Welcome to Word Soup Wednesday! While the television show The Soup brings you “the strange, obscure and totally unbelievable moments in pop culture, celebrity news and reality TV,” Word Soup brings you those strange, obscure, unbelievable (and sometimes NSFW) words from talk shows, sitcoms, dramas, and just about anything else on TV.

analog books

Anderson Cooper: “In just a few weeks, you’ll be able to download e-books – is that what the kids do with the digital download? they download them? I still read analog books for the most part.”

“The RidicuList: Classic Novels,” Anderson Cooper 360, July 18, 2012

Analog books, or paper books, are the opposite of e-books. Analog or analogue refers to “a device in which data are represented by continuously variable, measurable, physical quantities, such as length, width, voltage, or pressure,” and is opposed to digital, “expressed in numerical form, especially for use by a computer.” Analog has come to refer to technology that is older or out-of-date.

anaphor

Jon Stewart: “By using the phrase ‘you didn’t build that,’ you create confusion by using the demonstrative singular pronoun, ‘that’ instead of the plural anaphor, ‘those,’ which of course would be referring to the antecedent, ‘roads and bridges’. . . .My butt is giving myself a grammar wedgie!”

The Daily Show with Jon Stewart, July 25, 2012

An anaphor is “a word (such as a pronoun) used to avoid repetition; the referent of an anaphor is determined by its antecedent.” The word anaphor ultimately comes from the Greek anapherein, “to carry back, to bring up.”

breastaurant

Anderson Cooper: “Still, the breastaurant owner – not my word, by the way, it’s on their website – wants to turn [the town he bought and renamed Bikinis] into a world-class destination, possibly with a bikinis hall of fame.”

“The RidicuList: Bikinis, Texas,” Anderson Cooper 360, July 25, 2012

Breastaurant is a blend of breast and restaurant, and refers to establishments such as Hooters and, in this case, a restaurant called Bikinis, in which waitresses wear skimpy uniforms that show off their breasts.

Claus-esque

Anderson Cooper: “Plus I think changing the shirt wasn’t really going to help in this case. He happens to be highly Claus-esuqe. What’s he going to do? Take off his face?”

“The RidicuList: Santa problems in Disney,” Anderson Cooper 360, July 26, 2012

Claus-esque means having qualities similar to Santa Claus. This story is regarding Disney theme park officials asking a visitor who resembled Santa Claus to tell children approaching him for pictures that he was on vacation and should be left alone. See Kafkaesque.

epidermicide

Smitty [to criminal robot Roberto]: “You’re under arrest for attempted epidermicide.”

“The Six Million Dollar Mon,” Futurama, July 25, 2012

Epidermicide is the act of skinning someone, or “killing” their skin or epidermis.

ethanol

Bruce Babcock: “About 35-40 percent of the [corn] crop normally goes to ethanol.”

Stephen Colbert: “So am I going to have to fight my Audi for lunch?”

Bruce Babcock: “Well, there is going to be a bit of a fight between ethanol plants and livestock producers about who gets that corn.”

The Colbert Report, July 24, 2012

Ethanol is “the intoxicating agent in fermented and distilled liquors; used pure or denatured as a solvent or in medicines and colognes and cleaning solutions and rocket fuel; proposed as a renewable clean-burning additive to gasoline.” The story above refers to the effect of an ongoing drought in the midwest on corn crops.

Glass-Steagall Act

Sloan: “After the Great Depression, Congress wanted to put a firewall between the investment banks and the commercial banks. They wanted to make sure that Wall Street could melt to the ground and the commercial banks couldn’t be touched. They passed a law, the Glass-Steagall Act. Now you could be Gordon Gekko or George Bailey, but you couldn’t be both.”

