The “L” word game
Here is a game that I played on the Maxim Radio show a few weeks back.. but thought I’d bring to the YouTube audience as well.
It’s the origin of the “L” word.. which, if you don’t know what that stands for… then watch the video 
Marina
Remember to vote for your teacher over at the Best Weekend Ever Website.
You can vote up to 5 times a day.
Posted on May 18, 2008 · Filed Under Lessons
perpulcher this video
Duh, this Microsoft update I got today corupted my whole PC, couldn´t study, I hope you forgive me my teacher !!
Can you explain the word mitochondrion (and some more about it, please)
the third one
Marina,
The little out-take when your bangs fall and you say “Ow!” is adorable, really.
lostforwords.
As the French say: ça fait tomber les mecs………
More on the Lesbian controversy: http://www.breitbart.tv/?p=109653
My vote is for the “Lesbos” answer. I’m pretty sure I heard that somewhere before. Hope I’m remembering right.
you guys are really gay man piitbull is the best fuck the rest bitch thats a cool word Bitch!!
bitch
#2
#2
NUMBER 2
Heyaa Marina
I have 2 words that I’m curious about;
“Codswallop” and “holiday”
I was wondering if you could make a video on the origin of either 1 of these words, for instance as a title for holiday you could have “Hot Holidays”.
If you should decide to look further into 1 of those words, my YouTube-account name is ‘Rangerweij3′.
byee <3
the corret option is number 2, safo lived in lesbos and had much influence that the word lesbian was acepted for define the relation betewn two womens. How do I for to be the teacher’s pet? and what win with that?
It always comes down to Greek origins, it has to be #2
Hello my dear teacher …. I must admit that I have skipped class for a while but are catching up now, but there are no way to rate your videos now!! You now I always give you as high as it gets, but now I can´t give you a thing!?
By the way, the homework about the L-word I think it comes from the Island Lesbos…
from your dear student / Swedehunter
i don’t believe in you, bitch.
Whats the deal dude?
Jealousy. Don’t pay (her) no nevermind.
I don’t believe in Santa Claus, but Santa Claus still makes a lot of other people happy.
It’s number 2, I thought that was common knowledge.
Hi Marina,..
gonna go witt again number 2!
¡noʎ sʞuɐɥʇ puɐ puodsǝɹ ǝsɐǝld ɯd ɐ noʎ ʇuǝs ı
Livewire-
Yes-PM!
Hi Marina
I hate to change the subject but everyone go to Marina’s home page and vote for The seven million dollar man. He is doing a tremendious act of kindness. We all need to support him.
Mike
Hi Marina!
Me and some friends got into an argument on where the word : Latin American came from. We thought that Latins would be people from Italy/Greece… so why Latin Americans? There is even the town of Latina in Italy. If you could solve this mystery for us, we would be eternally grateful
Ciao ciao!
Hello marina I was wondering what is the origin of the words trifecta, and geek.
Thanks
Origin #3
Marina I would like to know the origin of Quarentine.
In Spanish and French….Doesnt something that start with Qua….mean 4? So why would you want to keep something away from 4 of something? Help me out here.
what is the origin of the phrase (ball park) as in ball park estimate?
I know this one.
The answer is #2. In ancient greece, a female poet who lived on the island of Lesbos wrote love poems to other women. Much later in Europe (over 1,000 years or more later), some of her poems were re-published and the name of her island (being from the island of Lesbos, she was a Lesbian) became the name of her sexual orientation.
In fact, I heard on the news a few weeks ago that the leader (Mayor, Governor, whatever) of Lesbos has submitted some form a petition or lawsuit to some organization to have them drop the name Lesbian from their title as they want the word Lesbian reserved for referring to people from Lesbos.
Hello Marina.
The thing is that i would love to know the origin of the word “Cucumber”.
I just think it sound pretty funny and hopefully you’ll help me.
Love Eric
What is the origin of the acronym M.I.L.F?
Vondoch, I am not trying to take Marinas place by any means but try this site. You naughty boy you.
http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=mil f
Well… Its a quite difficult arguement to determine the origin of the word Lesbian… but I would have to agree with Choice # Dva or number 2 in english.
aww. this one’s a piece of cake- it’s #2, the Isle of Lesbos- a Greek island in the NE Aegean sea (actually just off the coast of Turkey).
#2
this one is tough.
Again, directed to Marina;
What’s the origin of the word, “player?”
lol
Nelson
I’m going to guess #2 as the origin, and kindly request that you do the origin for “monkey wrench” at some point. Thanks.
Hi Marina, disheveled is a word. Where did it come from. Is sheveled a word? Mwa, ibtree
HELLO,I WASNT SURE IF YOU RECEIVED MY REQUEST,ARE YOU ABLE TO LET ME KNOW IF YOU RECEIVED IT?YOU CAN LET ME KNOW THROUGH EMAIL.
