Drink the Kool-Aid
Another case of mistaken identity!
Author: HotForWords
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KooL-Aid…Random Lesson…I remember this one when it came out. Marina in shades
In college, a friend mixed kool-aid with 99.7% grain alcohol 
ooo wow..i didnt know what the hell she was talking about..until she mentioned Jim Jones…Niice
HW: haile silassi
Lol she kind of looked Jim Jones in those glasses …creepy!! Hotforprofits could pull off some aviators prolly. But Marina is too cute in those, reminds me of blondie.
you don’t have to investigate i know the answer already JIM JONES started the whole Kool-aid by commanding his followers to drink poisoned Kool-aid but not all his followers wanted to most of the women and children had the poison forced into them by the male leaders of the grope Jim was such a wimp he didn’t drink the poisoned Kool-aid he shot his self, very few but still some of his followers survived, this on poor man watched has his son was forced to drink the kool-aid it was so sad listening to his story I cried
I don’t understand why is the word “chick” meant for women in slang? also why is it only said by men only? please help thank you. Love you
i say chick all the time i’m a woman
[chick] might make for some cool (mental) aid…Hello maucka!
Nice viedeo
*peace*
I enojyed the lesson, not sure about the meanign of it. still nice to know.
I disagree with hotforwords on the origin of this phrase, although I certainly enjoyed the lesson.
“Drinking the Kool-Aid” is a reference to Ken Kesey and the Merry Pranksters back in the ’60’s in the SF Bay area, as described in Tom Wolfe’s book The Electric Kool-Aid Acid Test.
yeh .. i remember that book .. all the rage when i was at school .. .along with (Huxley?) Doors of Perception, and the (Leary) Politics of Ecstasy.
YES YES YES!”drink the kool aid” is ambiguous…has more than one meaning so when used in conversation the listener should ask “how do you mean that”,in order to accurately understand the speaker of the phrase.The electic kool-aid acid test-Kesey book is what I associate first and then consider if the Jim Jones connotation applies and then consider if the speaker meant “flavor aid” or just the sugar water powder”kool aid”. Marina ,our combined energies would be synergistic.Would you like to Rule the world with me through the United Nations organizational structure?Please respond ASAP. Sincerely,Michael Meyer Jr.
I was stationed on Dover AFB Dover DE. when we brought back the 913 bodies from Jonestown. Day after day we were taking caskets out of C-5A Jets (we Called them pigs, because of the size, and the black painted nose on the front of the jet. Couple that with the way the front of the jet opens, and it looks like a pig opening it’s mouth) We processed the bodies in a hanger called the black hanger, which we could drop the temperature down to help slow down the decomposition process while we tried to ID the people by different means.
All I have to say is the way you pronounced “sugar” with your accent was very hot.
Media reference to “Kool Aid” — http://www.breitbart.tv/?p=82413
OOps I goofed on my post. Darn HTML code. Marina is there a way to go back and edit our posts?
_/)_
The use of the term Kool-Aid drinkers is circulating a lot in our school/company . I’ve been sending many links of this one lesson to many people.
Because of you Marina, I’ve become “word sensitive”. I bet there is a better for that. Any who, Now Im really conscience about the words I choose.
~~ _/)_ ~~
And here I thought the “Kool-Aid” phrase came from the Heaven’s Gate cult in 1997. I looked into it further and realized no drinks were involved. I must have heard it first then in reference to Jonestown. I have a question about another political phrase. I first heard “Here’s mud in your eye” during the campaign between Bush, Sr. and Dukakis in 1988. Whence does that come? Hoping my high-falutin’ (hey, that’s another one I wouldn’t mind you looking into) words garner your attention,
Eric
I think Winston Churchill’s double was killed during WW2. Shot on the balcony while enjoying a cigar. Yep, pretty certain about that.
Lol, your sister called you a bitch. That’s not nice!
mistaken names in history: “Battle of Bunker Hill” in the USA revolutionary war was fought on the neighboring hill, “Breeds Hill” but do you know why they switch the names?
Marina,
I’ve always found the word *ravenous* to be very intriguing. I would love to see it featured in one of your lessons. Have a fantastic day!!
Brian
Can you define the word sexy? How do women define sexy? how do men define sexy.
You are very beautiful and fun Marina? Where are you originally from?
I hope you put out a book soon with lots of word and phrase information, as well as some photos.
The only example that comes to mind is the word “orange” In Arabic it was a “naranj” but when it was brought to Britain people would say “would you like a Naranj?” and the the listener was hearing “would you like an Orange?”
I would like to hear the actual meaning and origins of “Hallelujah”
You know what, I’m totally smitten by your picture on your web site showing you in those great sun glasses with the drink the kool aid phrase.
Hello Marina,
as this might be interesting for a lot of people, I’ve got the following word request: what is a “caucus” and where does the term come from (the origin seems to be debated).
surfing youtube, i watched videos about the primaries in the USA. As a german, it is not only difficult to understand the voting system, but also, the terms related to it. Finding out, not even Obamagirl herself knows, what a “Caucus” is (proof: http://youtube.com/watch?v=rOnn1hWN-Og), I decided to investigate
Greetings from germany and thanks for the great job you’re doing!
doenerjunge
Marina, what is the origin of “horny” as in: I want your sex????
perhaps, one day you might be able to explain to us how disingenuous went from meaning real or truthful to having a completely opposite meaning.
Genuinely curious;
RadioFreeKrypton
Hey Marina,
You may already know, but just as memo, I’ve been experiencing a “Problem Establishing Database” error message when trying to load some of your pages on the site. That error message isn’t verbatim, but just wanted to keep you apprised. okie dokie?