“Amen,” The Newsroom, July 22, 2012

The Glass-Steagall Act is also referred to as the Banking Act of 1933, and is “named after its Congressional sponsors, Senator Carter Glass (D) of Virginia, and Representative Henry B. Steagall (D) of Alabama.” The act was “repealed through the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act in 1999 by President Bill Clinton.” Gordon Gecko is a character from the film Wall Street and is famous for his quote, “Greed is good,” while George Bailey is the main character from the film, It’s a Wonderful Life.

gotcharazzi

Stephen Colbert: “Of course the media gotcharazzi are saying that ‘Anglo-Saxon’ is some sort of racial code word, as in white Anglo-Saxon Protestants. But Mitt’s campaign isn’t saying that he’s a WASP. They never said ‘white’ or ‘Protestant.’ They’re just saying that he’s an ‘AS.’”

The Colbert Report, July 25, 2012

Gotcharazzi is a blend of gotcha and paparazzi. The paparazzi, plural for paprazzo, “a freelance photographer who doggedly pursues celebrities to take candid pictures for sale to magazines and newspapers,” may say, “Gotcha!” as they catch someone in a compromising position.

insourcing

President Obama [regarding Mitt Romney’s time at Bain Capital]: “I don’t want to pioneer in outsourcing. I want some insourcing. I want to bring companies back.”

“Keeping Them Honest,” Anderson Cooper 360, July 16, 2012

Insourcing is “the obtaining of goods or services using existing in-house resources or employees,” and is the opposite of outsourcing, “the procuring of services or products, such as the parts used in manufacturing a motor vehicle, from an outside supplier or manufacturer in order to cut costs.” The word outsourcing originated around 1981, while insourcing seems to have come about shortly afterward. See also offshoring and inshoring.

meat puppet

Robot Hermes [regarding the puppet made from his human body parts]: “That meat puppet disgusts me. It’s time for the ultimate upgrade.”

“The Six Million Dollar Mon,” Futurama, July 25, 2012

Meat puppet, or meatpuppet, has multiple meanings. In Ursula Le Guin’s short story, “The Diary of the Rose,” it seems to refer to humans as unthinking bodies. A popular current definition is “one whose sole reason for participating in a discussion or forum is to support, or express agreement with, a friend.” The Chronicle of Higher Education describes a meat puppet as “a peculiar inhabitant of the digital world—a fictional character that passes for a real person online.”

In this episode of Futurama, meat puppet is being used both literally – Robot Hermes is referring to a puppet made of human meat – and as a derogatory term for a human.

oocephalus nectar

Professor Farnsworth: “Say why don’t you just have Kif get you some nectar? It comes from a flower on his home planet.”

Kif: “You mean it’s oocephalus nectar?”

“The Butterjunk Effect,” Futurama, July 18, 2012

Oocephalus means egghead, and comes from the Greek combining word for “egg,” and kephale, “head.” The nectar here is a steroid-like performance enhancer.

world charm offensive

Stephen Colbert: “He’s on the first leg of his world charm offensive, and Mitt really grabbed England by the crumpets when he was asked about the London games.”

The Colbert Report, July 26, 2012

A charm offensive is  “a campaign of deliberately using charm and flattery in order to achieve some goal; especially in a political or diplomatic field.” The phrase seems to have originated in the mid 1950s, with offensive as a military term meaning “an aggressive attitude or course of operations; a posture of attack.” See Tet Offensive.

A world charm offensive is a world-wide charming campaign, and in this context offensive has the additional meaning of “causing or giving offense.”

That’s it for this week! Remember, if you see any Word Soup-worthy words, let us know on Twitter with the hashtag #wordsoup. Your word and Twitter handle might appear right here!

While the television show The Soup brings you “the strange, obscure and totally unbelievable moments in pop culture, celebrity news and reality TV,” Word Soup brings you those strange, obscure, unbelievable (and sometimes NSFW) words from talk shows, sitcoms, dramas, and just about anything else on TV.

blind trust

Mitt Romney [on July 13, 2012]: “In order to make sure that I didn’t have a conflict of interest while I was governor, or while I was considering a run for national office, I had a blind trust established.”

