Hi Hot.
I am new to your sight but enjoy watching beautiful women. I also enjoy learning jhings. So naturally I enjoy watching beautiful women while learning things. So that is why I am here.
I have a word request. This is actually a two word request that both mean the same thing. The words are deadbeat and freeloader. Often used to describe ones husband or boyfriend (and occasionally girlfriend). So, please, if you can get around to it give us the origin of these words.
Thanks, an adoring admirer,
Big Dave
Hi, I’m superfastfrog on youtube, and this is my word request:
Pneumonoultramicroscopicsilicovolcanoconiosis. I know it’s a really long word but it’s cool.
Marina, In my latest (ish) video. I asked people to ask me anything..I would include the answers in a follow up video. I would really like to include a question from you (or anyone else) here in the video too…
No what it means is our brain has the ability to orientate sight with the other senses to determine the position of objects around our current environment .
.. yes .. when light goes through the lens of the eye, it’s inverted .. so what hits the (if i remember correctly) rods’n'cones (the receptors at the back of the eye) is actually the “wrong” way up.
For me it’s the origin of ideas that really floats my boat.
Zipper, the word, certaintly comes from the sound it makes.
But what would cause a thought to create a zipper in the first place?
What caused the creative invention?
I paused at the patent picture, those folks back in the late 1800′s really has some smarts going.
Their design is exactly what it looks like today.
Kinda like “Milk”.
Where did that name come from?
And what rocketscientist figured out that he was going to drink whatever came out of those things?
Inventive Genisus.
I’d like to know the origin of the word “areyouacceptingapplicationsforloveslaves”. Other than that that, I wanted to mention that one of the zippers on my person is “TYT” though the other is “YKK”.
Many of us work with personal computers, but we sometimes hear about a “mainframe” computer… Just what is a “mainframe” and where does that word come from? Thanks so much!
Hi guy, thanks for the commits on “oleophilic” It does mean what I thought. But, is it a word made from industry terms, or does it have some origin from else where? I think that it is a word that was invented from industry or a scientific purpose.
Nice lesson on zipper! I just watched the lesson on irony and how much it is misused. I was hoping you could clarify a phrase which I feel is often misused: Lion’s share. Most use this incorrectly I feel to describe a majority portion. I do not believe this to be true. Ironic maybe, well actually no, just misinformed.
I live in the US and my name is Randy. I would like to know why the English use the word RANDY for meaning HORNY? As in, I’m feeling reather RANDY today.
I love the lessons!
And your beauty is icing on the cake
I was adding a comment suggesting “grand parents day” on what you should put on your calendar. Then I began to wonder where the word grandparent came from. Would you be so kind to investigate. Thanks
Speaking of clothes Jcr. When are we going to see a gravatar of something other than the lower part of your person. So many women get angry of us guys always looking down, and your encouraging it? heheh just kidding you Jcr! And don’t be funny and just show us your chest. There I go and done it. Now your going to give us a photo of the bottom of your shoe.
I’m shy. This one is better than my old one which was a…raccoon…for no earthly reason except that I took a photo of it in our yard. Plus, I had a certain admiration for it, after a repair person (who happened to be male, just by chance) didn’t listen to me about raccoons being in our crawl space and put his hand on a sleeping raccoon. It sounded like someone was being murdered. If you only knew the rest of THAT story. Imagine a woman creeping very slowly towards a crawl space, knives in hand, feeling ambivalent about rescuing a clueless repair guy who REFUSED to listen and was paying the consequences.
What the heck where you trying to rescue the repair guy? It was the raccoon that needed the rescuing. I would have ran to wal-mart and bought a shot gun and well after dragging the corps out of the craw space, I would have been apologizing to the raccoon profusely and tell it that it would never happen again.
You know what you should do? Send the company a box of Q-tip swabs. and a photo of a raccoon.
Actually, the raccoon was definitely winning that battle which was apparent as soon as the guy made it out of the crawl space. I looked down and could almost swear I saw a raccoon with a victorious grin on its face The repair guy was NOT happy and he didn’t fix our air conditioning or heat either. Oh, well….can’t win ‘em all, unless you are a sleeping raccoon taking on a clueless repair person. Lesson: do not touch sleeping raccoons.
Dear Marina, You have a very pretty name, same as my sister!. My paragliding buddies and I are wondering what is the meaning of “Dead as a door nail” and from where did it originate? You are the best, please choose our request!!!!
Hi rick716, Marina has already done the expression “break a leg”.
You can find that video in the Lessons list at the top left of the page
or you can click here: http://www.hotforwords.com/2008/02/21/break-a-leg/
Thanks animalntaz for pointing out that the YT video was flagged. I always send in a complaint to YT to get Marina’s video unflagged. The people that flag the video are either general haters or of a certain culture. Marina’s videos are very classic and I have never been offended by any of them.
request a word
Germany?
My question is not my question is not really germany, but why it goes by such varied names in other languages
english germany
german Deutschland
french allemagne
spanish alemania
italian germania
i seems like we would all call it Detschland or a derivative of the translation (example united states, estados unidos or japan japon
Hello mcb95x, I had also asked for that once or twice about two months ago. My guess is that Marina may not do the variations of Germany as it may not appeal to a large audience, and she would need to figure out a way to make the video very interesting. Don’t let that stop you from continuing to ask though as Marina has always surprised me and I’m always wrong on these kinds of predictions.
That particular question you ask is near and dear to me as I have done lots of research into that topic and which also touches on other countries such as Austria / Österreich for example. Here are two wiki pages that should tide you over until Marina does the video.
Now now, don’t take it so hard. As you
know, being that you are an avid admirer
of Marina’s work, the TA’s have begun
a process for keeping track of words
requested, and by whom. This is a
recent change to the program and the
hoped for result is to collate all requests
made and list them for Marina to review
in a coherent manner. So many requests
are posted here, not to mention numerous
video requests received by Marina. It has
been the case where a request can be all
to easily lost in the shuffle. Your request
of Sept. 14 came in amongst a slew of new
requests, thus illustrating the need for a
vetting process. Please continue to make
your requests with the assurance that efforts
are underway to minimize the chance your
word request will fall through the cracks.
I couldn’t shake away the comparison of Marina’s incessant requests with the Jim Carrey character Bruce Almighty and his “You’ve Got Prayers” computer responding system. I’ll bet she needs the Power.
love your stuff. The word “smart” got me to thinking, so many different meanings, intelligent (like you, like me) , pain, looking good and insolence. Keep up the great work!
Can you explain how “to take” came to mean “to go for” as in “to take a walk”?
Bonus question: How did it come to be used in “to take a shit”? I would much rather imagine it as something I’m giving, not taking. But then, if you “give a shit”, it means you care about something, although it’s usually expressed in the negative, “I don’t give a shit.”
i would also like to know the origin of gridiron and touchdown too,ya know its football season here in the united states.would you dress up like a cheerleader with pom poms? oh speaking of pom poms,whats the origin of pom poms?
Marina, I enjoy your videos so much that I have started to post rellevant ones to my Fantasy Football League site. I’m trying to educate some of the guys. With this in mind could you do a video or two on either “gridiron” or “touchdown” or both? Intelligence IS sexy.
Not much the gambler anymore. After 15 years in the biz its cheaper to watch. If I do gamble its all for some fun. Fantasy Football is a hobby, not much to do a 3:00am when I get home from work.
That has puzzled me for years. I keep forgetting to look it up. In conversation I just nod my head as if I understood in hopes that later I can figure it out what it means.
There are a few trees in a garden. On one of them, a pear tree, there are pears (quite logical). But after a strong wind blew, there were neither pears on the tree nor on the ground.
How come?
Hi dalcon12, and welcome to the site. I see already you have met some of your fellow class mates. We try to have a lot of fun here and sometimes a game every now and then. So enjoy yourself and if you need any help at changing that monster Gravatar next to your name to a more personal picture let one of us know. You can also attach a web site to your name like your utube channel or a personal web site. When you do your name will turn blue like mine. Click on my name and it brings up my utube site. I have the directions for both of these procedures. I am one of the Teacher’s Assistants and Captain Jack is the other, but anyone here would be glad to help you if you need it.
Dear Marina, I hope you are a Christian, you don’t have to answer that, because, you affirm my Christianity, only a God, my God, could create such intelligence and beauty in one package.
Yeh … (i found the original after a struggle) .. they both have that Stephen King Crazed Christian touch about them.
Do you think they’re the same person? We get a lot of over-the-top adulation of M in here. And a lot of over-the-top wackos tend to be “christians”. .. in any case .. worth keeping an eye on.
I have a late announcement to make. Capman911 aka Mike, had a birthday yesterday. So lets wish him a belated birthday. Now he can have two great days in honor of his day.
Happy belated birthday Mike! Thanks for the many years you have saved peoples lives and property. Thank you for covering for me as a TA here on HTW site.
I cheated. I just copied and pasted someone else’s work. So it is either a reflection as you say or the number of candles on the cake. I think we should go with the number of candles. There was no way to fit all the required candles on such a large cake. Also the candle stick factory said it would take them all year to fill our order.
My zipper says YKK… Is this related to Year two thousand? I don’t know.
I have a word request that I hope you won’t dismiss as trivial… the word is “trivia” and I was reading a book that said that rhetoric was once referred to as trivium (there were seven sciences and arts in the middle ages, apparently this one was number three). Is trivia derived from trivium? If not, where is it from? Thanks
I have a new word that is used in my industry but no one can explian where it came from or if it is a real word. The word is “oilephilic” what is suppose to mean is a oil is attracted to a meterial like plastic and oil stick to the plastic. But this word is not in the dictiary or in spell checker.. Can you find something on this word?
The zipper of these pants say YKK my sleeping bags that i sleep on every night say coleman there really long zippers all this is fine untill the zippers screw up then you run into the problem of fixity. Its a proven fact zipper fixity is unworkable because of age and wear and tear on the zipper make it unusable then its a matter of use of the correct and proper zipper as the replacement for the throughly used an abused zipper. The rule is she breaks or abuses zipper beyond fixity she replaces zipper from her own manufactured kind. No substitutes allowed.
Oh god… You really think you are the first person to have ever asked this?? Come off it.. This is a blatant example of what I like to call “Marina abuse”
As an engineering student i studied communication as a technical subject. This involved a significant amount about protocols, “hand shaking”, etc to ensure information has been correctly identified and transferred.
Would that be true, too, in the human sense of the word communication”? (i.e. communication hasn’t occurred until both parties are confident each other has a common grasp of the information.)
Mijj, That’s one of my favorite words. Without communication our society breaks down. Many problems can be solved with good communication. Because with good communication, thought and ideas can be shared which improves understanding. I wonder why some people make an effort not to communicate and then blame society for the problems we have today?
I also would wish to request the word communication.
Welcome HFW, Thank you for Buzzword for requesting communications of the ‘word’.
*kicks the Buzzrobot*
Damn robots! They don’t build them like they used to!
Miss M. I we call English class here in the states English, what do you or Russians call the equivalent of the same class in Russia? Is it the same as I am going to Russian class? Inquiring minds want to know or at least I do.
Not bad for a garage band of 12YOs I guess. They could use a few weeks with Jimmy Page and/or Eric Clapton tho! Page to teach them hard rock and Clapton to teach them to play with feelin. I woulda said Ted Nugent too but they might not live thru him!
Aloha My Hot For Words Teacher, you make words so interesting to learn and Love. My request is not so much as a single word but a saying and of course I would like to know the real origin. The saying is” Freeze the Balls Off a Brass Monkey.”
