut)]
Or she could have chosen to do so of her own volition, though this seems to imply that her choice was independent of the requests, which is somewhat untrue.
Perhaps there is no choice or free will and we’re all victims of causality, through disparity in power or fatalism, divine or incidental…
Anyhow…
Hi Marina,
The only thing I can think of for a German loan word that is the spitting image of something else would be doppleganger. Although, that is usually a spirit-copy of someone - like your evil twin would be your doppleganger, if she were an evil spirit. She’s much to cute to be evil, though….
Your video was “wunderbar” as always, Marina! You are a philological “wunderkind!” And you are so hot, you turn me into a “neanderthal” just looking at you - I want to carry you away to my cave! Perhaps we can have a drink together - maybe a martini with “vermouth?” Or, perhaps you’d prefer a nice “lager?” And, then we can dance the “waltz.”
I can see you are trying to make her presence on your videos “verboten.” She must have “wanderlust” because sometimes she’s on your videos and other times she’s somewhere else. Is her more frequent presence on your videos a sign of a change in the “zeitgeist” of your web page? I can tell you, I get no “schadenfreude” from seeing the misery she puts you through!
Well, what will be the “leitmotiv” of your next video? Will it be “glitzy?” Will you wear “lederhosen” for us?
I’m a little hungry now, so I have to go. Maybe I’ll have a “hamburger” or some “weiner shnitzel,” “knockwurst” or “liverwurst” for lunch. Hmm… think I’ll stick with the “hamburger” after all….
Have a great day hanging out in your “lebensraum.” You are my philological angel, Marina - I can tell by your “heiligenschein!”
Eric
How about the word “Extravagant” or perhaps “Hallucination”?
Have a nice day Marina
Hi there Marina!
I would like to know the origins of the words BUTTERFLY and LADYBIRD.
Keep up the good work coz I really enjoy your lessons
ok i would also like to request a word… ‘car…’
now i no the proper term is automobile and u can seperate that into ‘Auto’ (meaning self?) and ‘Mobile’ (meaning transportable?)
that much is obvious… but how did this get shortened to car….
It was carriage that got shortened to car.
Please, Please, PLEASE, Marina, tell me where I can find those pictures you keep playing at the end of your videos. Can I get them by private request? seriously, i’m a huge fan and would love to see more of those pics.
not sure of the spelling but the word I am curious about is “nostrovia”. it was used by russians I was drinking with in a bar just before downing a drink. what does it mean?
Unless you had the right of prima noctae (sp?) where the lord of the fief gets to spend the wedding night with any bride married on his land. Suppose the bride in question was Marina’s twin sister, hmm? Maybe then you’d rethink your priorities a bit. And you just might be a little less quick to bet the fiefdom as well.
[OOps. The comment I wrote to Boulder Bill regarding the origin of the f-word (above) appeared here instead because I had failed to hit the send button. My bad. ]
What I DID mean to say to answer gingerden’s query was that the spelling (in English characters, sorry, best I can do) that I’ve seen for this toast is ‘NAZDOROVYE.’ Now you can look it up…
No, I don’t know exactly what it means, but it can be freely substituted for “Skoal,” “Kampai,” “A Sante’,” “Cheers,” or “Prost” as necessary. But get some real top-shelf vodka to try it out on, at least. It’s much better that way, and less painful the next morning. Nazdorovye!
what’s the meaning of the word toilet
hm… am I the only one intrigued by the symbolds at the end?
Is this a riddle or something, or is it just a homage to the magibon characters?
If it is a riddle, can somebody tell my the third symbol in the lowest row? that’s the only one that is not a unicode character (or I just can’t find it).
Also, they don’t really make much (or any) sense.
✌ ☞ ✺ ⌚ ♡
♣ ♋ ☆ ☺
☹ ⚁ ♘ ☼ ☽
☂ ☔ ☃ ♗ ☝
☠ ⚆ ⚇ ✿ ❃
♨ ☏ ? ♴ ✈
here are the unicodes if anyone’s interested.
I think its a private, top secret message.
What do you think it means?