And secondly, is it true that the word Horny originated as such: As early as the mid-18th century, an erection was known as a horn or the horn, simply because it looked a bit like one. James Joyce even used the term in his Ulysses. From there, any man having the horn was called horny, and this is first recorded in 1889. It was surely in use long before then, as the horn probably was. It often takes some time for lewd slang to make it into the written record.
“MOJO” Can you give the origin of Mojo? “Got to keep on risin’!”
I would say that it is our dog. Well that is his name.
What are the origins of the word lunatic, as in “crazy person” it sounds like it has something to do with the moon. Does it? They say the phase of the moon affects people’s behavior. Inquiring minds want to know.
Thanks for all you do
Mickey
Circumluminator
Marina, Marina….i have a word…..”
Debutante”
Hi Marina,
I have a phrase for you that I would like to know the origin of. The phrase is “Peeping Tom”. Since my name is Tom, I would like to know where that term Peeping Tom really came from. I’ve heard stories about it but I would like you to investigate so that I know the truth.
)
Thank you.
Privyet,
I wanted to know about the phrase “check”, as in:
“Check up on it”, (Beyonce song)
“Check her out”, (a glance of desire)
“balancing a check book”,
“check out time”
“Check up (at a doctor’s office)”
“Check, please” (at a nice restaurant)
Does this have anything to do with “czech” republic/language?
After watching…..Im english….But ..when You can say ” Are you Yellow” means your are a coward….and sacerd.
Like…… ‘ You Yellow ‘ from genral custard….custards last stand …..So when you say to some one you …yellow…..you asking then is there a coward…or and scaerd……RIGHT….????
Just lastlly……Me a big BIG fan of DOCTOR WHO……its Back new sereirs on …the BBC channel…….
The word is……….. EXTERMINATE…….love the word…..oxoxoxoxox
That’s General Custer, not Custard. Just for the record. And, oh BTW, I’ve been to the Little Big Horn site in Southern Montana. A very interesting spot to visit.
hey teach,
I know this is ilrelevent and all by i got to compliment u on ur website. Its perfect. I can easily get to what i want and navigate through it very well. u go girl. Peace.
MUTINY ON A SHIP OF FOOLS!
Hi Marina…………
I want to know something about the word “RADICAL SCHICK”!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Hello Marina,
Word request – nooo…
Signs – $, ¢, €, £ or ₤, ¥, ƒ and the general currency sign “¤” to mark the currencies which have no currency symbols.
Thank you in advance.
Good job Marina.
I was wondering if there is a difference between the YouTube and the iTunes videos (other than the time they’ve been available, and that iTunes doesn’t have like the “bitch” video? I noticed the iTunes has them all marked as “clean” and the ones I’ve watched both versions of, I’ve not seen any difference, except there was one video where there was one phrase Marina used I couldn’t understand, but I forgot which one it was to go look at the YouTube version to find out if it was like bleeped our or something?
The only difference between the iTunes and YouTube is that I don’t have the earlier videos up on iTunes.. and I used to cut out the subscribe stuff at the end.. but now I leave it all in.
I Just found you on you-tube , so cool ..I Love your knowledge and your videos ..And you remind me of a friend that just vanished from the internet last week ..Which brings me to my word request ..
I fell in love with this person , as she was amazing , both in beauty and in soul ..My life changed as i helped her with her blog , and she helped me with my quest for fitness n and my own feelings towards my wife and possibly the greatest ever God .Sadly she vanished from the internet last week and I have not heard from her since ..I am still waiting the day my friend returns , but for now ,how about the meaning of the word LOVE , and all the kinds of LOVE that exist .Because we as people , I think , have given up on the chance for a loving peaceful world ..and check out my site http://www.angels-r-real.com
Hey Marina
My mom have Fibromyalgia could you explain what it means so i could understand. thanks
I am writing a book about a woman who is diagnosed with stockholm syndrome after she was held captive by dangerous serial killer.
I was wondering where both “serial killer” and “stockholm syndrome” originated from.
you look pretty good for a 70-year-old.
cherryomega, aLx is referring to your myspace profile in which you list your age at 70
I know what aLx was talking about.
But isn’t there more important things to discus besides what I put as my age on myspace?
evidently not. ;P
Hey Marina.
Random question……
Where does the word “Shampoo” come from?
I’d like you to research the origin of the word “Scum”.
Thanks!
PS
I THINK i know the origin of the phrase “freeze the balls off a brass monkey” but I wonder if that is the truth or not… From what I’ve heard, a monkey is a plate that cannonballs were stacked on that kept them from rolling around the deck. If it was made of Iron, then the balls rusted to the plate. So, they used brass. But, if it got too cold, the brass would shrink, and the balls would fall off, hence “cold enough to freeze the balls off a brass monkey”
I love that saying, because everyone assumes it’s of dirty origin, when if the story I’ve heard is true, it’s totally innocent.
Hi Marina,
Good work and entertaining.
I’d like to know the origin of the word or acronym, SEX or S.E.X.
I believe it came from the phrase, Synergistic Energy eXchange. Meaning a symbiotic exchange of energy between beings… such as to describe a couple’s relationship, or to the more elemental – oxygen breathing / carbon dioxide breathing life(s).
I hope you will expand on this? Thank you, Ron
P.S. I watched you vid on Sin. And I’m also wondering if there is any relationship between SYNergistic – Synn, and Sin.
Word request “хуясе”
i think you can’t make it
but you CAN try 
When a trademark (brand name) becomes part of the lexicon, the name is transfered to similar products. For example, Kleenex, Xerox, Aspirin, Popsicle, and Yo-yo. The trademark is then considered to have become genericized. Flavor Aid is almost identical to Kool-Aid and Kool-Aid was a genericized trademark. A reporter could easily say , what, is Flavor Aid, see it and say, Oh Kool-Aid! Besides Kool-aid was a cool name from the acid tests, which still go on, the last one was in Las Vegas.