I can help you here. I even have a book that has Monkey standing next to cannon balls on the front cover. “With a Pinch of Salt, as interpreted by Captain Nick Bates’. A few of his findings are false. Maybe he will do a rewrite.
I use to live in Hawaii… TWICE! First time was during 1st-3rd grade, where I use to live in Pearl City. Second time I was finishing up high school at Moanalua, while living in Honolulu. My dad had a career in the navy, and I honestly didn’t care much for living there.
Hi, a word/action that has tremendous impact and is an action used by all. Most use this tactic as humor, but it is anything but that to the victim, it is very hurtful in a relationship. The people that use this action/tactic often do not realize why they do it. It stems from their anger, and this is why the origins of the word are so important for people to understand and therefore they will look within themselves to confront their reasons for their anger. Instead of hurting others over their own inability to work through their issues. The word “Sarcasm.”
Hello vernon olson, that was a great introduction to set up the request for the word “Sarcasm”. I second that request, and I would like to have Marina touch on the cultural basis if possible.
I believe sarcasm is used indiscriminately more so in some countries than others and I think that it is only the very few that either understand or can pull off a true sarcasm, and what happens in most cases is that which you described in your paragraph.
Hi Pedantickarl, thank you for you 2nd. As I understand, the word is from the Greek word “Sacazim” which means to tear the flesh, how appropriate because that is the effect and intent in many cases. I am illiterate to a “True sarcasm” as you state and I look forward to learning that. I know the word sarcasm very intimately, and did not grow as a functioning person until I understood my sarcasm. I strive to be a better person through education.
Hello mijj,
I have this installed on my computer- it was free w/encyclopedia.
It’s a “linking brain” it helps with keeping thoughts sorted out for easy access.
I have always relied on notes. Now notes and links on one of my computers. But I’ve just started usng this and it can be a very flexible tool.
Here’s an example.
Hey! .. that’s an amazing coincidence .. i used that (Brain) some time ago .. but i found that having the same look about the structures (when you move through the data) made it difficult to get a sense of where you are.
However .. i found 2 (in my opinion) better alternatives (both free) …
this one’s heavy duty: [Compendium]
(they havent made use of the full potential of Compenium in the example – they’re being accademic.)
this is better for quickly getting a handle on something:
(it’s quicker to set up relationships and prettier, but not much use for general purpose or very broad stuff)
The examples on the website look dull, but there’s lots of prettyfying stuff they dont use. [Cmap Tools]
Hey mijj, The y2k analogy was one of the thoughts that comes to my thinking mind, only because when i was driving a truck, there was a fellow at a truck stop in Arizona, (at a Flying J truck stop) that i was having a conversation with whom seemed to be really concerened with the so called Y2k bug that was supposedly going to affect all those satelites the DOD has up. This was in 2002, two years after the soposedly win2k bug was going to cause havok with those satelites. I told him that the DOD had alredy taken care of that problem as every day life in 2002 was still functioning normally as far as I could tell. He seemed fairly concerned about it, like he was living life in the years before Y2k was going to occur. Strang huh?
Marina, just a little feedback on your show. I like the words that you take all the way back to their roots. The word origins often say so much about us. I also prefer your candid pictures to your professional shots. The pics with you in the pink top and the big dog look familiar; can you say where I would have seen them before? One more question; are your eyes really that blue? I dated a girl with eyes like that a looooooong time ago, I got lost everytime I looked in those eyes. Keep up the great work
Hey Sparky! Im moving back to Seattle in about a week or two for the winter. Lets meet up at Peats Coffee, my treat. I have yet to meet a person on this site.
Marina: what is the origin of the word “hopefully’? When you were on the Factor last night, you told Bill, “I’ll see you soon again, hopefully.” “Hopefully” is used nowadays to mean “I hope”, but I don’t think that’s what it originally meant. I think HotForWords should investigate!
(BTW, i checked several zippers and they all say “YKK”. They must have a monopoly.)
Are all the school kids now going to run around checking the brand of their zippers.
Here’s a mental image: High School Cheer Leaders grabbing the zippers on your jeans to check the brand. Jocks grabbing the zippers on the Cheer Leaders sweaters to check out the brand.
A new greeting, poo poo on the hand shake, let me see your zipper.
Designer zippers vs us poor slobs in the YKK brand.
Where did the origination of the word “Earth” come from? It will not be as easy as you think. Hint: you will have to break free from the populist mindset.
If you get it wrong you will have to marry me or at least consider it seriously
Since Wall Street is taking it on the chin lately with the sub-prime loan stuff. I know a bear market results when the bears sell (or short) more than the bulls buy (or long) and vice versa. The only way I do not confuse the two is remembering that a bull strikes up with its horns, and a bear strikes down with its claws, but would love to see you do a vid with their real origins. BTW there are lots of animals on wall street…Bulls drive the market up, Bears drive it down, Sheep just follow the crowd, and Pigs get slaughtered (some of them must be Buddhist pigs, because they are transformed into Lame Ducks – which term I see you’ve already done).
What kind of birds you have? I use to work at pet stores, and had to take care of many of them. They can do some crazy things. I found a macaw that could pick a Master Lock™ in about 5 to 10 mins. We decided that we could market his services as a lock smith to pay for his upkeep.
Wow! That was a quick response…Thanks. BTW… I saw that your pic is from the web, mine will be from my computer…in case there is a difference in the method
ok, so it doesn’t truncate after the “.com”….I wonder what I did wrong with my attempt at “Kiss” link word request under “Codswaddle” lesson…looks like we did something similar.. I cut-and-paste both times, so iam pretty sure to have spelled it correctly, even tried it in the practice page, still couldn’t make it work…
Thank you very much, Mijj! I appreciate your effort!
instead of there, it linked to current most recent video posted, I went to the practice area, failed to get it to behave properly, and just pasted the URL, as that had always worked before for me, presuming the link method somehow was disregarding everything following the “.com” in the URL.
I love the link so much, I made my name take you there as well.
Perhaps the second most beautiful thing on the internet.. (:wink: @ Marina)
I made several posts in recent vids to things I like, mostly for you all to enjoy, hopefully, as much as I do. Check them out…AFTER you do your homework assignment, of course.
I don’t know how he did it, but can only suggest the technique I think I first saw used on an MTV video. They made Xerox copies of prints of each frame, treated each with colored pencils, then used an animator’s camera as if each frame was an animated cell.
Thanks again for the HTML lesson, I think I finally got it!
I love your work, and apparently so does my girlfriend.
I don’t have a specific word I want to know the origin of but rather two sayings. I want to know the origins of “Tickled Pink” and Green With Envy”. How did we come to associate these colors with these feelings?
Hello,
My zipper says “NE”. Love your facts on interesting words.
I am wondering what “That’s Some Bad Hat Harry” phrase means. I see it at the closing of some tv shows, like a production company logo.
But what does it mean? and where does it come from?
Thanks so much,
Neophyte30
B.F. Goodrich . . . the company without a blimp. I had several relatives work at Goodrich during its tire making hay-day in Akron. My grandfather had rubber boots with a zipper running up the front made by Goodrich. I believe this was one of the first applications of the zipper. The University of Akron, has a mascot called Zippy, a kangaroo some engineering student must have imagined putting a zipper on its pouch.
The symbol for Mercury represents the head and winged cap of Mercury, god of commerce and communication, surmounting his caduceus (staff).
From me:
“Fianchetto” from the Italian, means “by the side” or “by the flank” (where a sidearm or sword is carried), in modern useage, refers to a position in chess where the (usually) king’s bishop is between the advanced king’s knight’s pawn and the castled king to form a formidable defensive position, while still allowing the bishop to exert control diagonally across the center of the board by being handy for hit-and-fade attacks against unsupported opposing pieces who may attempt to establish a central attack. In the diagram on Wikipedia, after 1.Nf3 … 2 O-O … one achieves the position I describe.
… you mentioned a few days ago (at least) that a number of people are making videos using greenscreen/bluescreen. Do you have further info to back this up? – i’d like to track some likely prospects down.
thanks, Cap .. but i wasn’t thinking so much of how it works
CaptiainJack mentioned that people were producing greenscreen videos because they wanted people to mess with them. I was wondering if he, perhaps was aware of some kind of index or register or something. The best i could find in youtube by a normal search is a poor britney spears example where here hair is scraggly and wispy.
I have a friend on my utube site that could answer your questions for you. Here’s her tube page and she told me she has used a lot and bigger screens. Maybe she could help you. She goes by Rhonda but her real name is Brittani Taylor. She is a very nice person. Wish you luck with your answer.
Hi mijj, if I understand all of your comments above, I don’t know of any “green screen vids to be messed with”, but I just run across them occasionally such as BarelyPolitical. Here are two vids from them.
ideally i’d like a full head shot (because i want to concentrate on the face) of someone i recognise.. but i guess i’m going to have to settle. .. so that one’s going into store as a possible while i continue looking round.
Some of us were discussing the use of language by animals recently, and I just remembered Mr. Coleridge’s opinion on the matter, and thought to share it, not for the sake of argument, per se, but, rather more simply for the beauty of it. And also should not in any way be considered an attempt at covert insult, it just happens to be the name of the poem. Hope you enjoy it as much as I do!
Answer To A Child’s Question
By Samuel Taylor Coleridge
Do you ask what the birds say? The Sparrow, the Dove,
The Linnet and Thrush say, I love and I love!
In the winter they’re silent — the wind is so strong;
What it says, I don’t know, but it sings a loud song.
But green leaves, and blossoms, and sunny warm weather,
And singing, and loving — all come back together.
But the Lark is so brimful of gladness and love,
The green fields below him, the blue sky above,
That he sings, and he sings; and for ever sings he –
I love my Love, and my Love loves me!
I was just looking at a Ricky gervais show, where he talked about “going commando”, wich he means that he was going to strip down completley naked in front of a doctor.
Well i was just thinking (and also he was thinking the same) what does that word commando come from? And what does it mean by saying that you are “going commando”?
Doesn´t Commandos wear pants?
On the Button: The Crackerjacks’ History Isn’t Just a Sea Story
Concern has echoed throughout the male ranks of the fleet. It’s not concern for their pay they voice, nor complaints of the demanding work load they endure. These guardians of the seas feel threatened by a rumored change in Navy policy – a change that would strike them “below the belt.” It’s a change of enormous consequence to these members of a Navy associated with hundreds of years of tradition, symbolism and legend. This is a fearful removal of the one thing that supports these seamen and petty officers in their daily mission as members of the world’s finest Navy.
These men in blue vocalize distress over the button shortage. Not just any button, mind you – the Navy button. That small, black, anchor-imprinted jewel which, along with 12 of its cousins, comprise the only means used to anchor the lower half of the world’s most widely-recognized uniform, the “crackerjacks.” This shortage can only mean on thing, according to rumor control – there is a move afoot to install zippers.
Gad! Why all this brouhaha over a button? To a “landlubber” this may appear trivial, but these “salts” depend on this opaque fastener to display a uniform that today contains countless symbols of tradition and American naval history. If the zipper lobby in Washington is successful, it will strip thousands of seamen and petty officers of one of the most priceless articles of Navy lore. This must stop!
Think of what this could do to the American button industry, not to mention those associated with the button – button-holers, button artists, button tailors, etc. – and not to mention Aunt Ruth’s button box that’s already overflowing with these outdated closure devices. Yes, Navy buttons have held the fleet together for nearly two centuries, while promoting jobs and the economy. And after the button, what goes next? Just look back at what happened before the button to see what an instrumental affect it’s had on U.S. maritime security.