It will take some time viewing archived lessons. Each symbol is associated with something in a video. Like I said this will take time. Once you figure out which videos you will know the words represented by the symbols. They are not the specific word being discussed in the lesson but associated with them. You then have to arrange them into the correct order to get the message. What you get isn’t a complete sentence but you get the message. I’m probably already in trouble for spoiling the fun, so here is a final hint. It explains, sort of, the, “I love you.” message. This was a lot of work, I should have been doing my taxes.
how very interesting.
plus, I now have an excuse for not noticing that, for I have only watched about 4 lessons in total.
Also, it explains why my decimal/hex approach was… rather futile ^^
Thanks for the clues buzzword…
Knowing its a puzzle helps - because I wouldn’t have bothered otherwise. Still difficult, but maybe worth a try.
Maybe it’s a subliminal message to send us to buy her upcoming book
The truth is out there.
that is a funny song.
no kiddin, if that is a riddle, I’m stuck. at the “Recycling of high densety polyethylene (type-2 plastic)” symbol. that makes… no real sense.
I just think it’s rather implausible that Marina chose these Symbols just by chance. All but two are Unicode characters from Blocks 2600–26FF and 2700-27FF (misc. symbols and Dingbats), the two exceptions being the watch (2300 - 23FF misc. technical symbols) and the face/prisoner-thingy in the last line.
This lets me conclude that she must have put SOME work/thought in it.
Plus, at some parts I can see some sort of logic (even though I might just be hallucinating). For example, you have the two hands at the beginning, then the two card-colors (heart and club), a zodiac sign and the star, the two smileys,a die and a chess-knight, sun and moon, the two umbrellas (with/without rain), two Go-markers and the two flower-ish things.
The ones I can not see any relationship in is the starburst with the watch in the top line and the snowman and the chess-bishop. and the whole last line.
Marina, could you pretty please just say if there IS any sense to it or not? I just hate to let a riddle unsolved. Maybe I can tempt you with something…
I think what buzzword is implying with the link is that he really didn’t solve the riddle?
If I’m wrong give us another hint…
I confess.
I think its like good poetry: without knowing the author’s true intent, we can only apply our own personal experience to guess what it means - but it is rich enough so everyone gets something from it… everyone willing to look deeper that is.
We still don’t have an admission on the birthmark, so I’m guessing if this is a secret code we’re supposed to break, it will be a long time before we get the answer.
You are too hot for words…and educational too!
I wonder where those three periods come from which I use to represent a momentary pause…
HI i wonder the origin of the word “chat”, I’m from Sweden and in the city of Gothenburg there is a slang that isn’t appearing anywhere else which vocally sounds very much the same, do they have a connection? That word is, “tjöta” or “tjôta”.
btw, your sister is hot! and cute! ;P
well as many others said, Doppelgänger.
Even though I’ve never ever heard this being used.
Plus, I never met mine. But one of the ex of my sister. At first it was quite creepy, but all in all, he’s a pretty nice guy. Actually, quite like my sisters ex. Maybe he’s a clone or something.
Marina have to tell you something that you all ready know
You are so very Beautiful . . . . Why to smart also!
Glad to be your student
definitely, I hope not meeting my doppelganger… scandinavian and german legends tell that meeting him/her is an announcement of one’s death… “the one who sees his/her double (not twin, obviously) must know that he/she is going to die”… ufffffff…
I hope that next lesson will be less frightening!!!
adiós and thank you again
antonio costa
so they both are gonna die?
Hello Marina
I’ve just joined your site… I am Spanish and it would be great to improve my English using your lessons…
I’ve found the word doppelgänger (too late, many did before… it’s my spanish timing that deliveries your messages so early in the morning
), with a little help of the Internet, of course 
but… I hope I’ll never find mine because it seems that it’s not only the spitting image of oneself but the darkest side of each one… even the evil twin… scary!!!
thank you very much for your lessons… I’ll be a good student…
adiós
antonio costa
I’d love you to investigate “copacetic” if you have not already. It is a word I sometimes read but very rarely hear. For some reason I really like the word and use it whenever the opportunity arises. I assume it must have been more common but has fallen into disuse.
Love your video lessons, H4W! They are always fun.
BTW- Since you did “twin”, why not do DOPPLEGANGER?
That’s a very strange word.
May I ask for a word (or a bazillion)?
Thousand. In Spanish, Mil is thousand
Billion. Which have it wrong? US or the rest of the world?