When trademark becomes genericized, the qualities of the trade mark are transfered to the similar product. So you don’t want your trade mark to become generic because it works against your product. Yes, cool you created a cultural meme but you defeated your advertising campaign. i.e. Flavor Aid might as well be Kool-Aid and vice versa.
In advertising a rose by any other name, best not smell as sweet! Hey , i saw this pair Gucci sandals; love to see them on your feet…. ;P
So tell that pugnacious nitpicker, nah, nah, same difference and irrelevant! And I believe it may be both a mix of the Electric Kool-Aid Acid test and the Jones event.
Now someone above posted about the Ford and Benz confusion over the invention of the automobile. Sating that it was Ford that invented the Assembly Line. This is doubtful too. 100 years earlier, Adam Smith in his book, the Wealth of Nations (1776), coins or introduces the term, “Divisions of Labor.” He give an example of a Pin Factory. To illustrate his point, “Smith described the workings of a pin factory. One person making a pin could make perhaps one in a day, maybe a few more. But if the job were divided into ten parts and given to ten workers, each performing a specialized function, a small factory could turn out 48,000 pins a day. This was the assembly line a century and a half before Henry Ford was credited with inventing it.”
http://www.learner.org/biographyofamerica/prog07/transcript/page02.html
Also, slaughter houses and meat packers had what is called a disassembly line. Pig in meat products out and each part was handled differently and you wanted to utilize everything you could – don’t ask what’s in the hot dogs – mystery meat! Just like your combative, partner/sister? hehehe
…but I believe the disassembly line is nothing more than an assembly line in reverse. I think you could apply the same thing to mining of ores, the making of steel, saw mills and flour mills, in fact, the division of labor, goes backto the begining of civilization itself and long before the Model-T.
Adam Smith was an economist and economists don’t necessarily invent ideas as much as they observe and look for the economical and suggest that it replace the inefficient.
Yeah… The Electric Kool-Aid Acid Test is an amazing book… I initially though this would head there but since it didn’t go check it out I’m sure it’s at your local library.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Electric_Kool-Aid_Acid_Test
Hi Marina
“Religion words” – Connect people, skyrocket subscriptions, might work like a bomb (pardon the pun)
May I request a “dream lesson”. You make a difference connecting people with words and respect. You do this so well. My quick draft, 700 words plus page of notes, if I email, will you read it?
Best regards
Mat (ModernJiver@gmail.com)
P.S. Thanks for the April fools joke – that was really good. I would have appreciated rest of the story though. But that was the punch line, very funny.
I’d like to know where the word “rickroll” came from. I know what it means and all, but I want to know who came up with it!
I have a Frase used in the second world war that could be fun..
“A Jerry”
DEAR MARINA:
Priviet. Nice to see you again. Yes, I can think of a mistake with historical importance. During the American Revolution, the Battle of Bunker Hill was actually took place on a nearby hill called Breeds Hill.
More useless information for your entertainment. Love the videos. My Marina says hello. Take care.
i Coca-Cola one?
hi!
i was wondering where we get the abbreviation i.e.?
and the word versatile?
thanks
“i.e.”: latin, abbreviation of “id est” — “that is”.
I need a word. What is the correct word to use when describing the decade we are in? Sure I remember the music of the “nineties” and the “eighties” and the next decade will certainly be called the “teens”,,,but what is the appropriate word to describe this present decade from 2000-2009? Perhaps you can look back in history to see how this was solved before or maybe we can create our own….a contest for your web site.
The Naughties.
good one!
1900 — 1909: the nineteen hundreds / the first decade (of the 20th century) / the 1900s.
1910 — 1919: the nineteen tens / the 1910s.
Marina,
I’d love to hear you dig around to know how the “Bay of Pigs” incident came to be called such. Looking back that was 25 years ago!! I’m sure I could come up with more terms and references, but this would be very good with your accent and during the election year here in the US. You might even find it fun to investigate this one.
New to your site today – very well done and instructional in a simple fun way. Intelligence IS Sexy for certain!
Hi, Marina!
Your lessons are great!
Could you tell where did word “pwned” came from?
hay i just would like to know where ” pwned” came from…
leet speak.
mistyping of “owned”.
Hello! First of I would like to say, I want all teachers to be like hot for words…
And I would also ask if you could investigate the origin of
“A blue eyed boy” which actually made me discover Hot For Words
Hello.
I have some sort of challenge to you.
I’d really like to know why the people of United States are called ‘Americans’ and not United Staters.
I’m a spanish native speaker and had a bad grade some time ago while having a english test with this.
Hope HFW can investigate.
Silla!
congratulations Marina pretty interesting
*whisky (the drink, and why do they say it when people take pictures)
*gosh
Hello Marina
Thanks for the great lesson.AND thanks for the april fool day card,you look great.
Are you still around somewhere… miss ya… If you get this just say hi. If not I guess you may as well ignore it.
Hay BillyB .I had to log back in to HFW so i could say hi.I miss the lessons and all the interaction here at HFW.Im doing well and thanks for thinking of me.Hope your well and haveing fun with Marina’s lessons.
I was wondering if you could tell me what Flabbergasted meant?
The other day my boyfriend told me I flabbergasted him and i just smiled and acted like i knew what he meant. I’d really appricate it if you could tell me what it means because I feel stupid now. Its such a werid word where did it come from?
thanks so much…. HOT FOR WORDS
xoxoxo
already did it. Check my list of words: http://www.hotforwords.com/words
Hey Marina, i’ve got a word request: “rain check”, or an assurance that a present deal or offering will be available in the future. Keep up the good work, bye!