In 1817, after 42 years of confusion over enlisted men’s attire, the War Department finally dared to enforce a uniform regulation for its rag-clad naval force, demanding that enlisted men wear “blue jackets and trousers, red vest with yellow buttons and a black hat.” The War Department neglected to mention shoes, and a largely barefoot and blister-filled enlisted force patrolled the world’s oceans until the grandfather of crackerjacks was name the official uniform in 1864.
This uniform is considered the world’s most recognized as a symbol of America’s strength, good will and dedication to freedom, according to Marine Corps Col. Robert H. Rankin in his book Uniforms of the Sea Services. This popularity has raised questions over the years as to the origins of the crackerjack’s design. Many interpretations of each facet of this uniform have been rendered by salts over the years. The buttons are probably the most talked about and revered aspect of naval garb for the past five or six wars.
Buttons swiftly replaced the previous trouser’s string tie, apparently after years of barefoot sailors hanging themselves – or their friends – in frustration after trying to keep their pants up. Then, in 1864, crackerjack trousers were designed with a “broadfall,” or flap, held in place by seven of these easily replaced fasteners. After a slight length increase of the broadfall in 1894 – possibly linked to the average sailor’s weight – six buttons were added for symmetrical design and to prevent an unwanted unveiling of the wearer.
Members of the Navy since 1894 have capitalized on numerous explanations for the coincidental number of buttons on the broadfall, the only publishable one being that they represent the original 13 colonies of America defended so efficiently by the Continental Navy. This romantic notion is widely accepted by seagoers, and rebuttal may be swiftly greeted by either heated debate or a knuckle sandwich. The best yarn spinners strengthen their case by pointing out that uniform designers hid the 14th button (known as the stealth button) behind the broadfall so the button-colony connections would still be supported – not to mention their trousers.
Ah, but frustration still ran throughout the now-buttoned-up fleet, as buttons couldn’t do the whole job, apparently. So, in memory of those valiant barefoot mariners who had hung themselves two paragraphs ago, a string tie was added in the back. This would effectively cinch the wearer’s waist inside a woolen vise, while enhancing physical flexibility and coordination as sailors attempted tightening this shoe-like rearward device without tying their hands behind their backs. Now, really, how can you spin a yarn about a zipper?
It’s interesting how the executive at BF Goodrich exclaimed the phrase “Zip ‘er up” while zipping up his boot. I wonder if his utterance of those words were onomatopoetic.
how many russians don’t know the origin of the word “spasibo,” meaning “thank you,” in english? well, i’ve taken a recent poll among muscovites whom i associate with, and the results were staggering. oy. it comes from old russian, and originally was spoken as, “spasi Bog,” meaning, “may God save you,” yet with time was reduced to “spasibo.”
okay, so how about “thank you” in english? where does it come from, and what is its history? we say it myriad times throughout the months of our lives, at least in the west. such a story could be fascinating.
(umm, okay, replying to oneself is kinda irritating.)
lol. is that a dancing cupcake? OO
ah, the gender thing sucks, huh? in german it’s worse than in russian because you can’t see what gender it is by looking at the ending. “e-mail” would be a female noun, thus: deine.
got the email, thank you so much. )
i’ll reply to it later today. when i get up. uh. yeah.
ah, the gender thing sucks, huh? in german it’s worse than in russian because you can’t see what gender it is by looking at the ending. “e-mail” would be a female noun, thus: deine.
got the email, thank you so much. )
i’ll reply to it later today. when i get up. uh. yeah.
Kobe has this thing where he likes to take 2 toys and he figures out how to put both toys in his mouth and drag them across the floor. He ALWAYS does it and he gets REALLY creative while figuring out how to accomplish the task.
If Kobe likes chewing on laces, I hope he doesn’t mistake that trailing electric lead for one.
His eyes should only light up when he sees his mistress.
Hummm so hanging around you makes Kobe smart. Hummm I know Im getting smarter just hanging around your website. Ok I guess if I want to get smarter I have to hang out with you. You have a need for a pool boy? Im smart enough to do at least that much.
Bikini was the Pacific atoll where the U.S. conducted it’s first H-bomb test (and many more) shortly after WWII. A skimpy new swimsuit was named after it, I suppose, because it hit society like a bomb.
Marina wears the bikini because she can. If her book doesn’t take off, she can always package her bikinis and sell them along with coffee mugs and paper weights. I don’t know about the postage, but I think many would voluntarily pay for “handling.”
Hello Capman911,
misscupcake used a word that seems like a good one to look up-
laundry.
Can you add that to Marina’s (laundry) list of words to look up?
Also – flag,
(and for Halloween) ghoul, zombie, graveyard shift and dead ringer.
Thank you
Homework: 5VS on my jacket.YKK on my dockers.
OMG! you know what I just realized? Marina found a way to get 30,000 guys to unzip their flies! Now for Marina’s next trick!….
What the heck was Kobe doing? Shoe lace in his jaw while playing with a ball. Kobe is getting smarter. He can play with two toys at once. Oh and you notice Marina bought Kobe lots of expensive toys and it looks like he is having more fun with with a shoe and ball. That figures. I wonder what his favorite toys are?
Well I missed the Fox show. Someone pass the tissues please!
Homework: YKK
Comment: Kobe’s looking greedy (as well as cute)
Word Request: Tart… why does it refer to acerbity (in taste or attitude) or a pastry or a prostitute (loose woman).
Perhaps *I* DO control the internet…not all of it, of course, but just my happy little corner of it….the part that I put out there that screams to the world, “This is who I am…This is what I like…”
Or, at least, what I want the world to think that I am because this is what I like..
SET “Rambling Mode” = OFF
But I like THIS one so much, I will drop it again:
or perhaps Marina cotrols the internet…not all of it but my happy little corner of it… because…. *I*, in MY little corner of the internet, just now, looked at the zipper on my trousers, to find “YKK” embossed thereon.
The zipper on my trousers share their name with the manufacturer of them. It reads Levi’s. I would very much like to know the origin of the two words I used to comprise my screen name which are: Cynical and Analytical. I would also like to know why we use the word Happen to describe events. Thank you
совершенная Marina, Ah, the smileys are back, now. I forgot to mention that your nice miniskirt has very attractive black lace underneath. And I’ll happily remember your skirt’s YKK zipper is on your left, too. (I hope that information will be useful someday, and only in a nice way, too.) Your dear student, seesixcm6, who needed a reason to use smileys.)
Your PERSONAL issues Score is 100%.
Your ECONOMIC issues Score is 40%.
According to your answers, the political group that agrees with you most is…
Liberal
LIBERALS usually embrace freedom of choice in personal matters, but tend to support significant government control of the economy.
They generally support a government-funded “safety net” to help the disadvantaged, and advocate strict regulation of business.
Liberals tend to favor environmental regulations, defend civil liberties and free expression, support government action to promote equality, and tolerate diverse lifestyles.
Your PERSONAL issues Score is 70%.
Your ECONOMIC issues Score is 60%.
According to your answers, the political group that agrees with you most is…
CENTRISTS espouse a “middle ground” regarding government control of the economy and personal behavior. Depending on the issue, they sometimes favor government intervention and sometimes support individual freedom of choice.
Centrists pride themselves on keeping an open mind,
tend to oppose “political extremes,” and emphasize what
they describe as “practical” solutions to problems.
….And all this time I thought I was a conservative
I even served on the same ship as Senator McCain when I was in the Navy. Will someone please teach me how to post photos like you guys do…with the nifty black frame?
They flew me over to a destroyer, and I got a couple of aerial shots
совершенная Marina, I hope you are safely home from the O’Reilly show. I’m sure you did well. For your homework, my zipper tab has the word, “IDEAL” embossed on it, on both sides. It’s a Champion sweat jacket. So your skirt zipper has “YKK” on it. Perhaps it’s designed to function after Y2K, that year 2000 crisis they imagined. It looked little Kobe had a shoelace caught in his teeth. Poor Kobe! I hope you released it from Kobe by now. Your dear student, seesixcm6
Hi ,
I’d like to request the origin of the words “blonde” and “brunet” as they refer to a color but only when it applies to a person’s hair.
As you say “please investigate”
ps: I see you have a small white dog, but what happened to the great dane? I happen to own a dane myself…that’s why I ask….
Zippers can be a Man’s worst enemy… Bra’s are more fun! Mine is YKK too! Must be a Monopoly Conspiracy!
Ask Zippy The PinHead!
Pshh… what zipper? Haha Kobe dragging shoe! Is the zipper stuck on his hair?
I consider this a FULL definition where the origin is the most interesting…
A little editing and Dictionary Girl has another word for the Dictionary, if she wants to keep the identities and messages separate.
viewed and appreciated.
Aww, cute dog.
new vid is up
I am new to your sight but enjoy watching beautiful women. I also enjoy learning jhings. So naturally I enjoy watching beautiful women while learning things.
I have a word request. This is actually a two word request that both mean the same thing. The words are deadbeat and freeloader. Often used to describe ones husband or boyfriend (and occasionally girlfriend). So, please, if you can get around to it give us the origin of these words.
Thanks, an adoring admirer,
Big Dave
Hi, I’m superfastfrog on youtube, and this is my word request:
Pneumonoultramicroscopicsilicovolcanoconiosis. I know it’s a really long word but it’s cool.
Hello getsmart,
Marina answered that in a comment in April. Here is the link to that
question and Marina’s comment.
i have always wanted to no how the word st patrick’s day got its name
Marina, In my latest (ish) video. I asked people to ask me anything..I would include the answers in a follow up video. I would really like to include a question from you (or anyone else) here in the video too…
ok .. i’ve got a question for you .. (putting the question here’s ok, i assume) …
… ok .. you know how your eyes invert what you see .. so .. if that’s the case .. which way is up?
They invert what what we see?? Does that mean really we live upside down
No what it means is our brain has the ability to orientate sight with the other senses to determine the position of objects around our current environment .
nice answer, stokes .. i think that’d be a good one for james to do.
Or should say determine the position that is called up.
oh .. i’d assumed you’d be familiar with that …
.. yes .. when light goes through the lens of the eye, it’s inverted .. so what hits the (if i remember correctly) rods’n'cones (the receptors at the back of the eye) is actually the “wrong” way up.
… hence, my question : which way is up?
{..i’ll see if i can hunt down a diagram..}
umm, i thought it’s flipped horizontally, not vertically.
well, it inverts in all directions .. i just asked about up/down.
A question about left/right would be just as valid – but not as dramatic.
Perhaps this diagram can clear things up, fellas….
hey! … you’re the Answer Man .. i shouldn’t be doing the work!
{ … folds arms .. keeps schtum … }
For me it’s the origin of ideas that really floats my boat.
Zipper, the word, certaintly comes from the sound it makes.
But what would cause a thought to create a zipper in the first place?
What caused the creative invention?
I paused at the patent picture, those folks back in the late 1800′s really has some smarts going.
Their design is exactly what it looks like today.
Kinda like “Milk”.
Where did that name come from?
And what rocketscientist figured out that he was going to drink whatever came out of those things?
Inventive Genisus.
This has got to be embarassing.
Slow day on YouTube.
And your video is behind a video on Monkey pictures.
And the logic is ……….???
I’d like to know the origin of the word “areyouacceptingapplicationsforloveslaves”.
Many of us work with personal computers, but we sometimes hear about a “mainframe” computer… Just what is a “mainframe” and where does that word come from? Thanks so much!
one big computer that can be used by multiple people at the same time…
The zipper on my Wrangler Jeans doesn’t have a brand name on the pull, just a little icon in the shape of a boot, so I reckon it’s a Wrangler zipper.