Jon Stewart: “So Romney’s money was in a blind trust. I guess that’s a pretty good excuse, unless a blind trust is just a ruse.”

Mitt Romney [on October 18, 1994]: “The blind trust is an age-old ruse, if you will. Which is to say you can always tell the blind trust what it can and cannot do. You give a blind trust rules.”

The Daily Show with Jon Stewart, July 16, 2012

A blind trust is “a financial arrangement in which a person, such as a high-ranking elected official, avoids possible conflict of interest by relegating his or her financial affairs to a fiduciary who has sole discretion as to their management.”

blunderbuss

Joseph Gordon-Levitt [regarding a movie still of him holding two guns]: “That’s what they call a blunderbuss, and that’s what they call a gat. They’re for two different types of assassins in the world of Looper.”

Late Night with Jimmy Fallon, July 16, 2012

A blunderbuss is “a short gun or firearm with a large bore and funnel-shaped muzzle, capable of holding a number of balls or slugs, and intended to be used at a limited range without exact aim.” Blunderbuss is an alteration of the Dutch donderbus, which translates as “thunder (donder) gun (bus).” Gat is short for Gatling gun, named for its inventor, Richard Jordan Gatling.

exolinguistics

Leela: “The unlikely lovebirds met at Brown University. She, a brilliant exolinguistics major, he, a laid-back sewer surfer who didn’t even know the meaning of exolinguistics.”
Morris: “I still have no idea!”
Munda: “I’ve been telling you for 40 years! It’s the study of alien languages! Why can’t you listen?”

“Zapp Dingbat,” Futurama, July 11, 2012

Exo comes from the Greek prefix meaning “outside.” Exolinguistics is also known as xenolinguistics or astrolinguistics.

Fast and Furious

News announcer: “President Obama today for the first time exerted executive privilege to shield justice department documents with what’s become known as the Fast and Furious scandal.”

The Daily Show with Jon Stewart, June 26, 2012

Fast and Furious refers to Operation Fast and Furious, one of the “gunwalking” sting operations run by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives between 2006 and 2011. The operations were “done under the umbrella of Project Gunrunner, a project intended to stem the flow of firearms into Mexico by interdicting straw purchasers and gun traffickers within the United States.” Operation Fast and Furious was named after the “successful film franchise, because some of the suspects under investigation operated out of an auto repair store and street raced.”

Executive privilege is “the principle that members of the executive branch of government cannot legally be forced to disclose their confidential communications when such disclosure would adversely affect the operations or procedures of the executive branch.”

live tease

Anderson Cooper: “A reporter in Michigan was doing what we in the television biz call a live tease. That’s right, we have our own lingo. You can ask Wolf Blitzer about it.”

The Ridiculist, Anderson Cooper 360, July 9, 2012

A tease in this context is “a preliminary remark or act intended to whet the curiosity.” A live tease is a tease that is broadcast live. The live tease Cooper is referring to is one which a cat jumped on the reporter’s shoulders during the broadcast.

media elite

Will: “Who are we to make these decisions? We’re the media elite.”

“The 112th Congress,” The Newsroom, July 8, 2012

The media elite, or elite media, refers to “newspapers, radio stations, TV channels and other media that influence the political agenda of other mass media.” According to Geoffrey Nunberg, “Spiro Agnew first put the phrase ‘media elite’ into wide circulation and joined it with descriptions like ‘effete snobs,’ which evoked the social meaning of the word.”

Mexiknish

Jon Stewart: “Note to self: A Jewish potato treat with the flavor of the southwest. I call it the Mexiknish.”

The Daily Show with Jon Stewart, June 25, 2012

Mexikinish, a blend of Mexican and knish, also means “somewhat Mexican,” and plays on Romney’s claim that his father’s being born in Mexico ties him to the Latino community.

presponse

Stephen Colbert: “Of course we conservatives are confident that the court majority will rule in our favor. How confident? Richard Mourdock, Indiana GOP Senate candidate and dark lord of the withered heath, pretaped his reaction to the eventual ruling last Thursday and accidentally posted his presponse on YouTube.”