Hello Marina, Im starting to love your videos
they so good, here in Mexico dranks a lot of Kool Aid when I was young and after 27 years finally I know the meaning thanks of you.
By the way, I would like to know and real meaning of the word “Noob”, again tks for the videos You r a very pretty and sexy woman, I love your Accent, and ¿when you gonna speak some in spanish for the latin fans?
See ya and take care, vai vai
word request
Please explain the origin of the word Raze, Razed? Many thanks Dave
Hey Marina!
Thanks for the April Fools Day Card! I love it, it’s great!
But don’t underestimate me (and i guess all your other fans too!) – of course we wanted the picture, but we also wanna know what the origin of the April Fools Day is! So don’t skip it please!
Keep it up! You’re getting more & more supercalifragilisticexpialidocious!!
I must disagree with you on the origin of Drinking the Kool-aid. I agree with pdawg. In the 60’s and 70’s, when the expression was used, it was to suggest a person acted weird or strange and that they must have been drinking the Kool-Aid, which was to imply it was laced with LSD. On the subject of the massacre…when you wished someone would die, sometimes I’ve heard people say the phrase,”I would like to serve them a Jim Jones Cocktail”…otherwise, I love your lessons and look forward to your podcasts all the time. Keep up the great work you do!
Considering the timing of events I would agree with jmtoou. LSD laced Kool-Aid predates the Jonestown Massacre. Perhaps “hitting the Kool-Aid” would be closer terminology. Sometimes using a term in an example sentence truly does help.
Interesting how evolution of the phrase changes through a specific event. Accumulated history has a way of contorting origins, making it harder to discover truth. If you’ve lived with a recent perspective for long enough the original fades away.
jmtoou and fuzzytek.. I agree that that book predated the Jonestown massacre.. but the expression, “Don’t drink the Kool-Aid” or “Drinking the Kool-Aid”.. meaning what it means today, of blindly following someone (such as a cult leader).. with dire consequences did not exist ANYWHERE IN ANY LITERATURE ANYWHERE prior to the Jonestown massacre.
I would not be so adamant about this if there were examples of this expression being used prior to this massacre.. and I would say it was a combination of the two things.. the book and the massacre.. but there are no examples of someone saying “drink the Kool-Aid” in the context I am talking about prior to the massacre. This is another example of people trying to rewrite history after the fact.
If someone could give me an example to prove me wrong then I would be most happy
wordspy.com says, the earliest citation of “drink the kool-aid” is from july 17, 1987.
as for the washington post — this date is correct. just did an archive search over there.
First of all, thank you for commenting back, but, I still must disagree with you on this. I don’t think that the term the way that I explained it would be in any book. It was used as street slang and among younger people in the 60’s and 70’s before Jonestown. It was just a wise ass comment to say to someone who was acting strange. I’m 50 and I used the term myself in high school back in 1973. So I have a better understanding of how you operate, I’m going to assume that if it isn’t written in a book, it didn’t happen! I must have been drinking the kool-aid!!!LOL…Thank you once again for another stimulating video…You’re still the best! I agree to disagree. Love ya!
Earliest use I could find was: You don’t follow anyone blindly, my brothers and sisters . . . . We love Marion Barry. He is the mayor . . . . But if Marion Barry disrespects us, we will cry out . . . . We will not blindly drink the Kool-Aid any longer . . . .
—Cathy Hughes, transcript from a radio call-in show as reported in “Being Stood Up by Mayor Leaves Radio Host Fuming,” The Washington Post, July 17, 1987
Wait -
I found another one: The earliest use I’ve found is a 1984 quote in The San Diego Union-Tribune, describing a businessman as unwilling to “sip that last drink of Kool-Aid” for a charismatic boss.
Wow! that was quick!I really didn’t think I get your sexy card this early. I thought I had to wait until the next day. Oh well. Anyways, spanks for the card. I really appreciate it! I love your sexy picture!!! I look forward to the next lesson!!!!
Eric
I would like to see you in a nice tennis outfit and explain some tennis terminology Like scoring (use of Love- when that is the one who has not scored), Net as they relate to fishnets, lol. Court as in courting for, of course, a match. Maybe grasping here but still would like to see you in tennis outfit.
It’s love when you haven’t yet scored; after that it’s just sex.
Good evening Marina!
I have a word request for you:)
I want to know the origion of the word dude.
Would be cool if you could do that.
Håvard
Norway
New watcher, really think what you are doing is cool.
Word request “bully in the alley”. It is used buy the group Bounding Main.
MRS MARINA I HAVE A QUESTION I HAVE A QUESTION.
What exactly is ‘Uxorious’? You have no U words done, so this would be a first.
I have a couple words for you, Marina:
sarcasm
asinine
Also, just out of curiosity – Many people(generally the well-read intellectuals
) complain about how slang and verbal “shortcuts” etc. detract from the prestige of the written or “proper” form of a language. What do you think??
In my opinion, it’s evolution at its finest. After all, it’s because of those changes that we get to hear your histories.
Keep up the good work, Marina
Thanks again for another +5 lesson. Your the Bomb!
I love kool-aid! Anybody up for a drink?
hi marina can u investigate on the word insomnia for me…
i been suffering from this disorder for quite awhile now…
so i wanted to know where it came from… tnx
Hi Marina,
What is the origin of April Fools’ day?
popinjay is one of the many words that Bill O’reilly mentions at the end of his program, and sometimes during the program. Could you tell us the origin of popinjay please?
I’d like to know where the word “handsome” comes from.