When is your birthday everyone?
why? wanna send me a gift?
D
Why yes…
or present or whatever the hell it is.
september 7th
only 11,something more months
lol ur 18.. OMG thats really old… Nursing home calls… LOL
February 19th
lol! how do you think so do a video for where coming the name ofs the week like sartuday!
FLAK. We wear FLAK Jackets and you can give people FLAK, but very few know where the term originates.
This is very odd..
Honours for my most recent video.
#7 – Most Discussed (Today) – Travel & Events
#99 – Most Discussed (Today) – Travel & Events – Global
#79 – Most Discussed (This Week) – Travel & Events
#72 – Most Viewed (Today) – Travel & Events
#81 – Most Viewed (Today) – Travel & Events – India
#19 – Most Viewed (Today) – Travel & Events – New Zealand
#62 – Most Viewed (Today) – Travel & Events – Israel
#100 – Most Viewed (Today) – Travel & Events – Global
#89 – Most Viewed (Today) – Travel & Events – South Korea
#41 – Most Viewed (This Month) – Travel & Events
#41 – Top Favorited (Today) – Travel & Events
#7 – Top Rated (Today) – Travel & Events
#97 – Top Rated (This Week) – Travel & Events
India, New Zealand, Israel, South Korea??
That is very odd…
ZZZZZZZZZZZZ!!!!
Kudos, I’m interested in the word kudos.
NO YOU ARE NOT!!
Hey! i would like to know the word fornication comes from?
Thanks!!
WORD REQUEST:
Sexy.
Internet.
Secret.
Thanks be waiting for the answers
Heyy! Where does the word “O’clock” come from? You know, like when someone says “It’s two o’clock”.
Thanks!
I’d like to know the history of the word “Legacy”
Hi guy, thanks for the commits on “oleophilic” It does mean what I thought. But, is it a word made from industry terms, or does it have some origin from else where? I think that it is a word that was invented from industry or a scientific purpose.
Hey Marina my friend told me a masturbation joke and i was wonderin wear the word masturbation came from think you can find out?
Request for the phrase “double-cross”
Check This Out!
Here’s a BLAST from the PAST!!!!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BRX_PzPE17M
I’ve seen this recently.
http://tw.youtube.com/watch?v=4-3EyMPzMoo
This dog is really smart.
That may be because it is a beagle. They are notorious for climbing fences. I didn’t know they were smart, though.
Critter Word Requests
Scorpion
Skunk-PHEW!!!!
Lobster
Escargot-Snail Yummy!
yea i’ve heard people say the expression “lion’s share” before. could you investigate please?
spaciba
Nice lesson on zipper! I just watched the lesson on irony and how much it is misused. I was hoping you could clarify a phrase which I feel is often misused: Lion’s share. Most use this incorrectly I feel to describe a majority portion. I do not believe this to be true. Ironic maybe, well actually no, just misinformed.
I live in the US and my name is Randy. I would like to know why the English use the word RANDY for meaning HORNY? As in, I’m feeling reather RANDY today.
I bet you like watching Austin Powers movies.
How about “blog”?
time for a music break:
[Robert Fripp String Quintet]
I love the lessons!
And your beauty is icing on the cake
I was adding a comment suggesting “grand parents day” on what you should put on your calendar. Then I began to wonder where the word grandparent came from. Would you be so kind to investigate. Thanks
P.S. I don’t have any clothes with zippers on them today, jogging suit.
Speaking of clothes Jcr. When are we going to see a gravatar of something other than the lower part of your person. So many women get angry of us guys always looking down, and your encouraging it? heheh just kidding you Jcr! And don’t be funny and just show us your chest. There I go and done it. Now your going to give us a photo of the bottom of your shoe.
I don’t jog. I only run when chased.
I’m shy. This one is better than my old one which was a…raccoon…for no earthly reason except that I took a photo of it in our yard. Plus, I had a certain admiration for it, after a repair person (who happened to be male, just by chance) didn’t listen to me about raccoons being in our crawl space and put his hand on a sleeping raccoon. It sounded like someone was being murdered. If you only knew the rest of THAT story. Imagine a woman creeping very slowly towards a crawl space, knives in hand, feeling ambivalent about rescuing a clueless repair guy who REFUSED to listen and was paying the consequences.
What the heck where you trying to rescue the repair guy?
It was the raccoon that needed the rescuing. I would have ran to wal-mart and bought a shot gun and well after dragging the corps out of the craw space, I would have been apologizing to the raccoon profusely and tell it that it would never happen again. 
You know what you should do? Send the company a box of Q-tip swabs. and a photo of a raccoon.
Actually, the raccoon was definitely winning that battle which was apparent as soon as the guy made it out of the crawl space. I looked down and could almost swear I saw a raccoon with a victorious grin on its face
The repair guy was NOT happy and he didn’t fix our air conditioning or heat either. Oh, well….can’t win ‘em all, unless you are a sleeping raccoon taking on a clueless repair person. Lesson: do not touch sleeping raccoons.
I ones put my hand in to a hole that had a badger in it…. ended up with 4 stitches orso 2 injections and a dead badger…..
That is the cutest dog! He wouldn’t let go of the shoe string while going after that tennis ball, so playful!
hello, i had no idea a tire company started that name. something knew to tell my friends…lol thanks
as you are always giving us your students homework i want to know the origin of the word homework
this sounds perverted… but the origin of the word masturbation
Masturbation is perfectly normal, everyone does it…..
FELLATIO on the other hand… that may be too perverted to ask Marina.
where did we get the football phrase “taking it to the barn”?
Dear Marina, You have a very pretty name, same as my sister!. My paragliding buddies and I are wondering what is the meaning of “Dead as a door nail” and from where did it originate? You are the best, please choose our request!!!!
And check out paragliding on the web….
Cheers,
-Mark
HI, i wanted to see if you could investigate the phrase “break a leg” where did that come from???? see your next clip
Hi rick716, Marina has already done the expression “break a leg”.
You can find that video in the Lessons list at the top left of the page
or you can click here:
http://www.hotforwords.com/2008/02/21/break-a-leg/
Why has this video been flagged on YouTube? Were some viewers offended by Marina’s cleavage or something? Because I didn’t see anything wrong with it.
Thanks animalntaz for pointing out that the YT video was flagged. I always send in a complaint to YT to get Marina’s video unflagged. The people that flag the video are either general haters or of a certain culture. Marina’s videos are very classic and I have never been offended by any of them.
I would really like to know more about the word “loquacious” and was wondering if hotforwords could investigate
That sounds good..
Could you investigate Denali?
Hello Marina, I was wondering where the phrase ‘For pete’s sake’ comes from.
request a word
Germany?
My question is not my question is not really germany, but why it goes by such varied names in other languages
english germany
german Deutschland
french allemagne
spanish alemania
italian germania
i seems like we would all call it Detschland or a derivative of the translation (example united states, estados unidos or japan japon
Hello mcb95x, I had also asked for that once or twice about two months ago. My guess is that Marina may not do the variations of Germany as it may not appeal to a large audience, and she would need to figure out a way to make the video very interesting. Don’t let that stop you from continuing to ask though as Marina has always surprised me and I’m always wrong on these kinds of predictions.
That particular question you ask is near and dear to me as I have done lots of research into that topic and which also touches on other countries such as Austria / Österreich for example. Here are two wiki pages that should tide you over until Marina does the video.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Names_for_Germany
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Various_terms_used_for_Germans
More commonly simply called “zip” in the UK I think.
Marina, I’m hurt! I asked you the same question about zipper on September 14th, 2008 at 3:58 am!
Hey sniper, how did you get hurt? Did you get it stuck in the zipper? Ouch, that must really hurt.
Now now, don’t take it so hard. As you
know, being that you are an avid admirer
of Marina’s work, the TA’s have begun
a process for keeping track of words
requested, and by whom. This is a
recent change to the program and the
hoped for result is to collate all requests
made and list them for Marina to review
in a coherent manner. So many requests
are posted here, not to mention numerous
video requests received by Marina. It has
been the case where a request can be all
to easily lost in the shuffle. Your request
of Sept. 14 came in amongst a slew of new
requests, thus illustrating the need for a
vetting process. Please continue to make
your requests with the assurance that efforts
are underway to minimize the chance your
word request will fall through the cracks.
ChaCha,
I couldn’t shake away the comparison of Marina’s incessant requests with the Jim Carrey character Bruce Almighty and his “You’ve Got Prayers” computer responding system. I’ll bet she needs the Power.
i started a company called metroproper, and proper has so many meanings that i love.. where does the word “proper” come from?
philcoextra
Me too! I think YKK has cornered the market on zippers!
Actually, Marina: I wonder if you could find out where the expression “cornered the market” came from. Hmmmmm….
It’s YKK on mine, too!
I was wearing shorts with a string tie, but early today I had pants on and the the letters “YKK” are on the tongue.
Haggar – City Casuals…
and Zip-A-Dee-Doo-Dah…
Try out this optical Illusion. See how long you can take it.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g90wRxAjOtM&feature=related
that is a nice optical illusion you can only have some of that on your birthday you are one day late
lol
tsk .. you americans and your fascination for giant inflated weaponised boobs! {.. is that overgeneralising? .. most brits seem to be as bad}
i prefer [this look]
I also belong to th ‘More-than-a-mouthful-is-wasted” club, but there is still that remnant Neanderthal DNA, which would love to unwrap a great big ‘Playstation II’ on Christmas/Hannukah/Ramadan/Kwanzaa/Winter Solstice/Anniversary/Birthday/weekend/other special occasion/no reason at all!
List intentionally truncated as to be not quite as exhaustive as the collective nouns request of recent memory.
Ciao,
Fianchetto
I see spots!
those aren’t spots, they’re nipples, man!
Hello Marina,
love your stuff. The word “smart” got me to thinking, so many different meanings, intelligent (like you, like me) , pain, looking good and insolence. Keep up the great work!
Darnko
Can you explain how “to take” came to mean “to go for” as in “to take a walk”?
Bonus question: How did it come to be used in “to take a shit”? I would much rather imagine it as something I’m giving, not taking. But then, if you “give a shit”, it means you care about something, although it’s usually expressed in the negative, “I don’t give a shit.”
So, do you care enough to investigate?
Levis or Wranglers
Zipper or Buttons
High Pockets or Low Rider
Cowboys or Bikers
Mine says,,mmmmm,oooohhh,aahhhh,that feels good!
Actually it says “YKK”.so ummmm,what does YKK stand for?
tryant
yoshida kogyo kabushiki kaisha a Japanese company
Thanx Man,I had already found it tho. Mighty kind of ya!
When Marina 1st said the name on hers I thought she said “Waikiki”.With her good fashion sense I had thought she bought some high-dollar garment!
tryant
tryant
Hi, can you please tell me what “Jig” is in “The Jig is up”
i would also like to know the origin of gridiron and touchdown too,ya know its football season here in the united states.would you dress up like a cheerleader with pom poms? oh speaking of pom poms,whats the origin of pom poms?
Word REQUEST: The most important words in the English language:
5 most important words: “I am proud of you.”
4 most important words: “What is your opinion?”
3 most important words: “I love you.”
2 most important words: “Thank you.”
1 most important word: “You.”
Ciao,
Fianchetto
marina,my zipper say YKK too.
Marina, I enjoy your videos so much that I have started to post rellevant ones to my Fantasy Football League site. I’m trying to educate some of the guys. With this in mind could you do a video or two on either “gridiron” or “touchdown” or both? Intelligence IS sexy.