What request johngparkpolice2, mechanical? You can request as many words as you. I can’t guarantee to get to all of them.. as they have to have an interesting story behind them. But request as many as you’d like
The word lesbian comes from the Greek Island of Lesbos, where the poet Sappho lived in 600 B.C. Sappho was an intellectual and poet who wrote many love poems to other women. Although much of her poetry has been destroyed by religious fundamentalists, the few poems of Sappho that remain speak clearly to her love and infatuation with women.
It is unclear when the word “lesbian” was first used to describe women who love other women, but the first usage can be traced back to the 1800s. It came into popular use in the lesbian feminist era of the 1960s and 1970s.
The answer is Women who lived in PENTHOUSES on the Island of LESBOS The women unfairly got a bad rap- “LESBIANS”_ for living above the heads of men who were always JUST INTERESTED in staring at their BOOBIES!
Preoccupation with LESBIAN BREASTS.
It just shows, nothing’s changed (of course, since the male brain is incapable of change, hard-wired to Mommy’s titties)
Thank you Dear Teacher for BURNING THE MIDNIGHT OIL again!
(you and your girlfriends of course
The island of Lesbos is the answer.
I would like to know the origin of the word Thespian.
just a guess #2
I have a request. My word is CHOCOLATE
THANKS
I’d like to request the word “punk”- If I am correct it has to do something with indians but I really don’t know the origin and I’d like you to find out:)
Easy.
Of course it’s Number 2. Sappho and Lesbos.
Ow? What happened?
Where’s the new penthouse?
#2
voluminous - voluptuous
? 
Do the route of these words have anything in common
Kind regards TongueTwisler
#2
Morning already, have to get ready for work now
I Like that quote of the day.
“When I am working on a problem I never think about beauty. I only think about how to solve the problem. But when I have finished, if the solution is not beautiful, I know it is wrong.” - Buckminster Fuller 1895-1983
OK Roger Wilco
2 seems to make the most sense
It´s #2
Origin #2, it is also the origin of the word “Sapphic”.
it is by Sapphos juice that I set my mind in motion…
the juice stains the lips… the lips are a warning…
- Mentat / Assassin Credo from “Dune”
[eyes closed] #2
Well, dip me in chocolate and throw me to the lesbians!
Death by chocolate, eh? Dream on!
Man I am a chokohallic,
I think thats the way you spell it. Anyway I’ll join you but only with the lesbians I not into men. 
Kinda what I meant there, Mike…
Gotcha
Well I think everyone knew this one. I mean its no 2 right?
I believe the answer is #2
(please make me the teachers pet
)
I have to say I think the answer is origin 2
! 
it’s no.2
When I had to learn Latin, I actually read some of Sappho’s poems(in latin) and man, they are boring
On the contrary in my opinion
They were quite good
Hey, I actually get to use one of my college electives, History of Mythology!
According to Bulfinch’s Mythology (yes I still have the text book), it is answer #2.
Now, where can I find a use for ‘Physics for Poets’?
IS poetry subject to hysteresis?
this would make
a good physics thesis!
(almost had a haiku, for a second…)
origin number 2 is the most believable one
origin number 2
Dear HFW: The term lesbian came from the Greek Island Lesbos, = answer No. 2 in GTW game. I agree with bosdaH (I don’t know how to type in Russian), that the first 4 seconds of the video are the best. P.S. With firefox/mozilla browser, the “rate this video” did not show up. Five stars for me.
That’s Bogdan to us English-speakers, greenbush. I think Marina is testing to see whether the stars rating slows the site down or not, hence no rating stars. I give it a 5 as well, however.
L8r
Origin #2. The first one doesn’t give any etymology, and the third is a bit stupid
This one’s too easy.
I would like to request the word “spruce”.
I shall go with the orgin # 1.
Have a Good Week Marina.
hey marina i was wondering where the origin of the phrase
‘frog in my throat’ came from cause since its winter in australia everyones getting colds etc and saying it
that would be awesome
thanks
I don’t have a clue what the answer is so I’m going to guess #2 because I have a good friend in Athens, Greece. Did she tell me the correct answer? No… I just have a gut feeling on this one. It feels Greek to me.
Good guess
Hey marina!
would you believe as of this morning I found out that I will have to move to another place myself? That’s not until end of july though. I found that ironic as this bit of news was not long after your recent “Penthouse” video
Anyways, I’m somewhat sure that the answer is origin #2, as I am pretty sure that there is an Island called Lesbos, and I think that this origin makes more sense to me
I also just thought of a word request …. “Spontaneous”
Great video! 5 stars
Your next word should be “aphrodite”
theory #2….too easy
Bye
Does anyone know why the name changed on UT?