Here’s another case of mistaken identity. Did you ever hear someone say they had a “wet dream”? Why do people call it that? Every “wet dream” I ever had woke me up.
Hi Marina!
Where did the term, to “jerry-rig” something come from. Did it have something to do with German soldiers in WWII ?
Thanks
Marina already answered this one. Check the videos! You’re in luck!
Marina, I love your videos!!!!
I have a word request.
I want to know how the word “fox” got to mean an attractive women!!
Thanks =)
WORD REQUEST:
Marina, can you do the origin of the word “porn”?
Marina;
I love ‘HotForWords” I never miss an episode. I subscribe through ITunes and have also subscribed on YouTube.
I had an idea for a lesson; if you would, could you explain the origin and derivation of the words:
Scallywag
and
Gerrymander
I believe that in this election year this would be an apt lesson… or two.
Thanks and keep ‘em coming,
The biggest case of mistaken identity is the indians – native americans, which were mistakenly named after America was first believed to be India.
Indians, American Indians, Native Americans. Notice how Indians went from the only word to the second word to being dropped altogether. Which term is used depends on the generation that is speaking it, and the extent to which a person is educated in the newer terminology. Excellent point, nighteye!
Hello Marina
How are you? I was wondering if you could tell me the meaning behind “Hard as Fuck” a lot of people use this phrase but doesn’t know the real meaning behind it , I’m one of those people so if you could do a small show on it and inform the world the true mean of “Hard As Fuck” it would be greatly appreciated .
Thanks StarterDude
Hi Marina,
I was wondering if you could help me out to find the meaning of the word “butterfly”. How did they come up with that?!
A interesting note is Jim Jone’s grandson Rob Jones currently plays basketball for University of San Diego. USD made the NCAA tourney and they had a special on him for ESPN. He also went to HS in SF and which is were I am from.
And he has an endorsement deal with Kool-Aid.. it’s the weirdest thing
A good article from early this month about Kook-Aid:
http://www.boston.com/bostonglobe/ideas/articles/2008/03/09/hey_kool_aid/
It mentions a few good incidents, such as the aforementioned Democratic nomination race, Warren Buffet on complex investing and the recessing economy, Tom Wolfe, Jim Jones (though it does mention that some sources claim it was an imitator), Clarence Pendleton, Jr. during the 1984 Democratic election, et al.
Good article Nick.. though you are misquoting it.. it says that “some sources say, wasn’t really Kool-Aid at all, but a cut-price competitor.” in regards to the drink.
It also goes on to say that the source is the Jonestown massacre and not the Tom Wolfe book.
Cool
yes.
“The CDU wondered: Just what does Kraft think of this business- jargon perversion of its treasured brand? We contacted Kraft’s beverage spokesperson, Abbe Ruttenberg Serphos. After a longish moment, she allowed that she had heard of the expression. “But it wasn’t even Kool-Aid that was used,” she insisted. She referred us to a 1978 Washington Post article citing “packets of unopened Flavor Aid” scattered in the dust in Guyana.”
–> link.
My mistake… hmmm drinking the kool-aid… I think the New England Patriots’ spying issue caught a lot of people “drinking the Pats’ Kool-Aid” as there were a lot of bandwagon fans before that incident.
Marina:
How about the phrase I need to piss like a race horse!
CORRECTION (incomplete answer, grammar, and sentence phrasing) (I rushed to get the answer down first)
SPAM: not an acronym. it was the result of a $100 contest put up by Hormel food company executive Jay C. Hormel, son of founder George A. Hormel.
Today it’s gained far more infamy as those annoying emails we receive, such as v1@gr@, ci@li$, make easy$$$, et al. Spam was created in 1940 as a preserved, canned lunch meat. Because it held up so well against rotting, it saw a lot of action in World War II, where it was a common ration. While it lost its initial controlling market share to competitors’ imitations, it seems to have benefited from very effective marketing, as the name resulting from the contest was catchy and its advertising jingle, the first of its kind, was equally effective.
The company claims that it’s pork, though I personally have my doubts and it certainly isn’t kosher. I can say with relative certainty, though, that most people living in civilized countries above the poverty line would much prefer to eat something else (as the soldiers probably would have had they been given the chance). That said, unlike those emails, I suppose the food is better than nothing…
For more information straight from my source, see: http://www.cusd.claremont.edu/~mrosenbl/spamstory. html
Hey Marina. I would like to know, the origin of the word,dreamy.
SPAM: acronym for
Today it’s gained far more infamy as those horrible v1@gr@, ci@li$, make easy$$$, et al emails that we receive. Spam was created in 1940 as a preserved, canned lunch meat. Because it held up so well against rotting, it saw a lot of action in World War II, where it was a common ration. It also seems to be the beneficiary of very effective marketing, as its name was catchy as was its revolutionary advertising jingle.
For more information straight from my source, see: http://www.cusd.claremont.edu/~mrosenbl/spamstory.html
OK im in a better mood now, sorry everybody, like I said I just needed to vent. Marina, I love your site and your videos and your accent
I’d hate to be a crybaby
but I wish Marina would respond to one of my requests. but thats just selfish of me, there are so many who’s requests haven’t been answered and I’m sure Marina doesn’t have time to go over every single one. I’m sorry to bring everybody down, I just needed to vent a little
Peace and love
peccadillio
peccadllio
the hole nine yards
It should be noted that there are some who consider the entire ‘drink the koolaid’ Jonestown Massacre story to be a fabrication made up by the CIA. The common conspiracy theory is that the Jim Jones cult, which had gunned down a US Congressman and his staff prior to it’s mass suicide, was retaliated upon harshly by the CIA. The cyanide was never in the koolaid, or the flavor-aid, or so the theory has it. I suppose it depends on which one finds more plausible… the heavily-armed Jim Jones cult taking itself out via poisoned drink mix or being taken out by stronger stuff, then a false story being made to cover-up the incidents more ugly realities. That’s the power of words for you… the government certainly knows all about such power, be it the CIA or otherwise. Misinformation, disinformation, and propoganda are a daily thing in the higher levels of government. I am not a conspiracy theorist myself, but do believe in a healthy dose of cynicism when dealing with all things politic.