You can have fun finding out about the harpo, zeppo, and groucho
Actually, if you look at the prefixes and suffixes in the following, you will be stunned:
http://www.unihedron.com/projects/gonvert/unitlist .txt
The bigger ones, I suspect, are being coined to track our national debt.
Loved this most recent video, it was fun seeing your Doppleganger on the show.
F.U.C.K. is from old England… Fornacation Under Consent of King. In Old England married couples were to recieve consent from King in order to do the deed. The funny story is that I learned this from a baseball umpire while playing ball that approached our bench before the game and his rule was we were not allowed to use the word unless we knew it’s origin.
Was he correct?
How is this for a word lesson.. “Manaquin”
Ms. Marina, if you ever find yourself in SD, CA give a buz I would love to be your travel host.
I know it is an old word, but I’d be willing to bet my fiefdom that what your umpire claimed as its origin was an attempt at humor. I am sure the King had better things to do and certainly would not have had the time to issue a consent to every couple who got married… I’m no king but even I have better things to do..
Unless you had the right of prima noctae (sp?) where the lord of the fief gets to spend the wedding night with any bride married on his land. Suppose the bride in question was Marina’s twin sister, hmm? Maybe then you’d rethink your priorities a bit. And you just might be a little less quick to bet the fiefdom as well.
The only word I know is doppleganger in German. I want to know where the expression of chip off the old block came from.
Back when my hair was considerably longer, I looked like a clone of Weird Al Yankovic, and other people (mostly total strangers) constantly reminded me of this. The main difference is that he has brown eyes; I have blue.
Doppelganger is the German word. Someone who is an exact copy of someone else. It generally has “supernatural” connotations.
And nope I have never met my Doppleganger though I have been told that I look like someone who lives in Florida or Louisiana [Tony Stewart the Nascar driver told me I looked exactly like his bus driver - My ex said I looked like Nathan Lane (but much taller - and not gay - not that theres anything wrong with that)]
Hello, Miss Pulchritudinous
I just recently found you and already my life has improved! Seeing how it is now spring and I love to fish. I always wondered how Bass ( the fish ) and Bass ( the instrument and tone) could be related. And seeing where we or in spring now and BASEBALL is starting , what’s the connection between Base and Bass. This is all very confusing to me. But I know with a little help from you I’ll be Ok
Love YA!
Joe
aka Drummatrucker
Hi Marina,
Another great lesson. I was sure the answer was “spirit and image”. I would like to know the origin of the word “overwhelm”. I think it is an unusual word.
Your beauty and charm is overwhelming.
I mean ‘are’ overwhelming.
You’re sister is very playful… I like her.
I see my spitting image all the time; he’s my identical twin - for real.
Your (spelling)
I would like to hear the origin of “MOJO”. Please?
Yes. Doppelganger. Although, I believe it’s more simplar in that a “doppelgagnger” is more like an “alternate universe” clone,
Your sister is a bit mischevious, but very sweet…
My heart melted when she shyly said she loved you/us… but then I’m a hopeless romantic type, and I search in vain for the truth of that sentiment to be in my life.
Keep the lessons comming, but surely we have progressed beyond students and could now be your friends!?!
I DID have a sexy maths teacher for my college advanced maths, but I failed as we never finished the curriculum assigned work.
She spent half the lesson chatting with the girls and the lads were either drooling over her or scratching our heads at the work (while she was deap in gossip) that we all still had months of stuff to cover and the exams were on us (she later quit to teach primary)
the word love
where did the word cigar come from - and you are so beautiful!
Yes, I have met my doppelganger, and a very unsettling experience it was too. He was even wearing the same clothes so it was like turning a corner in a corridor and suddenly being confronted with a mirror, but this was on a beach in the south of France.
Unless maybe I am the other person’s evil twin … 
We were both so startled that we each turned away and walked in the opposite direction, perhaps fearing that we were matter and anti-matter and if we came together we would cause the end of the world. However the legend that a doppelganger is a harbinger of doom seems not to have held true; at least, I am still waiting …
Hmm
Hello Marina,
Good work on another video. Now, I have a question - looking into the antonym of sesquipedialianism, laconism, I noticed laconism originated in an area called Lacedaemonia. Does that region have anyhing to do with demons?