The word Balogna has always been a strange word to me, not the actual word, just the spelling. Could you please make a video telling the origin of it?
What is the origin of the word “Fetish” as in foot fetish or breast fetish??
From Your Original Subscriber (OS).
Thats a good one StylinAzn. I would like to know the origin myself.
Hi Marina,
Replies disappeared.
i know the answer i heard tht show on maxum radio never miss one of ur shows yet and all ur videos just awsome
I would have to agree that choice number 2 is the correct answer. I remember hearing something about this on the history channel a while back.
How about the origin of faggot? I’m not talking about the slang term for cigarettes, or bundle of sticks, but the slang term for homosexuals. (I guess it could have its origins in the bundle of sticks, but how?)
The video started a little rough, but not too bad all in all today.
Although homosexuality was considered a mental illness until some time in the 1970’s (I’m not positive but I believe it was 1972), origin number three is incorrect.
The correct answer is origin number two. The word lesbian comes from the Greek island of Lesbos.
Apple? or IBM? The battle rages on…
Huh?
I say answer number two is the correct one. How come guys like to see beautiful lesbians together but are totally grossed out by two guys???
Where did the phrase “bees knees” come from?
The correct origin is origin #2
I would like to request the word Touchdown
Most likely #2. Love the L game. Flash that tongue baby!I really got my eyes peeled.
The word comes from the latin word Lesbos!!!
LOL. No, it doesn’t. Buy yourself a dictionary.
So if I’m a man living on the isle of Lesbos I’m a male Lesbian?
Cool!
I vote for number 2!
I’m a lesbien trapped inside a mans body…And I like the ones who wear lipstick
Огорченно, pagedoll. Если камрад Ленин хотел его снайперов нести губную помаду, то славная Красная Армия выдала бы ее к нам.
(Translation: I ain’t wearing no lipstick baby!)
Yes, actually, a male resident of Lesbos is a lesbian: http://www.reuters.com/news/video?videoId=81647
Hi Marina,
I think the answer is origin number 2.
the “L” word comes from greece.i love your videos.you are great marina.aren’t you writing a book ?and when will it be finished?plus i’d love to be teacher’s pet!
Marina!!!! Today is my birthday and that makes me wonder….when did we start using the word birthday anyway? In other languages like french the word is annivasaire, which obviously is where the word anniversary comes from, which is just a more general term for a yearly celebration…but when did we get so specific? Oh, and is it number two? That sounds the most believable.
I would vote for the second explanation. And thank you for visiting my blog and leaving the nice comment on my post about your two videos.
-saratoga
Would you be able to tell me why people use that fraze ‘Poofter’ to describe a gay homosexuall
Comment Back
From The One and Only Liam Campbell
Hi big-l,
I mean this in jest and not to be not negative.
Wouldn’t a gay homosexual not be quite self-conflicted indeed, or not?
Kind of like a double negative?
Hi Liam,
They don’t, where I come from. We usually just call them people or taxpayers or customers or neighbors or co-workers or voters or citizens or humans. Guess we’re funny that way.
I have played the first 4 seconds of the lesson 11 times. 12 times. 13…why am I doing this?
I’ll let you know whe I quit playing them too.
Oh, Marina,
what is the origin of the word “cute”?
the origin of the word cute
I just did that…made me laugh
shock-o-hair?
Hi Marina,
Why are the comments on your youtube channel have to be so graffic and dirty in their language towards you. This site and its members are alot more pleasent to talk to and to read.
Lots of luck keep up the good sessions.
Mike
Amen!
Agreed. There’s absolutely no reason to go there to see Marina’s lessons. I tend to boycott it.
Why settle for a least-common-denominator mentality level when here we can be ridiculed by the intelligentsia instead? If I do watch some videos there, I rarely read any comments. They’re just flat-out depressing in my view.
A-men, capman911. A few new bloggers post undesirable comments here towards Miss HFW, and usually us dear students reply to let them know that we treat her with respect. On a recent post by aLx, he mentioned “angry,” and Miss HFW agreed. I don’t know how to show “threads/rss”(?) regarding that video, but it is on youtube, “angry german kid”, where a child shows remarkable “I am the center of the universe,” skills. My son got a real good laugh out of it.
there are some good comments On Youtube & I’ve commented there as well from time to time & sometimes there is interesting banter back & forth. I resist tearing heads off over there as I fear kids are watching. i’ve even made a friend or two from the commenters, hard to stomach the bad stuff though, so I don’t do it often. I rate as often as possible there.
You may be interested http://www.hotforwords.com/bio/
I just right clicked the URL thingy, then copy. came to this window & pasted the URL thingy. I think it’ll work
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kBVmfIUR1DA Thanks Mr.Billy B. Internet 101, that sure was easy.