As for the body politic here at HotForWords.com, I think it is apt to liken any blog that revolves around a single individual as having some qualities akin to a cult of personality, whether it be a political blog revolving around one main blogger or a blog like this revolving around Marina’s philology lessons. I’d be curious to hear what our trusty teacher thinks of her own self-made cult of personality that exists here and on youtube. Ah, the power of a master philologist… no wonder Marina’s evil twin is trying to usurp her position of authority!
Unfortunately for her, though, she will always be a pretender to the throne. 
Thanks for another awesome lesson, HotForWords. This one even featured Kool Aid Man! That guy gets to hang out with the hottest women… no wonder he’s always shouting ‘OH YEAH!!” all the time. And now he’s hanging out with Marina AND her evil twin. I am SO jealous.
lol Peace, Errin 
How about trying “colder than a witches tit” since it is almost April and it is snowing cats and dogs here in Minnesota!
Sorry Marina I mistakenly called you “Lisa” when I took your Youtube survey. Forgive me?
The Origin of the Words “Dingleberry” and “Douchebag”.
Homework: Dr. Frankenstein never named his creation but countless film adaptations and references have forgotten this fact. People just call the monster Frankenstein like its master. This is a peculiar case of mistaken identity where the inventor creates the thing that steals the spotlight. Imagine how weird it would be if Koolaid had been a subsidiary of Flavoraid and this had happened.
Request: Please talk about the word callipygian. I love how the Greek language has such specific words and this one takes the cake. Although I heard they have a word that means “to lose by dancing” which is a pretty sweet overly specific word too.
marina whats the origin of the word lynch as in lynching
They answer this in the recent release The Great Debaters. In case you want to know before she gets around to answering.
Hey my trusty hotforwords
Could you tell me the origion of the word guitar, I play the guitar but why is it called a guitar?
Hmmmm.
Your teacher’s pet.
kingridbergman
Theory #1. It was called a guitar because the words “banjo” and “harp” were already taken.
Theory #2. It derives from the 1969 Ray Stevens pop hit single, “Gitarzan.”
Theory #3. It comes from the Greek word “kithara”(cithara) by way of Arabic (qītār), Spanish (guitarra), and French (guitare).
Personally, I’d pick Theory #2. But I can’t even pick a guitar, so what do I know?
UH,,, drink the Koolade comes from the “electric koolade acid tests” of the 60’s. Ken Kesey threw parties and had large bowls of koolade with LSD added so everybody was trippin.Right wingers use the koolade reference to claim the other party is all drinking from that bowl. Far out man!
Got to agree with pdawg here. “The Electric Kool-Aid Acid Test” a book by Tom Wolfe described the “happenings” held by Ken Kesey and the Merry Pranksters in San Francisco in 1966-67. I think “drink the Kool-Aid” predated Jim Jones by a decade. Or, is it dec-ade?
The expression didn’t come about until the mid 80’s in reference to the Jim Jones massacre… so it couldn’t be in reference to the book.. as it would have existed prior to the mid 80s of that was the case.
Jim Jones made huge vats of “punch” out of the Kool-Aid (well, really, Flavor Aid) and cyanide. My first question is, did he at least throw in some vodka to give it a kick, or did he just use water, Flavor Aid and cyanide? Also, where does the word “punch” fit into this anyway. One might think it has something to do with the alcohol kick or punch, but punch does not require alcohol to be punch. Hmmmm……
Did the phrase “tripping balls” come from combining the acid “kool aid” trips, and “balls to the wall”? Used in a sentence, “dude I am really tripping balls right now…” Hmmmm…..
Respectively, I still hold my position. In 1971, I recall a large botttle of LSD-spiked white wine labeled as “Kool-aid. And that was in the mid-west.
Here’s a juxtaposition to add to the time frame. Jim Jones lived around San Francisco when the hippies were drinking the Kool-aid.
As you know, words and phrases bubble around before they’re officially recognized. Another example would be the Homer Simpson “D’OH!” which was “recognized” last year.
Much Afffetion as Always, Tom
My dearest teacher
Your latest lesson was making me think of how very often a particular brand name of a product seems to become synonymous with the product itself. A few examples being Kleenex for facial tissue, Aspirin (originally a trademark of the Bayer Co.) and Jello for gelatin dessert. I was wondering, is there a term for this? A curious student would like to know!
Always giving a 5 to my favorite teacher!
TimtheRed
Hey Marina
! I have a word request! =)
Do you know where the phrase “Cold Turkey” came from? What is the origin of this
thanks
That was about three Thanksgivings ago. The stuffing was cold, too
Hello,
Something has confused me for quite some time and the dictionary hasn’t helped to clear up my confusion:
What is the difference between “assume” and “presume”?
Thank you so much.
I’m not sure about presume but assume makes an ass out u and me ass/u/me.
David Livingstone (19 March 1813 – 1 May 1873) was a Scottish Congregationalist pioneer medical missionary with the London Missionary Society and explorer in central Africa. He was the first European to see Mosi-oa-Tunya (Victoria Falls), to which he gave the English name in honor of his monarch, Queen Victoria. He is the subject of the meeting with H. M. Stanley, which gave rise to the popular quotation, “Dr Livingstone, I presume?”