Also, on a sidenote, it’d be interesting to see a dialogue between a sesquipedalian and a laconite.
Don’t you mean a monologue?
Only if the laconite is not intelligent enough. Intelligent laconites are economical with words, yet they do make every word count. Unlike sesquipedalians, they do not need long words to display their intelligence.
Personally, I frequently try to be laconian, despite my sesquipedalian tendencies.
If you frequently try to be Laconian you must be imitating Daedalus.
A more economical use of your resources, to make them count, would be to buy an air ticket to Greece and a ferry to the south-eastern Peloponnese, which is where Laconia was located.
However, I believe you mean LACONIC which is more economical at least with letters.
A thought has just occurred to me; it’s interesting that Laconia was in a region dominated by the Spartans who were noted for their austere lifestyle. If your theory is correct, maybe their manner of speech was also austere and therefore laconic.
Marina,
A fertile area for investigation?
I don’t know what the correct word is for a laconic person, or even if there is one, but Laconite is covered by a patent as shown here
Perhaps laconicist would be better.
Right, laconic is what I meant - and I don’t think a word for a laconic person existed, so I figured laconite would be the most suitable….
In any case, it’d be really interesting if Marina shone her light on this.
I want to give your producer (you?) a BIG KISS for ensuring that your wonderful online personality grows and grows GO GIRL!
Your website is truly fascinating wyo550. Do you know Alan Watt?
Hi Buzz!
Thanks for your kind compliment about my little site.
Coming soon: Edge of Heaven (http://www.edgeofheavenbook.com)
And thanks for the link to Alan Watt. I’ve heard of him . But thanks to you, I’ll now KNOW something about him. He looks “out there”
(like all of us who come here…hot for words!)
Cheers
John
OK MARINA I GOT A GOOD ONE FOR YOU..WHERE DOES THE WORD “EARTH” COMES FROM AND WHO STARTED USING IT FIRST.
AND WHY IS THIS PLANET CALLED EARTH IF IT’S MORE WATER THEN EVERYTHING ELSE.
Go0od Luck!
Wow. So the earth is mostly water…you must have taken lots of geography courses. And what do you suppose is under all that water? No, wait…don’t tell me…it’s ICE, right?
Marina, seriously…do you have a bf?
You should tell us more about yourself.
Why don’t you make a biography video about yourself
I’m sure a lot of us would like to know since when your so HOT.
Besitos Preciosa.
MuacksSs
Whats the origin of Hindi word Mridul ?
I was wondering about the word “chaos” or “chaotic”.
thank you
Rodney
Hello there, Marina is just the best, I’d like to know the origin of the word “merry-go-round”.
Thanks a lot for this cultural and sexy podcast.
Hmm… I think it’d be a little tough for Marina to say the F word I mean there’s probably kids who watch her lessons. No offense to you or anything, but I don’t think that lesson is appropriate.
I do suggest we have a lesson on the word “Discombobulated”. I have wanted to know the background of that word.
Hi Hotforwords, long time watcher first time commenter, I never had a doppelganger before, but I did meet someone who was the opposite of me. I was chubby, he was skinny. I was bad at sports he was good at sports. I have a big nose, he had a real skinny nose and we both had the same name. Thats the closest as I could get.
Anyways, this may be alittle odd, but can you tell me where the word “fuck” came from? Its kind of embarrassing to ask cause I’m sure someone might bash me for it.
Anyways, have a good one, simlynobody123
it means to strike, and comes from german origin
fir more check out marinas maxim radio apperances
Would the German word be “doppelganger?”
Another 5 star lesson!
(Plus 4 stars for the evil (and crazy) twin).
I’ll bet this video was alot of fun to make.
However, if anyone was around while you were recording, I’ll bet they thought you were Cuckoo!
Also, when you decide to punish your sister… Make sure the camera is on.
I loved the bit when she said “I love you”.
Gave me goosebumps
how about the word ” banjo”
the German word having the same meaning as spitting image is “Doppelganger”.
i have never met mine, but i have met someone else’s.
it was quite embarrassing…….
Hello!!!
I would really like to know the origin of the word “Naïve” please!!
Thank you! I really like your shows!!