The Colbert Report, June 25, 2012

Presponse is a blend of pre, the prefix for “before,” and response.

s-bomb

Mayor Bloomberg: “Who wrote this shit?”
Anderson Cooper: “One can assume the mayor knew his mike was hot when he dropped the s-bomb. Is s-bomb even a word? It is now.”

The Ridiculist, Anderson Cooper 360, July 9, 2012

S-bomb is a play on f-bomb, a euphemism for the expletive, fuck. F-bomb seems to have originated in the late 1980s, according to Jesse Sheidlower’s The F-Word.

study drug

News announcer: “High school kids face a lot of pressure in getting into college, but it turns out an increasing number of students are abusing prescription drugs Adderall and Ritalin to help them pass their tests. They call them study drugs. They say the drugs give students a boost of energy and increase their attention span.”

Stephen Colbert: “Yes, study drugs, a sure-fire way to improve your grades if you are too lazy to sleep with your teacher.”

The Colbert Report, June 25, 2012

Study drugs refer to “drugs, particularly prescription drugs, used to increase concentration and stamina.”

takedown piece

Will: “What did she do?”
Nina: “Nothing, it’s just a takedown piece.”
Will: “A what?”
Nina: “A takedown piece. I’m going to take her down.”
Will: “Why?”
Nina: “Because that’s what you do in a takedown piece, genius.”

“I’ll Try to Fix You,” The Newsroom, July 15, 2012

A takedown is “the act of humiliating a person.” Thus, a takedown piece is an article or other piece of writing that humiliates someone and damages their reputation.

That’s it for this week! Remember, if you see any Word Soup-worthy words, let us know on Twitter with the hashtag #wordsoup. Your word and Twitter handle might appear right here!

While the television show The Soup brings you “the strange, obscure and totally unbelievable moments in pop culture, celebrity news and reality TV,” Word Soup brings you those strange, obscure, unbelievable (and sometimes NSFW) words from talk shows, sitcoms, dramas, and just about anything else on TV.

assassitunity

Jon Stewart: “Remember when you oversaw the killing of Osama bin Laden? You must have known this photo would go viral. You had to think of it as an assassitunity.”

The Daily Show with Jon Stewart, June 13, 2012

Assassitunity, a blend of assassinate and opportunity, refers to using the assassination of Osama bin Laden as a PR opportunity. See other opportunity portmanteaus, disadvertunity, hobbyturnity, and talk-portunity.

Baba-Nyonya

Anthony Bourdain: “The Baba-Nyonya are descendents of the original Chinese merchants who settled [in Penang] hundreds of years ago. Over time they took on a lot of flavors and ingredients of their new environment. The resulting cuisine is a truly unique mutation, a fusion of local southeast Asian ingredients and taste preferences with Chinese technique and preparation.”

“Penang,” No Reservations, June 4, 2012

The Baba-Nyonya are also known as Peranakan or “descendents.” The word Baba-Nyonya translates as “men-women,” where baba refers to men and is a “Persian loan-word borrowed by Malaysian,” and nyonya, referring to women, is “a Javanese loan-word honorific.”

balitong

Anthony Bourdain: “What is it about the food here that makes it so damned magical, beyond the incredible mix of influences? The ingredients. Case in point, these cute little sea snails, somewhere between a periwinkle and a whelk, called balitong.”

“Penang,” No Reservations, June 4, 2012

Balitong, which may come from the name of a Javanese king, is also known as the obtuse horn shell; in Malay, siput sedut, which translates as either “snail suction” or “snail breathe”; and, in Hokkein, chut-chut, imitative of the sound of sucking out the snail from its shell.

dressage

Stephen Colbert: “But folks, the image of Romney as a privileged princeling ends today, because now Mitt is just your average blue-collar fan of dressage. Of course that word may sound high-falutin’, but don’t worry, it also goes by the street name ‘horse ballet.’”