I assume you know this story…
In their primary meanings, they are synonyms.
That explains my cornfusion then. Reading the dictionary defs always left me feeling that there wasn’t a distinction between the two, but there was never any suggestion that they ARE the same. “Presume” seems more appropriate then since it indicates one doing the presuming BEFORE knowing the truth.
Word request:
The origin of the word ‘bikini’
Bikini was an island atoll in the South Pacific.
It was a low-lying ring of coral islands that formed as coral grew from the remains of a volcanic seamount that rainfall and wave action had eroded away to the point where it no longer rose above the ocean surface. It was a perfect place for coral polyps to thrive, where the water was shallow enough to transmit plenty of sunlight and form what we call a reef. This went on for some thousands of years or so. The happy coral polyps multiplied and multiplied in this environment. Finally, the reef grew large and enough sand washed up on it that some coconuts floated ashore and palm trees finally began to grow there. Although tiny, it looked like a tropical paradise.
Then came WWII. By the close of the war, many terms relating to armaments and munitions had made their way into the mainstream of American slang. One of these terms was “bombshell,” a word of highest praise usually reserved for only the most stunningly beautiful movie actresses, similar to a “knockout” or someone we might call “drop-dead gorgeous” today.
Then one day some US military personnel decided they needed a place to test out their new weapon, the hydrogen bomb. They had already gotten into trouble by testing them in the continental US. The nuclear explosions sent too much radioactive material floating high into the atmosphere, which would then slowly “fall out” over cities, forests, rivers, and farms to the east of the testing grounds, causing mutations and illness. Being far from the mainland and too small to support a large human population, Bikini Atoll was (in their view) a perfect spot to try out their new toy. So they blew it up.
It made history. So much so, in fact, that the new bathing suit that French fashion designers were unleashing at the time was named after it. It was, after all, a fashion “bombshell.” Its impact can still be felt today… but now there’s no longer a coral reef we can point to as its origin. This gave rise to the expression, “Look! She’s wearing NO BIKINI ATOLL!”
Hello again, Marina!
I was just wondering. Since you arrived in the US for about 4 years ago, moving from a totally different country, Russia, how do you really think America is? And how do those two countries differ from eachother, in your eyes?:)
I also have a word request:
I just started thinking of some words we use very much, left and right (the directions from where your body is situated, from your eyes). Why do we use words equally to ‘correct’ and ‘remaining’ for that?
Best wishes to you Marina!
Håvard
Norway
Dear Teacher,
can you please explain the where the word ORNITHOLOGIST comes from? Having been one myself for many years it feel a bit weird not knowing what the words origin is.
…and do let me know if the worlds sexiest teacher (or her evil twin)would consider a date with the worlds coolest birdwatcher…
jocko
Hey Marina heres one id like you to Investigate for me
the word is Dush id like to knwo what it means thanks
hey hotforwords!
could you please tell me what the word “dork” means? I’ve actually been wondering about it for a long time!
Thanks
Jewly_girl
A whales pen is what dork is.
Nice huh.
Hi Marina!
You look ravishing, as always.
The homework assignment was to come up with other cases of mistaken identity along the lines of Kool Aid being identified instead of Flavor Aid.
One case might be George Washington’s teeth. He has traditionally been said to have had wooden teeth, when in fact they were made of ivory, gold, lead and even human and animal teeth.
This guy mistook a picnic table for a woman (presumably): http://www.wtol.com/Global/story.asp?S=8082496
Have a great day, Marina!
Eric
I have a misquote for you.
In the movie Casablanca, people think that Hunmphry Bogart said “Play it again Sam.”
However, the actual quote is , “You played it for her, you can play it for me.”
How’s that?
You are correct. I believe that the now-popular phrase “play it again Sam” is a misrepresentation that must have developed out of peoples’ repeating what someone once used as a punchline on some early TV comedy shtick or radio program (or something) from that era, but it wasn’t a direct quote of Bogart’s lines in the film. In the end of the film, Bogey actually says, “Play it, Sam!” not “Play it again, Sam.”
Actually, he doesn’t say “play it, Sam!” either. Ilsa does say “Play it, Sam.” But, she says it in a light, sad manner, not an angry manner.
In the scene you are referring to where Rick (Bogey) is angry, it goes like this:
Rick: You know what I want to hear.
Sam: [lying] No, I don’t.
Rick: You played it for her, you can play it for me!
Sam: [lying] Well, I don’t think I can remember…
Rick: If she can stand it, I can! Play it!
He says, “Play it!” – but not “Play it, Sam!”
I’ve seen that movie probably a dozen times, and I even had to double check. It’s amazing how one of the most famous lines in all of Hollywood can be gotten so wrong. I wonder what the explanation is for that in the human mind.
Could “Play it again, Sam” have come from the parodies of Casablanca? “Play It Again, Sam” was a 1972 play and film by Woody Allen, so maybe that got the phrase into the collective consciousness. But, wouldn’t that phrase have to have been in use prior to the Woody Allen play and film in order for it to make sense as the title to the play and film? Huh.
Wikipedia says that “play it again, sam” was a quote from the 1946 movie A Night in Casablanca by the Marx Brothers. I’ve never seen that movie, and couldn’t find verification of the quote on the internet. But if it is the case that they misquoted Casablanca, then perhaps that’s what got it into the collective consciousness. But then again, A Night in Casablanca was not a big time film, so I doubt it had such an effect.
I wonder if there is a word for this kind of misquote. Marina? Can do you know if there is such a word for something that everyone gets wrong, but then the misquote or the wrong knowledge/recollection usurps the truth in everyone’s mind?