So your a the gambler, I don,t play fantasy football.
Not much the gambler anymore. After 15 years in the biz its cheaper to watch. If I do gamble its all for some fun. Fantasy Football is a hobby, not much to do a 3:00am when I get home from work.
Hey mine says YKK too
Marina, could you do the origin of the terms Left WIng and RIght wing
as in liberal and conservative?
That has puzzled me for years. I keep forgetting to look it up. In conversation I just nod my head as if I understood in hopes that later I can figure it out what it means.
Maybe the wings(additions)of a building in Washington DC had Libs in one and Cons in the other.Just a guess.
left and right sides of parliament.
oh .. apparently to do with the seating in the french parliament about the time of the french revolution (not UK as i’d thought)
Riddle me this.
Pears
There are a few trees in a garden. On one of them, a pear tree, there are pears (quite logical). But after a strong wind blew, there were neither pears on the tree nor on the ground.
How come?
one fell on the ground so now there were no pear (pair) on ground or tree
only two on tree to start with
Did you know the riddle all ready
bleaughh..
that was awful.. you should be ashamed!
Hi Marina. I would like to know what the heck “Cool Beans” really means. Why are beans cool?
cool beans = hummus
I don’t know, I make hummus out of warm beans, but that is just me!
I’ll try it warm, if you try it cool
Deal! He he!
Thank you, dalcon12, for your WORD REQUEST: “Cool beans”
Since you mentioned hummus, I think a belly dancing outfit would be really cool!
I agree 100%. Marina in a belly-dancer’s outfit would be absolutely hot…for words!
Marina, will you be my belly dancing chick pea
Blush!!! This site is fun! I am glad I signed up today!
Copy cat
Hi dalcon12, and welcome to the site. I see already you have met some of your fellow class mates. We try to have a lot of fun here and sometimes a game every now and then. So enjoy yourself and if you need any help at changing that monster Gravatar next to your name to a more personal picture let one of us know. You can also attach a web site to your name like your utube channel or a personal web site. When you do your name will turn blue like mine. Click on my name and it brings up my utube site. I have the directions for both of these procedures. I am one of the Teacher’s Assistants and Captain Jack is the other, but anyone here would be glad to help you if you need it.
TA Mike
I have a request for a word:) Awkward…this word has always seemed a bit awkward to me would love to hear abuot the story behind it. Love the vids
Dear Marina, I hope you are a Christian, you don’t have to answer that, because, you affirm my Christianity, only a God, my God, could create such intelligence and beauty in one package.
wrong!
it was the Cyber Masters of Alpha-Xentos 6 who created that package.
Dear mijj,
By your comment, you are apparently, a fool!
mijj, this sounds really familiar, read on…
roadrunrnch replied on June 21st, 2008 8:02 pm:
Really , [ atheist miracles.] Do you really think a Woman like Marina was just cosmic dust smashing about in outer space? Or something that crawled out of a swamp 1,000,000,000 years ago? Look in to Her EYES and tell me You don’t see GOD.
disclaimer: actually an attempt to avoid this whole discussion again rather than start anew.
Yeh … (i found the original after a struggle) .. they both have that Stephen King Crazed Christian touch about them.
Do you think they’re the same person? We get a lot of over-the-top adulation of M in here. And a lot of over-the-top wackos tend to be “christians”. .. in any case .. worth keeping an eye on.
duly noted
thank you.
Here you go Mijj. I know how much you like animals.
In the Jungle
lol .. nice song.
I have a late announcement to make. Capman911 aka Mike, had a birthday yesterday. So lets wish him a belated birthday. Now he can have two great days in honor of his day.
Happy belated birthday Mike! Thanks for the many years you have saved peoples lives and property. Thank you for covering for me as a TA here on HTW site.
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_______0______HAppY BIRTHDAY
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________0_____HAppy BIRTHDAY
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cool. congratulations, mike.
You too, aLx
Happy Birthday
nonononono, it’s not my birthday yet.
We’ll find out yours. Just wait and see.
Ok, in case I forget, here’s a
smiley face birthday song
It didn’t work
It was supposed to make you laugh, if it didn’t- sorry
Thanks Captain Jack I really appreciate it. {sob sob }
It means a lot to me.
Happy Birthday
Happy Birthday Mike and many more to come!!!
<— candles, make a wish
Best wishes…
PK
[ditto]
Happy Birthday, Capman!
And Thank You for warmly welcoming me to the site.
iiiii
[___]
So the secret’s out!
Happy Birth
dayweek.What every guy wants on his B-day
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hFS7GRiM5-E
Hey Mike
Happy Birthday
Oops, I didn’t look at the name
Happy Birthday Mike
Thanks Warren for the nice card.
Happy Birthday Mike
Wow, how did they know that it was your
Birthday
yeah, happy birthday. cake, i want cake.
I’m always late, happy firstround birthday. Still fast @ 55?
Happy B-Day! Mike
HAPPY BIRTHDAY MIKE!
Didja get shit-hammered(drunk)? Was just aking cause of the artful pic captainjack drew with the 0s. Thought maybe Ya woofed Yer cookies or somethin.
tryant
Happy Birthday. I hope you enjoyed the day.
seesixcm6
I know this is on Jack’s site, but thank all of you guys for the happy birthdays.
Mike
CAKE AND BALLOONS!
Hey, why is there a number ’14′ on one of the balloons? Is that suppose to be a light reflection?
I cheated. I just copied and pasted someone else’s work.
So it is either a reflection as you say or the number of candles on the cake. I think we should go with the number of candles. There was no way to fit all the required candles on such a large cake. Also the candle stick factory said it would take them all year to fill our order.
My zipper says YKK… Is this related to Year two thousand? I don’t know.
I have a word request that I hope you won’t dismiss as trivial… the word is “trivia” and I was reading a book that said that rhetoric was once referred to as trivium (there were seven sciences and arts in the middle ages, apparently this one was number three). Is trivia derived from trivium? If not, where is it from? Thanks
Yoshida Kogyo Kabushikikaisha. Just found out.
Hi, I’m just wondering where the word ”puppet” comes from.
Puppet ? Like POUPÉE “doll” in French.
Certainly from the Latin PUPILUS “kid” ???
I have a new word that is used in my industry but no one can explian where it came from or if it is a real word. The word is “oilephilic” what is suppose to mean is a oil is attracted to a meterial like plastic and oil stick to the plastic. But this word is not in the dictiary or in spell checker.. Can you find something on this word?
Tim
you’re most likely looking for oleophilic.
I have seen it spelled both ways, I am sure one is correct and one is not, but which one?
oleophilic.
http://www.google.com/search?q=oilephilic&ie=utf-8&oe=utf-8&aq=t&rls=org.mozilla:en-US:official&client=firefox-a
Or
http://www.google.com/custom?hl=en&client=pub-2590320453585040&cof=FORID%3A1%3BAH%3Aleft%3BCX%3AMeriam%2520Webster%2527s%2520Dictionary%2520Search%3BL%3Ahttp%3A%2F%2Fwww.google.com%2Fcoop%2Fintl%2Fen%2Fimages%2Fcustom_search_sm.gif%3BLH%3A65%3BLP%3A1%3BVLC%3A%23551a8b%3BGFNT%3A%23666666%3BDIV%3A%23cccccc%3B&adkw=AELymgU2pbpOVNV1hu0v6zjwPyUKbS6yKoGM2NCGdkI-UhA9uxQomCVF9xalfwA4melFrUAwD2kFfQryvQoBKJgKccey-euvUtSSAIjxV3JaPc37GiIW2as&q=oleophilic&btnG=Search&cx=!002139675427992011401%3Aimceyiayhfo
Awe, Capman spill his data all over HFW site.
CLEAN UP IN ISLE FIVE!!!!
AND MAKE IT SNAPPY!!
Sorry, sick at my birthday party, got I.
The zipper of these pants say YKK my sleeping bags that i sleep on every night say coleman there really long zippers all this is fine untill the zippers screw up then you run into the problem of fixity. Its a proven fact zipper fixity is unworkable because of age and wear and tear on the zipper make it unusable then its a matter of use of the correct and proper zipper as the replacement for the throughly used an abused zipper. The rule is she breaks or abuses zipper beyond fixity she replaces zipper from her own manufactured kind. No substitutes allowed.
Or in other words if you can’t fix it don’t fu*k it up or get someone whom can.
repair it that is
Quote- “If I can’t fix it I can fu*k it up so bad nobody else can either!” No,not Your zipper,fix that on your own! I don’t do *that* kind of work!
Quote #2- “Fu*k it up fast so Ya got time to fix it”
Word request!
I would like to know where the word ‘Masterbation’ came from.
Looks like you need a “hand” on the spelling…
Fine, “masturbation”.
Oh god… You really think you are the first person to have ever asked this?? Come off it.. This is a blatant example of what I like to call “Marina abuse”
I would like to request the word fucx.
I started masterbating at around the age of 4 or 5.
(Too much information? I really don’t care… we all need to learn how to “self-service” at some point in our lives.
)
word request : communication
As an engineering student i studied communication as a technical subject. This involved a significant amount about protocols, “hand shaking”, etc to ensure information has been correctly identified and transferred.
Would that be true, too, in the human sense of the word communication”? (i.e. communication hasn’t occurred until both parties are confident each other has a common grasp of the information.)
start watching at 2:10. communication?
lol .. yeh .. i know how that feels .. looks like an interesting movie.
Mijj, That’s one of my favorite words. Without communication our society breaks down. Many problems can be solved with good communication. Because with good communication, thought and ideas can be shared which improves understanding. I wonder why some people make an effort not to communicate and then blame society for the problems we have today?
I also would wish to request the word communication.
i guess that makes you a communist.
Or a communicationist
welcome to hfw, thank you for requesting the word “communication”
Welcome HFW, Thank you for Buzzword for requesting communications of the ‘word’.
They don’t build them like they used to!
*kicks the Buzzrobot*
Damn robots!
what Cap’hJack said: is it true?
Are you a buzzbot?
your wondering who i am?
“your wondering who i am?”
it’s you are -> you’re
… <slap>
“you’re wondering who i am?”
is it true?
were your parts made in japan?
I’m not
Comfy pj pants, but for what it’s worth, it’s Coca-Cola pants
Normally, though, I believe it’s the same brandname as yours, HotForWords
Miss M. I we call English class here in the states English, what do you or Russians call the equivalent of the same class in Russia? Is it the same as I am going to Russian class? Inquiring minds want to know or at least I do.
Mike
Whats with the whole thank you thing?
it’s annoying as hell, that’s what it is.
FINALLY.! Something we (includes aLx, maybe not the rest of HFW) agree on!!!
Just being nice, maybe people are.
Maybe you could request fucx if it was a real word
It is a word it’s just slang
Just razzing you pal.
fucx
yeh .. but Mike .. you call your native language by another nation’s name.
For the “Russian” thing to be a parallel .. erm .. well .. you know. … horribly convoluted, n stuff like that.
Yea I know. That’s why I was asking. To see if other countries used similar words to describe things like we do.
I smell of burning sock.. Because I burnt a sock
could you put that to music?
Burning socks
tryant
Aloha My Hot For Words Teacher, you make words so interesting to learn and Love. My request is not so much as a single word but a saying and of course I would like to know the real origin. The saying is” Freeze the Balls Off a Brass Monkey.”