Hello, Marina! My word request would be quite an obvious one.
“Manumission” - well, it is an act of freeing someone from something.. But I was wondering why “man” and why “mission?” How did these words get together to mean exactly that? Thank you, Teacher! 
And actually, I guess it would be nice for me to know the origin of my own nickname, haha!
It’s not “man”, it’s “manu-” (nothing to do with football - more to do with handball).
Same root as in manufacture.
Yeah! by strict definition,
wouldn’t pinball actually be bowling?
Hey Marina. New member with a word request. Im interested in finding out the origin of the word “Phony” . Its kind of a weird word that i have absolutely no clue as to where it comes from. Hope u can help
Good one elkadir, I’ll definitely do that one shortly.
Also how come in America they say Baloney? It’s a sausage right? So how did it become a euphemism for lies or nonsense?
Hi Marina , that icon picture makes you look like that woman from Egypt, old whats her name, oh yea Mary of Egypt. Or maybe like a praying mantis ready to Wed her husband, now that a fear full thought poor guy didn’t live to see the next day, your hair with that green shirt like a daisy on a beautiful summer day .or a Venus flay trap ready to capture her pray with a sexual attraction or maybe even a Marlboro cigarette, or a granny smith apple pie baked the old fashion way, golden brown on top , or that piece of Mrs. Baird bread from which we got our penicillin shot i guess what I’m trying to say is your just my everything even a fading ringing from a ricocheting shot
Now that I think about it. Why do they say “full of bologna” when someone is lieing?
Привет Марина,
I just took your lesson on the word “cute”. Great, and I think relates to “phony” in a sense.
If your students should take this lesson, they will learn the origin of “cute”, and also learn something nice about Teacher.
Красивое сообщение!
I’ give you five stars and say it’s number 2. As always a great lesson. I never knew where the word originated. But I think I know now.
Я выбрать номер два.
Translators are amazing!
uh huh. try conjugating the verb.
Let me start by saying- No question is a dumb question…right
…never mind. I’m to embarrassed to even ask 
Я избрал номер два
correct?
Word request - okay since the Euro Cup 2008 is quickly approaching and over 1 BILLION people will be watching, I’ll give this word request one last try. Marina can you please explain the origins of (Football) hooligan ?
Is that an American BILLION or a Brit Billion?
Hi oysterfrond,
I believe the US euphemism “baloney” is a comparison reference having to do with baloney (technically bologna I guess) being thought of as a substandard meat ’substitute’ made mostly with emulsified fillers and animal parts of unknown origin, as opposed to, say, a nice cut of steak or a pork chop which one can clearly see what it really is. Seeing its slang usage in old film and comedy from the 40s and earlier (when packing plant health inspection standards may have been less stringent as well as subject to high levels of corruption etc.) gives one reason to suspect that perhaps it earned some of its less-than-perfect reputation by including scraps of animal flesh no human in their right mind would wish to imagine ingesting, if you know what I mean and I think you probably do…See Upton Sinclair’s expose on meatpacking industry, “The Jungle.”
Peace, bro.
Sweet and Tender Hooligan- that was a good song by the SMITHS
Yea, got it on vinyl. Good song, great band.
me too
I’m going with #2. Great video, Marina. Keep up the good work.
I say #2 just because what you said makes the most sense. BUT, I’ll probably wrong again….Dang-it!
Hi pagedoll
Where did you get you avitar and what is it?
I got on this site…somewhere. but for the life i cant find where, anywhere!
Its called 408-smile_terminator…it took me to big list of cool ones
It’s cool thanks.
Mike
It’s cool thanks.
Mike
If you find it let me know somehow, I’d like a few more from the same place
Pagedoll this is the closes I could come to what you had.
http://www.allemoticons.com/Aliens/index2.shtml
The second one.
In German it is a yeast to cultivate chesse until it is wrapped. I do not know how it got confused with a egg salad sandwitch with islands with scammbled eggs in Rome there still probably tying to get the catsup out of the bottle. The shortest e-mail route is a lesbian. No drooling person was allowed at toothache in admittance of a food process after get their adut teeth unless it was a snare unto them at first; they probably call that Europe and then there is the thing again with the full catsup bottle agian. The person in the snare did not have the chance to write down a sexual preference. Thinking sappo gets the ketsup out of the bottle easier and the after effects of being let out of the snare. How did the snare perform work!
Now THERE’S a breast imbued with immortal fire if I ever saw one….
umm… speed kills?
umm… the quicker the better. (Take that whichever way you want.
)
I am leaving for Soci this summer do you want me to send you some pictures? Asked you about the word ‘pokey’. is nr#2
NUMERO 2 IS THE ANSWER FOR YOU