Reminds me of that famous line from Dragonslayer, where Sir Richard urgenty pleads: “Slay it again, Pam!”
Hi Marina,
I just stumbled on this site today surfing through youtube and I gotta say you are pretty amazing. Anyways, I was wondering I can make a word request. I hear a lot of people say, “at the end of the day, blah blah blah.” To me, its really nonsensical and meaningless when people say that. I think they’re just trying to find something to say in front of their sentence or statement. Is there any relevance or significance when people add that in front of the sentence? I’d like to know to origins of this dumb statement. Thanks Marina, and keep up the good work!
What I mean when I say that is that after all the dust settles, this is what you’re left with. Sometimes I use it to mean “here’s the bottom line…” or “the take-home message is…”
I think the same person who came up with such golden maxims as “think outside the box,” and “give it 110%” put this phrase into use.
Hey, I got a request for a lesson:
We all know that “mom” is short for “mother”, but how is “dad” short for “father”???
because “fam” sounds too much like “femme”.
Dad is short for daddy……
Alright genius, then how was “daddy” made into an alternative to the word “father”?
I believe Dad, Daddy is of latin origin and father is germanic.
Father comes from the latin word: “pater”
it seems we have an answer, another theory is….
Dad, meaning “father”. It is considered to come from the Welsh tad, which becomes dad under soft mutation. However, according to the OED, this word derives from the infantile forms dada and tata, which occur independently in many languages. It states that the Welsh tad “is itself merely a word of the same class”. The OED may be incorrect, however, as notwithstanding its alleged occurrence independently it does not seem to occur in Dutch or German both languages closely related to English nor is it found in Anglo-Saxon. A possible support for the OED position occurs in the Jewish-Germanic dialect called Yiddish, which uses “Tate” for father, instead of the German word.
I wish I hadn’t said anything now…. (on the edge of my ignorance) interesting though never the less
Thanks, Marina
Nice to see you’re working from fact-based texts. I don’t know about historical cases of brand-name misrepresentation per se, but there are a more than a couple products around that tend to get bigger name recognition than their competitors, so the generic term gets applied to them much more regularly, such as:
“Kleenex” instead of facial tissue
“Jell-O” instead of gelatin
“Frisbee” instead of flying disk
“Coke” instead of cola
“Perrier” or “Calistoga” instead of carbonated water
“Frigidaire” instead of refrigerator (local/ Southern States mostly)
“Popsicle” instead of frozen dessert pop
“Comet” instead of scouring powder
I’m sure there are plenty I missed. But you get the idea.
hi pennsyltucky9,
“Band-Aid” is the copyright name for the most popular brand of those – you know – band-aid things you put on cuts.
I was wondering about the origin of April Fools Day?
Word request – TAX
With tax day in the U.S. just 2 weeks away, I wonder if you could investigate the word tax and it’s relation (if any) to words like taxi and taxidermy?
Thanks.
Can you define the word sexy? How do women define sexy? how do men define sexy.
You are very beautiful and fun Marina? Where are you originally from?
I hope you put out a book soon with lots of word and phrase information, as well as some photos.
Nice video Marina!
I’m actually a fan of the band “Jonestown Massacre”
Funny to get some facts related to the band-name^^
Anyway, I just want you to find the origin of the word “Chipmonk”
Would be funny:D
Greetings
Håvard,
Norway
Here’s a good one:
Thanks to Nazi Germany and the Third Reich, the symbol of the swastika today bears relation to ideas such as evil, hatred, and bigotry. In reality however, the word, swastika, and the symbol derive from Neolithic Sanskrit-speaking people. The Sanskrit word, svastik, comes from the words “su” and “asti” meaning “good” and “to be” and so literally means “to be good” or “well-being”. The symbol of the cross with right angles used to be a sign of happiness and good luck.
Also, is there any chance you could explain whether or not “river” and “rival” have the same origins? There aren’t really any other words that start with “riv-” and mean something different, but I don’t understand how these two words could be related… Help!
Did you say the Rev. Jim Jones had his congregation drink the grape flavored Flavor Aid in1938 or 1978?
The majority of the general populace when asked who invented the automobile would more than likely say Henry Ford. When it was actually Karl Friedrich Benz (1844-1929) who invented the automobile in 1885/86 in Germany Patent DRP No. 37435. Although Nicolas-Joseph Cugnot STEAM / Built the first self propelled road vehicle (military tractor) for the French army a three wheeled, 2.5 mph in 1769. And Robert Anderson (1832-1839) invented the Electric carriage in Scotland through the years 1832-1839. Henry Ford invented the modern day assembly line. Which brought the price of the automobile down to where the everyday man/woman could afford to purchase one.
1978
I think that money isn’t good at all, but why we should give it to you?Surely you earned a lot…….with us.
(In a robotic monotone voice)
Another 5 star lesson!
Where should I send all my money and handbags.
I am awaiting your instructions.
The IRS decided to investigate…
Forget Kool-Aid… How do you think FLAVA FLAV feels? j/k.
Why is your twin so mean to you? Is she insecure about something? Is that how it manifests itself; she projects her anger onto you? That’s not very nice.
If you were a cult leader you’d take handbags?!? AAAAAHHHHHH HAHAHAHAHAHA HAHAHAHAHAHAHAH
good one Beavis
politricks5, money AND handbags!
haha, I can see the headlines now!!
“When asked for comment, Hotforwords, the alleged leader of the Clutch Caper said “I did not committify the alleged hustle hoax or ruse.. ruse?..oooh I could use some new shoes”. Her lawyer quickly declined to further comment.
Back to you, in the Hoolio.. I mean Studio
Marina was corrupted by money, other one and counting…