I can help you here. I even have a book that has Monkey standing next to cannon balls on the front cover. “With a Pinch of Salt, as interpreted by Captain Nick Bates’. A few of his findings are false. Maybe he will do a rewrite.
Anyways to answer your question check out this link.
http://www.snopes.com/language/stories/brass.asp
So that’s why I say,”that’ll frost Yer balls” and “that’s a real ball froster” when things go wrong. Who’da thunk it?
tryant
I use to live in Hawaii… TWICE! First time was during 1st-3rd grade, where I use to live in Pearl City. Second time I was finishing up high school at Moanalua, while living in Honolulu. My dad had a career in the navy, and I honestly didn’t care much for living there.
wow Kobe is a multitasker
who’s ( dirty ) sock is on the table?
In case anyone cares “YKK” stand for Yoshida Kogyo Kabushikikaisha, the name of a Japanese company.
There you go another mystery solved at HFWs.com
Looked like Kobe was going to attack you from under
the white doohickey table cloth .
there is a request for you: DOOHICKEY
Hi, a word/action that has tremendous impact and is an action used by all. Most use this tactic as humor, but it is anything but that to the victim, it is very hurtful in a relationship. The people that use this action/tactic often do not realize why they do it. It stems from their anger, and this is why the origins of the word are so important for people to understand and therefore they will look within themselves to confront their reasons for their anger. Instead of hurting others over their own inability to work through their issues. The word “Sarcasm.”
Hello vernon olson, that was a great introduction to set up the request for the word “Sarcasm”. I second that request, and I would like to have Marina touch on the cultural basis if possible.
I believe sarcasm is used indiscriminately more so in some countries than others and I think that it is only the very few that either understand or can pull off a true sarcasm, and what happens in most cases is that which you described in your paragraph.
Hi Pedantickarl, thank you for you 2nd. As I understand, the word is from the Greek word “Sacazim” which means to tear the flesh, how appropriate because that is the effect and intent in many cases. I am illiterate to a “True sarcasm” as you state and I look forward to learning that. I know the word sarcasm very intimately, and did not grow as a functioning person until I understood my sarcasm. I strive to be a better person through education.
Thank you for … blah.
Hello subordinate clauses.. Foxbow is back :yay: fists loosley in air
uh, okaaay … thank you for sharing …
Dr. Evil, from ‘Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me’:
“Zip it!”
“Zippiiit… zippit, zippiiit!”
“Oh look at me, I’m Zippy Longstalkings.”
“Would you like to zuck on my zipple?”
Homework: Arizona jeans
That’s a pretty catchy tune from your ROFLCOPTER (SOS) video. Who plays it?
Hi Marina
Today in my english class we used the word SUED does it connect some how to the Russian word суд that is clearly sound alike
thanks =]
Hi Marina
Can you please tell me the origin of he word “cigarette”.
Thanks
[clipper]
BIPPER, RIPPER and so many others
[tripper]
[Moody Blues - Timothy Leary]
[why LSD is dangerous - Military Experiments with LSD]
note: caption says:
“British military experiments with LSD during World War II”
LSD wasn’t discovered by Hofmann until 1948.
[timothy leary - how to operate your brain]
[brain]
Hello mijj,
I have this installed on my computer- it was free w/encyclopedia.
It’s a “linking brain” it helps with keeping thoughts sorted out for easy access.
I have always relied on notes. Now notes and links on one of my computers. But I’ve just started usng this and it can be a very flexible tool.
Here’s an example.
Hey! .. that’s an amazing coincidence .. i used that (Brain) some time ago .. but i found that having the same look about the structures (when you move through the data) made it difficult to get a sense of where you are.
However .. i found 2 (in my opinion) better alternatives (both free) …
this one’s heavy duty:
[Compendium]
(they havent made use of the full potential of Compenium in the example – they’re being accademic.)
this is better for quickly getting a handle on something:
(it’s quicker to set up relationships and prettier, but not much use for general purpose or very broad stuff)
The examples on the website look dull, but there’s lots of prettyfying stuff they dont use.
[Cmap Tools]
[Hawkwind in the white tent at StoneHenge on LSD]
Absolutley love that plaid skirt. Only thing I have on with a zipper is Levi’s.
How about the word Absolutely
time
Great explanantion. How about the word handicapped?
mmmhhhh…..
hang on a cott’n pick’n minute …
isn’t YKK essentially the same as Y2K?
i suspect there’s some kind of conspiracy linking zippers and the twin towers attacks.
Hey mijj, The y2k analogy was one of the thoughts that comes to my thinking mind, only because when i was driving a truck, there was a fellow at a truck stop in Arizona, (at a Flying J truck stop) that i was having a conversation with whom seemed to be really concerened with the so called Y2k bug that was supposedly going to affect all those satelites the DOD has up. This was in 2002, two years after the soposedly win2k bug was going to cause havok with those satelites. I told him that the DOD had alredy taken care of that problem as every day life in 2002 was still functioning normally as far as I could tell. He seemed fairly concerned about it, like he was living life in the years before Y2k was going to occur. Strang huh?
there’s nothing more appealing than a weird convoluted theory that’s obviously completely wrong.
it’s like the mind’s struggling to demonstrate how it can believe something’s logical, no matter how ridiculous.
Marina, just a little feedback on your show. I like the words that you take all the way back to their roots. The word origins often say so much about us. I also prefer your candid pictures to your professional shots. The pics with you in the pink top and the big dog look familiar; can you say where I would have seen them before? One more question; are your eyes really that blue? I dated a girl with eyes like that a looooooong time ago, I got lost everytime I looked in those eyes. Keep up the great work
Word request UP!
Bogus… please…
Hey Sparky! Im moving back to Seattle in about a week or two for the winter. Lets meet up at Peats Coffee, my treat. I have yet to meet a person on this site.
[Lipper]
Blipper, something for the
Skipper to use when he’s searching for
Flipper.
ah .. i remember Flipper …
{..sings..} .. Flipper … Flipper .. Flipper the bush kangarooooo..!
Wasn’t that Skippy?
wellll .. yeh .. but i couldn’t think of the Flipper song.
Marina: what is the origin of the word “hopefully’? When you were on the Factor last night, you told Bill, “I’ll see you soon again, hopefully.” “Hopefully” is used nowadays to mean “I hope”, but I don’t think that’s what it originally meant. I think HotForWords should investigate!
(BTW, i checked several zippers and they all say “YKK”. They must have a monopoly.)
Levi’s. I guess they make their own zippers.
Ut Oh!
Have we just started a new fad?
Are all the school kids now going to run around checking the brand of their zippers.
Here’s a mental image: High School Cheer Leaders grabbing the zippers on your jeans to check the brand. Jocks grabbing the zippers on the Cheer Leaders sweaters to check out the brand.
A new greeting, poo poo on the hand shake, let me see your zipper.
Designer zippers vs us poor slobs in the YKK brand.
XYZ your YKK.
Talon
Where did the origination of the word “Earth” come from? It will not be as easy as you think. Hint: you will have to break free from the populist mindset.
If you get it wrong you will have to marry me or at least consider it seriously
My zipper is YKK.
WORD REQUEST: I’d like to know the origins of “Stock car” (NASCAR – National Stock Car).
Kisses.
WORD REQUEST(S): Bear and Bull
Since Wall Street is taking it on the chin lately with the sub-prime loan stuff. I know a bear market results when the bears sell (or short) more than the bulls buy (or long) and vice versa. The only way I do not confuse the two is remembering that a bull strikes up with its horns, and a bear strikes down with its claws, but would love to see you do a vid with their real origins. BTW there are lots of animals on wall street…Bulls drive the market up, Bears drive it down, Sheep just follow the crowd, and Pigs get slaughtered (some of them must be Buddhist pigs, because they are transformed into Lame Ducks – which term I see you’ve already done).
Ciao,
Fianchetto
I request “bird” and “freak” and as a bonus, “doppleganger”
Saw you on O’Reilly and you were awesome. O’Reilly is a great show!!
What kind of birds you have? I use to work at pet stores, and had to take care of many of them. They can do some crazy things. I found a macaw that could pick a Master Lock™ in about 5 to 10 mins.
We decided that we could market his services as a lock smith to pay for his upkeep.
[tipper]
Hey, Mijj – will you please teach me to post photos like that?
ok ..
{ .. runs off to prepare .. }
Wow! That was a quick response…Thanks. BTW… I saw that your pic is from the web, mine will be from my computer…in case there is a difference in the method
basically you need this:
<a href=”url_of_picture”>[description]</a>
so if your picture location was:
http://74.52.59.146/~amk/invitations/dinosaur-printable-invitation.jpg
and you wanted to show the link as
[dinosaur]
you would post this:
<a href=”http://74.52.59.146/~amk/invitations/dinosaur-printable-invitation.jpg”>[dinosaur picture]</a>
i.e. …
[dinosaur picture]
noooooooooo…!!!! .. ffs! .. typical .. the example is screwed!
i meant …
[dinosaur picture]
oh .. you would need to put it on a website for ppls browsers to be able to access it.
another attempt at that bloody dinosaur link!!
[dinosaur pic]
ok, so it doesn’t truncate after the “.com”….I wonder what I did wrong with my attempt at “Kiss” link word request under “Codswaddle” lesson…looks like we did something similar.. I cut-and-paste both times, so iam pretty sure to have spelled it correctly, even tried it in the practice page, still couldn’t make it work…
Thank you very much, Mijj! I appreciate your effort!
Ciao,
Fianchetto
when you say “couldn’t make it work” .. what do you mean?
because i’ve noticed sometimes a picture link results in an endless swirly thing even though it’s a valid link.
sorry, was the “Codswallop” lesson and in the practice area. I requested the word “Kiss” and attempted to link it to:
http://video.on.nytimes.com/?fr_story=8743f055c4696b70a371248cb110ddc89a953023
instead of there, it linked to current most recent video posted, I went to the practice area, failed to get it to behave properly, and just pasted the URL, as that had always worked before for me, presuming the link method somehow was disregarding everything following the “.com” in the URL.
I love the link so much, I made my name take you there as well.
hey! .. i like that very much. I saved a link. There’s some good ideas on there.
It’s like pre-computer age direct animation on film stuff isn’t it..
Perhaps the second most beautiful thing on the internet.. (:wink:
@ Marina)
I made several posts in recent vids to things I like, mostly for you all to enjoy, hopefully, as much as I do. Check them out…AFTER you do your homework assignment, of course.
I don’t know how he did it, but can only suggest the technique I think I first saw used on an MTV video. They made Xerox copies of prints of each frame, treated each with colored pencils, then used an animator’s camera as if each frame was an animated cell.
Thanks again for the HTML lesson, I think I finally got it!
Ciao,
Fianchetto
[ANOTHER TIPPER]
http://laughlines.blogs.nytimes.com/category/sight-gag/2008/09/17/
[The TIPPER, the whole TIPPER, and nothing but the TIPPER]
by god, i think he’s got it!!
misandrist, when did it fall out of common usage?
I love your work, and apparently so does my girlfriend.
I don’t have a specific word I want to know the origin of but rather two sayings. I want to know the origins of “Tickled Pink” and Green With Envy”. How did we come to associate these colors with these feelings?
Hello,
My zipper says “NE”. Love your facts on interesting words.
I am wondering what “That’s Some Bad Hat Harry” phrase means. I see it at the closing of some tv shows, like a production company logo.
But what does it mean? and where does it come from?
Thanks so much,
Neophyte30
:
YKK on My shorts!!!! Learn something new every day!
Thank you Marina for the awesome lesson on zipper!
