Languages
Squeans, Plewds and Briffits
In a March 24, 1946 article for This Week magazine (which was included as a Sunday supplement in many newspapers), Charles Rice coined names for various symbols that appeared in comic strips. For example, he said that 'briffits' were the dust clouds left behind when a character is running, and 'plewds' were the drops of sweat emanating from the character.Cartoonist Mort Walker (of Beetle Bailey fame) later expanded Rice's brief list into an entire Lexicon of Comicana (1980).
According to wikipedia, these terms now "sometimes appear in dictionaries, and serve as convenient terminology occasionally used by cartoonists and critics."
More info: Wikipedia; The Lexicon of Comicana (Internet Archive)
Indianapolis Star - Mar 24, 1946
Posted By: Alex - Tue Dec 10, 2024 -
Comments (2)
Category: Languages, Comics, 1940s
Ghoti pronounced fish
For decades newspapers repeated the claim that George Bernard Shaw used the word 'ghoti' as an example of the often bizarre disconnect between the spelling of English words and their pronunciation. He argued that 'ghoti' could be pronounced 'fish'.
Rochester Democrat and Chronicle - Aug 7, 1955
But according to the Language Log blog, there's no evidence that Shaw ever used the Ghoti example. Plus, the Ghoti anecdote was being passed around before Shaw was even born.
Another example: 'Loeyephtheau!' could be pronounced 'Righto!'
Indianapolis Star - Mar 24, 1946
Posted By: Alex - Sun Dec 08, 2024 -
Comments (0)
Category: Languages, Puns and Other Wordplay
PETA’s Complete List of Animal-Friendly Idioms
See all of them here.
Posted By: Paul - Sun Sep 22, 2024 -
Comments (4)
Category: Animals, Excess, Overkill, Hyperbole and Too Much Is Not Enough, Languages, Euphemisms, Cant, Weasel Words, Prissy Phrases and Orwellian Language
How To Speak Hip
The whole playlist for all 13 cuts is here. Track 1 below.Wikipedia entry for the album here.
Posted By: Paul - Fri Jan 19, 2024 -
Comments (2)
Category: Languages, Vinyl Albums and Other Media Recordings, Bohemians, Beatniks, Hippies and Slackers, 1960s, Parody
Apostrophe Protection Society
Protecting the apostrophe since 2001, since its a threatened species: apostrophe.org.uk
Posted By: Alex - Fri Dec 15, 2023 -
Comments (5)
Category: Clubs, Fraternities and Other Self-selecting Organizations, Languages
The Yak Yak Contest
Alas, I cannot learn the full roster of contestants, nor the outcome.
Posted By: Paul - Wed Oct 11, 2023 -
Comments (2)
Category: Awards, Prizes, Competitions and Contests, Languages, Stereotypes and Cliches, 1950s, Women
Instant Yiddish
Don't be a schmuck! Use the player below to bone up on your Yiddish.
Posted By: Paul - Fri Aug 18, 2023 -
Comments (0)
Category: Ethnic Groupings, Languages, Vinyl Albums and Other Media Recordings, 1960s
Follies of the Madmen #565
Ninety-second commercial appears to think it's an epic movie.
Posted By: Paul - Tue May 23, 2023 -
Comments (0)
Category: Games, Languages, Mad Scientists, Evil Geniuses, Insane Villains, Stereotypes and Cliches, Advertising, 1970s
The Making of An American
The immigrant's story: twas ever thus.
Posted By: Paul - Sun Mar 19, 2023 -
Comments (0)
Category: Emigrants, Immigrants and Borders, Ethnic Groupings, Jobs and Occupations, Languages, PSA’s, 1920s
Miss Esperanto
I have three references to this contest, from 1929, 1963 and 1967. No firm idea of how long it lasted, if it's still going on, or if it was held faithfully every year.
Puccini's opera 'La 66Bohème' was performed as a special performance for the Esperantists. Finally, Miss Maria Wenczel from Hungary was chosen as 'Miss Esperanto 1963'. Diethilde Magori from Germany and Helen Salmos from Sweden took second and third place in this competition. After the end of the congress, the young people drove to Sofija in a special caravan, where they were expected by the 48th Esperanto World Congress.
Posted By: Paul - Sun Oct 16, 2022 -
Comments (0)
Category: Awards, Prizes, Competitions and Contests, Beauty, Ugliness and Other Aesthetic Issues, Languages, 1920s, 1950s, 1960s
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| Alex Boese Alex is the creator and curator of the Museum of Hoaxes. He's also the author of various weird, non-fiction, science-themed books such as Elephants on Acid and Psychedelic Apes. Paul Di Filippo Paul has been paid to put weird ideas into fictional form for over thirty years, in his career as a noted science fiction writer. He has recently begun blogging on many curious topics with three fellow writers at The Inferior 4+1. Contact Us |