B.F. Goodrich . . . the company without a blimp. I had several relatives work at Goodrich during its tire making hay-day in Akron. My grandfather had rubber boots with a zipper running up the front made by Goodrich. I believe this was one of the first applications of the zipper. The University of Akron, has a mascot called Zippy, a kangaroo some engineering student must have imagined putting a zipper on its pouch.
What is a zipper, and who is Zippy?
My zipper is YKK. I thought it may be an airport designation for YKK, but that turns out to be Kitkatla Airport.
I did find that YKK stands for Yoshida Kogyo Kabushikikaisha – now I know why they can’t put that on a zipper and use YKK.
Without a zipper we would not have the painful humor that opens Something About Mary. Sometimes a button fly is more appropriate.
the zipper of my dolce & Gabbana jeans is LAMPO. where is the company from?
Marina,
Ha Ha Ha!!
Just noticed you kept your Co-Star under wraps for the actual video.
I’ll take what’s behind curtain number 1.
Oh no wait a second.
That’s the flying dog under his parachute.
a [big dipper]
From NASA:
The symbol for Mercury represents the head and winged cap of Mercury, god of commerce and communication, surmounting his caduceus (staff).
From me:
“Fianchetto” from the Italian, means “by the side” or “by the flank” (where a sidearm or sword is carried), in modern useage, refers to a position in chess where the (usually) king’s bishop is between the advanced king’s knight’s pawn and the castled king to form a formidable defensive position, while still allowing the bishop to exert control diagonally across the center of the board by being handy for hit-and-fade attacks against unsupported opposing pieces who may attempt to establish a central attack. In the diagram on Wikipedia, after 1.Nf3 … 2 O-O … one achieves the position I describe.
Ciao,
FIanchetto
wow .. that’s pretty interesting, fianchetto. .. the chess position stuff is a pretty complicated.
so .. you’re the Alert, Potential Weapon.
my symbol also represents the egyptian Thoth and the alchemical Hermes Trismegistus.
you weren’t kidding about the chess .. i put your name into google images and a stack of chess diagrams came up.
Here’s a [sheathed sword] for ya.
a [stripper]
How about
whipper?
[snapper] !!
a [kipper].
YKK here.
OMG It’s even on my wetsuit zipper.
Must be a conspiracy.
Lets lay out 700 Billion and open up a USA Zipper factory.
Wonder is there is an XYZ brand in existence?
With the coming election here in the U.S. I would love to know the origin of the word Politician.
my jeans don’t have zippers
just buttons hehe,……
it only says “M” …….
Just found one that has , …….
yay just found some shorts that have ykk on them wohoo
………….
.
wy don’t I get an e mail when I reply to myself….?
CaptainJack …
… you mentioned a few days ago (at least) that a number of people are making videos using greenscreen/bluescreen. Do you have further info to back this up? – i’d like to track some likely prospects down.
Maybe this will help alittle Mijj.
http://www.howstuffworks.com/blue-screen.htm
thanks, Cap .. but i wasn’t thinking so much of how it works
CaptiainJack mentioned that people were producing greenscreen videos because they wanted people to mess with them. I was wondering if he, perhaps was aware of some kind of index or register or something. The best i could find in youtube by a normal search is a poor britney spears example where here hair is scraggly and wispy.
I have a friend on my utube site that could answer your questions for you. Here’s her tube page and she told me she has used a lot and bigger screens. Maybe she could help you. She goes by Rhonda but her real name is Brittani Taylor. She is a very nice person. Wish you luck with your answer.
http://www.youtube.com/user/rhondaanthonytanner
Read the last comment from her about the green screen.
thanks .. i’ll check that out .. it looks useful.
Hi mijj, if I understand all of your comments above, I don’t know of any “green screen vids to be messed with”, but I just run across them occasionally such as BarelyPolitical. Here are two vids from them.
This is a 22 second Amber Lee green screen monologue.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f1emNluqhH0
Here is a BarelyPolitical behind the scenes look which is also funny
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BIrXFUz3xEI
yeh .. that first one is pretty good.
ideally i’d like a full head shot (because i want to concentrate on the face) of someone i recognise.. but i guess i’m going to have to settle. .. so that one’s going into store as a possible while i continue looking round.
not a zip .. but a zap .. pa …
[zappa - catholic girls]
fly as in zipper originates as wing or flap.
so what are you doing posting at this godforsaken hour (for you)?
classes
well, granola/yogurt is finished, i’m off to class pants need pants. later mijj
hmmm … .. as long as you plug your ears, that Bill O’Rilley interview thing went well.
in celebration …
[King Crimson - Elephant Talk]
did you sleep at all?
lol .. yeh ..
.. i tend to sleep in 2 x 3 or 4 hour batches.
cat nap
[Rives - Op-Talk]
[TEDTalk]
Thank you for teaching me to do that, Mijj.
yw ..
.. i was afraid i’d fluffed it up and made it look complicated.
Ropats! opI thopink TopEDdopotcopom opis bropokopen! Mopy lopinks dopon’t sopeem topo wopork lopike thopey dopid bopefopore.
Ciopao,
Fopiopanchopettopo
Just got word from TED.com:
Thanks for writing! We’re working on this — it’s a weird problem.
Thanks for your patience with the system …
Best,
Emily McManus
TED.com
YIPPEE!!! TED’s Back!
sorry for my spelling mistake
i wanted to ask if you could tell me what’s the origin of the word “ORIGIN” i’m very curious to find out
Some of us were discussing the use of language by animals recently, and I just remembered Mr. Coleridge’s opinion on the matter, and thought to share it, not for the sake of argument, per se, but, rather more simply for the beauty of it. And also should not in any way be considered an attempt at covert insult, it just happens to be the name of the poem. Hope you enjoy it as much as I do!
Answer To A Child’s Question
By Samuel Taylor Coleridge
Do you ask what the birds say? The Sparrow, the Dove,
The Linnet and Thrush say, I love and I love!
In the winter they’re silent — the wind is so strong;
What it says, I don’t know, but it sings a loud song.
But green leaves, and blossoms, and sunny warm weather,
And singing, and loving — all come back together.
But the Lark is so brimful of gladness and love,
The green fields below him, the blue sky above,
That he sings, and he sings; and for ever sings he –
I love my Love, and my Love loves me!
1802
Ciao,
Fianchetto
Hey wow – that’s one I forgot I asked about.
Hi teacher!
(excuse my bad english)
I was just looking at a Ricky gervais show, where he talked about “going commando”, wich he means that he was going to strip down completley naked in front of a doctor.
Well i was just thinking (and also he was thinking the same) what does that word commando come from? And what does it mean by saying that you are “going commando”?
Doesn´t Commandos wear pants?
Please tell me this! =) I need to know!
My zipper reads “People’s Zipper Factory Number 3.” Now that’s one long zipper handle but then…
YKK stands for Yummie Kiss Kiss (what else?).
Sorry, but the current US Army uniform uses buttons and Velcro as fasteners, no zippers.
LOL – My old navy uniform had 13-button trousers …or as we referred to them, 13 chances for her to say “no”.
Ciao,
Fianchetto
From the Department of the Navy:
On the Button: The Crackerjacks’ History Isn’t Just a Sea Story
Concern has echoed throughout the male ranks of the fleet. It’s not concern for their pay they voice, nor complaints of the demanding work load they endure. These guardians of the seas feel threatened by a rumored change in Navy policy – a change that would strike them “below the belt.” It’s a change of enormous consequence to these members of a Navy associated with hundreds of years of tradition, symbolism and legend. This is a fearful removal of the one thing that supports these seamen and petty officers in their daily mission as members of the world’s finest Navy.
These men in blue vocalize distress over the button shortage. Not just any button, mind you – the Navy button. That small, black, anchor-imprinted jewel which, along with 12 of its cousins, comprise the only means used to anchor the lower half of the world’s most widely-recognized uniform, the “crackerjacks.” This shortage can only mean on thing, according to rumor control – there is a move afoot to install zippers.
Gad! Why all this brouhaha over a button? To a “landlubber” this may appear trivial, but these “salts” depend on this opaque fastener to display a uniform that today contains countless symbols of tradition and American naval history. If the zipper lobby in Washington is successful, it will strip thousands of seamen and petty officers of one of the most priceless articles of Navy lore. This must stop!
Think of what this could do to the American button industry, not to mention those associated with the button – button-holers, button artists, button tailors, etc. – and not to mention Aunt Ruth’s button box that’s already overflowing with these outdated closure devices. Yes, Navy buttons have held the fleet together for nearly two centuries, while promoting jobs and the economy. And after the button, what goes next? Just look back at what happened before the button to see what an instrumental affect it’s had on U.S. maritime security.
In 1817, after 42 years of confusion over enlisted men’s attire, the War Department finally dared to enforce a uniform regulation for its rag-clad naval force, demanding that enlisted men wear “blue jackets and trousers, red vest with yellow buttons and a black hat.” The War Department neglected to mention shoes, and a largely barefoot and blister-filled enlisted force patrolled the world’s oceans until the grandfather of crackerjacks was name the official uniform in 1864.
This uniform is considered the world’s most recognized as a symbol of America’s strength, good will and dedication to freedom, according to Marine Corps Col. Robert H. Rankin in his book Uniforms of the Sea Services. This popularity has raised questions over the years as to the origins of the crackerjack’s design. Many interpretations of each facet of this uniform have been rendered by salts over the years. The buttons are probably the most talked about and revered aspect of naval garb for the past five or six wars.
Buttons swiftly replaced the previous trouser’s string tie, apparently after years of barefoot sailors hanging themselves – or their friends – in frustration after trying to keep their pants up. Then, in 1864, crackerjack trousers were designed with a “broadfall,” or flap, held in place by seven of these easily replaced fasteners. After a slight length increase of the broadfall in 1894 – possibly linked to the average sailor’s weight – six buttons were added for symmetrical design and to prevent an unwanted unveiling of the wearer.
Members of the Navy since 1894 have capitalized on numerous explanations for the coincidental number of buttons on the broadfall, the only publishable one being that they represent the original 13 colonies of America defended so efficiently by the Continental Navy. This romantic notion is widely accepted by seagoers, and rebuttal may be swiftly greeted by either heated debate or a knuckle sandwich. The best yarn spinners strengthen their case by pointing out that uniform designers hid the 14th button (known as the stealth button) behind the broadfall so the button-colony connections would still be supported – not to mention their trousers.
Ah, but frustration still ran throughout the now-buttoned-up fleet, as buttons couldn’t do the whole job, apparently. So, in memory of those valiant barefoot mariners who had hung themselves two paragraphs ago, a string tie was added in the back. This would effectively cinch the wearer’s waist inside a woolen vise, while enhancing physical flexibility and coordination as sailors attempted tightening this shoe-like rearward device without tying their hands behind their backs. Now, really, how can you spin a yarn about a zipper?
I think Our Dear Teacher just did.
Ciao,
Fianchetto
Thanks for that insight Fianchetto. I used to where those when I was in the Navy and didn’t get the whole story.
It’s interesting how the executive at BF Goodrich exclaimed the phrase “Zip ‘er up” while zipping up his boot. I wonder if his utterance of those words were onomatopoetic.
my zipper reads: MAX
I wanna be the dog
how many russians don’t know the origin of the word “spasibo,” meaning “thank you,” in english? well, i’ve taken a recent poll among muscovites whom i associate with, and the results were staggering. oy. it comes from old russian, and originally was spoken as, “spasi Bog,” meaning, “may God save you,” yet with time was reduced to “spasibo.”
okay, so how about “thank you” in english? where does it come from, and what is its history? we say it myriad times throughout the months of our lives, at least in the west. such a story could be fascinating.
thank you
In French a ZIPPER is called FERMETURE ÉCLAIR “closing-lightning”.
Eh ! Girls and Boys ! What about the name in YOUR LANGUAGE ?
My new tribute to Marina : ETYMOLOGY of TRAGEDY http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x9aTyxLNYNI
I put my O’Reilly appearance from tonight up… you can see it here:
http://www.hotforwords.com/2008/09/23/on-the-oreilly-factor-show-3rd-appearance/
Let me know what you think
Marina ! I ask you a video about CAPITALISM ! What the root and the history of this word ?
Hey Kobe, http://www.cafepress.com/602spot.279428915 at the end of this video is kobe pantomiming(Marina my ball and chain)?
Please Teacher,Can I go home early? My YKK has Jammed in the down Position.
Yes
What? You should have asked her to help you fix it. What where you thinking?
kobe as a toy
a toy as kobe.
lmw! wir sind ein gute chat haben
oder eine
oder einen
oder einer
chat = masc.
nom. –> ein chat.
acc. –> einen chat.
\o/
i forget the differences between nominativ, akkusativ, dativ, etc.
i cant wait to go back to learn german next year when the course starts.
you are my inspiration!
(umm, okay, replying to oneself is kinda irritating.)
lol. is that a dancing cupcake? OO
ah, the gender thing sucks, huh? in german it’s worse than in russian because you can’t see what gender it is by looking at the ending. “e-mail” would be a female noun, thus: deine.
got the email, thank you so much.
)
i’ll reply to it later today. when i get up. uh. yeah.
lol at kobe! ahaha i think he couldnt decide which to play with so he chose both. bit difficult but twice as fun i guess!
i cant do my homework teacher. i left my pants at home LOL!
nah not really
all my jeans are in the wash!
i have a word request! bikini!
i heard anders at the end! i love anders.
ist alx hier?
ya.
Tag!

ich habe dein email.. gesehen und.. ge…macht
hehe!
dein oder deine.. oder deinen?!?!
oder deinem!
lmw.. you think your english is bad… you are perfect at english compared to my german
<A HREF=”http://i165.photobucket.com/albums/u73/zimbragatzee/Smile_by_pincel3d.jpg”fur dich
my html died!
fur dich
ein mehr
was ist das
lol. is that a dancing cupcake? OO
ah, the gender thing sucks, huh? in german it’s worse than in russian because you can’t see what gender it is by looking at the ending. “e-mail” would be a female noun, thus: deine.
got the email, thank you so much.
)
i’ll reply to it later today. when i get up. uh. yeah.
nachste jahre, gehe ich deutsch studieren
und dann wir koennen.. mehr.. sprechen..
ich habe ein jahre studiert, aber mochte ich mehr lernen.
auf weiderlesen
(ich habe das gemacht, because, weidersehen is see (face to face) weiderhoeren is hear (on the phone) so lesen is for internets
hehehehehehehehehe
ya. read you later.
Kobe has this thing where he likes to take 2 toys and he figures out how to put both toys in his mouth and drag them across the floor. He ALWAYS does it and he gets REALLY creative while figuring out how to accomplish the task.
I think he’s REALLY smart.
haha! if only misscupcake could concentrate on more than one thing at once. she would achieve many things.
If Kobe likes chewing on laces, I hope he doesn’t mistake that trailing electric lead for one.
His eyes should only light up when he sees his mistress.
Hummm so hanging around you makes Kobe smart. Hummm I know Im getting smarter just hanging around your website. Ok I guess if I want to get smarter I have to hang out with you. You have a need for a pool boy? Im smart enough to do at least that much.
Bikini was the Pacific atoll where the U.S. conducted it’s first H-bomb test (and many more) shortly after WWII. A skimpy new swimsuit was named after it, I suppose, because it hit society like a bomb.
Marina wears the bikini because she can. If her book doesn’t take off, she can always package her bikinis and sell them along with coffee mugs and paper weights. I don’t know about the postage, but I think many would voluntarily pay for “handling.”
With all the YKK going on is everyone sick. Did all of you eat the same thing. Likea trousersnouser.
Hello Capman911,
misscupcake used a word that seems like a good one to look up-
laundry.
Can you add that to Marina’s (laundry) list of words to look up?
Also – flag,
(and for Halloween) ghoul, zombie, graveyard shift and dead ringer.
Thank you
Funny how you notice something once it’s mentioned
laundry tips
and
laundry day
Checkitout… looks like our laundryman turns out to be a pretty talented musician…. [when he ain't doin laundry]
The zipper on my pants says Ideal. And on my jacket carhartt
YKK…Yep. It looks looks YKK has the zipper market pretty well wrapped up.
Isn’t a monopoly against the law! Damn we should protest YKK! Lets start a boycott!
Homework: 5VS on my jacket.YKK on my dockers.
OMG! you know what I just realized? Marina found a way to get 30,000 guys to unzip their flies! Now for Marina’s next trick!….
What the heck was Kobe doing? Shoe lace in his jaw while playing with a ball. Kobe is getting smarter. He can play with two toys at once. Oh and you notice Marina bought Kobe lots of expensive toys and it looks like he is having more fun with with a shoe and ball. That figures. I wonder what his favorite toys are?
Well I missed the Fox show.
Someone pass the tissues please!
Anyone know what 5VS means? I bought my coat in Canada if that helps any..
Holy zippers, all of mine say Yoshida Kogyo Kabushikikaisha.
Ohhh my gawd, someone’s got a monopoly on zippers.
Homework: YKK!
(must be Chinese?)
That was a surprise,
I was expecting the
Talon brand…
Homework: YKK
Comment: Kobe’s looking greedy (as well as cute)
Word Request: Tart… why does it refer to acerbity (in taste or attitude) or a pastry or a prostitute (loose woman).
zipper fetish
oh yeah, zippy the pinhead
That’s one weird toon…
how about the phrase “bee’s knees”
Perhaps *I* DO control the internet…not all of it, of course, but just my happy little corner of it….the part that I put out there that screams to the world, “This is who I am…This is what I like…”
Or, at least, what I want the world to think that I am because this is what I like..
SET “Rambling Mode” = OFF
But I like THIS one so much, I will drop it again:
http://video.on.nytimes.com/?fr_story=8743f055c4696b70a371248cb110ddc89a953023
Ciao,
Fianchetto
or perhaps Marina cotrols the internet…not all of it but my happy little corner of it… because…. *I*, in MY little corner of the internet, just now, looked at the zipper on my trousers, to find “YKK” embossed thereon.
Ciao,
Fianchetto
Hey Fianchetto this is what is probably going to happen to the Internet.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A2XPiqhN_Ns
ykk
My trusty HotForWords Marina,
The zipper on my trousers share their name with the manufacturer of them. It reads Levi’s. I would very much like to know the origin of the two words I used to comprise my screen name which are: Cynical and Analytical. I would also like to know why we use the word Happen to describe events. Thank you
your dear student,
cynalitical
http://www.ted.com/index.php/talks/rives_controls_the_internet.html
Ciao,
Fianchetto
Control the Internet via YouTube
Rock On
совершенная Marina, Ah, the smileys are back, now. I forgot to mention that your nice miniskirt has very attractive black lace underneath. And I’ll happily remember your skirt’s YKK zipper is on your left, too.
(I hope that information will be useful someday, and only in a nice way, too.) Your dear student, seesixcm6, who needed a reason to use smileys.)
Can you explain the origin of my screen name?
1) I don’t have a brand name on the zipper.
2) I like that dog!
bobmando on the O’Reilly Factor Show Tonight thread identifed a good quiz …
[World's Smallest Political Quiz]
Your PERSONAL issues Score is 100%.
Your ECONOMIC issues Score is 40%.
According to your answers, the political group that agrees with you most is…
Liberal
LIBERALS usually embrace freedom of choice in personal matters, but tend to support significant government control of the economy.
They generally support a government-funded “safety net” to help the disadvantaged, and advocate strict regulation of business.
Liberals tend to favor environmental regulations, defend civil liberties and free expression, support government action to promote equality, and tolerate diverse lifestyles.
[my result on a graph]
Where are the Socialists on your graph ???
i think americans generally place the filthy socialist inclination to social responsibility within the “liberal” camp.
you tell me what i am.
well ..i’m very suprised for one thing .. it looks like you advocate some kind of constraint on personal issues.
uh, not really. maybe i just misunderstood a question or something. oh, well. looks like i’m a borderliner.
i wonder if that link will always refer to the same image?
oh .. hang on .. it’s php generated .. so it’s fine .. i can use that link to generate my result
hmm… mine looks a little different.
now come one, buzz .. was that really the result of the test?
okay, here i am on the political radar.
too many damn liberals on this site.
M’s going to have to spring-clean else O’Reily’s crowd will be scared away.
uh, mijj i just count three so far. not exactly a movement.
three is still a stain, buzz.
Your PERSONAL issues Score is 70%.
Your ECONOMIC issues Score is 60%.
According to your answers, the political group that agrees with you most is…
CENTRISTS espouse a “middle ground” regarding government control of the economy and personal behavior. Depending on the issue, they sometimes favor government intervention and sometimes support individual freedom of choice.
Centrists pride themselves on keeping an open mind,
tend to oppose “political extremes,” and emphasize what
they describe as “practical” solutions to problems.
….And all this time I thought I was a conservative
i believe [this] is your graph.
according to whoever planned that graph, you allow way too much personal freedom to be counted as a conservative.
in fact .. i hate to say this .. but you’re almost half way between liberal and conservative with a slight leaning towards liberal!!
I even served on the same ship as Senator McCain when I was in the Navy. Will someone please teach me how to post photos like you guys do…with the nifty black frame?
They flew me over to a destroyer, and I got a couple of aerial shots
http://www.theadvocates.org/quizp/quiz.php
bloody ‘ell, capman!! .. you’re a Stalinist Republican !!
ykk.
ykk
i just had something to eat, so i’ll stick with my ykk.
stuck in my ykk
i always confuse ben stiller with adam sandler.
About 90% (or more) zippers have YKK on them.
where is zipperhead
are you confusing zipperhead with eraserhead?
oh gawd, no… not eraserhead. that movie is sooo fucked up.
how about him?
pin head, why is he always so moody, i guess the acupuncture didn’t work.
lol .. yeh .. i somehow felt it my duty to sit through it .. but didnt have a clue.
совершенная Marina, I hope you are safely home from the O’Reilly show. I’m sure you did well. For your homework, my zipper tab has the word, “IDEAL” embossed on it, on both sides. It’s a Champion sweat jacket. So your skirt zipper has “YKK” on it. Perhaps it’s designed to function after Y2K, that year 2000 crisis they imagined. It looked little Kobe had a shoelace caught in his teeth. Poor Kobe! I hope you released it from Kobe by now. Your dear student, seesixcm6
Hi ,
I’d like to request the origin of the words “blonde” and “brunet” as they refer to a color but only when it applies to a person’s hair.
As you say “please investigate”
ps: I see you have a small white dog, but what happened to the great dane? I happen to own a dane myself…that’s why I ask….
thanks , love the show!
Jay
Don’t know about you guys, but zippers are FUN
I looked on three pairs of pants. and they all have YKK on the zipper.
Hello Dear Teacher! My word requests are…
‘ANTHROPOMORPHIC’
‘PHANTASMAGORIA’
Thanks.
Hey guys
wot?
I have button fly jeans
but all my coats hav YKK zippers