The Colbert Report, June 12, 2012

Dressage is “the guiding of a horse through a series of complex maneuvers by slight movements of the rider’s hands, legs, and weight,” and comes from the French dresser, “to set up, arrange, train.” More horse-related words.

free lunch

Stephen Colbert: “But sadly folks, one public union recently scored a major victory, and that brings us to tonight’s word: free lunch. . . .These unionized lunch lady thugs now have the right to free expired cafeteria food, and given the quality of cafeteria food, expired is an improvement.”

The Colbert Report, June 13, 2012

A free lunch is “something acquired without due effort or without cost,” and was originally a mid-19th century term, says the Online Etymology Dictionary, that referred to free food “offered in bars to draw in business.” Related is the phrase there ain’t no such thing as a free lunch, sometimes abbreviated as TANSTAAFL, which seems to have originated in the 1930s or 1940s.

gaffestronomist

Jon Stewart: “All that remains is the bloody gaffe carcass to be picked over by our nation’s most esteemed gaffestronomists, who will measure the gaffe using the exact science of gaffestronomy.”

The Daily Show with Jon Stewart, June 11, 2012

Gaffestronomist is a play on gastronomist, also known as gastronomer, “one versed in gastronomy,” or “the art of preparing and serving rich or delicate and appetizing food.” Gaffe, “a foolish and embarrassing error, especially one made in public,” may come from the French gaffe, “clumsy remark” which originally meant “boat hook.” The sense connection may be, says World Wide Words, “because the emotional effect [of a blunder] is like being gaffed,” or pulled by a hook.

hot tooth

Joan: “Are you under the weather?”
Don: “I’ve got a hot tooth.”

“The Phantom,” Mad Men, June 10, 2012

A hot tooth is “a painful tooth” in which “the nerve is alive, but badly inflamed.”

kill list

News announcer: “The New York Times reports that the president has given himself the final word in a top secret nominating process to place terror suspects on a kill list.”
Jon Stewart: “Obama has a kill list? Assuming this goes with a marry list and a fuck list.”

The Daily Show with Jon Stewart, June 13, 2012

The marry, fuck, and kill lists are presumably in reference to the “game,” Marry-Fuck-Kill, or MFK, in which players list people they would marry, fuck, or kill.

laksa

Anthony Bourdain: “Every time I come to Malaysia, there’s one thing I gotta have: laksa. It’s everything I love in one bowl.”

“Penang,” No Reservations, June 4, 2012

Laksa is a spicy noodle soup. The word laksa may come from the “Hindi/Persian lakhshah, referring to a type of vermicelli, which in turn may be derived from the Sanskrit lakshas. . .meaning ‘one hundred thousand’ (lakh),” or else from the Chinese word “meaning ‘spicy sand’ due to the ground dried prawns which gives a sandy or gritty texture to the sauce.”

otak-otak

Anthony Bourdain: “But [the Baba-Nyonya] cuisine is in danger of disappearing as so many of the ingredients are difficult to source, and because dishes like this, otak-otak, a fish custard wrapped in banana leaf, are so labor-intensive to prepare.”

“Penang,” No Reservations, June 4, 2012

Otak translates from Malay as “brain.” Otak-otak seems to have gotten its name from the fish custard’s resemblance to brains.

selenium

Aasif Mandvi [regarding picture of two-headed fish]: “What is causing that?”
Marv Hoyt: “It’s the selenium in the water.”
Aasif Mandvi [after spit-taking a glass of water]: “Selenium is a toxic byproduct of phosphate mining, and in southeast Idaho, one company loves mining phosphate.”

The Daily Show with Jon Stewart, June 14, 2012

Selenium is a “a toxic nonmetallic element related to sulfur and tellurium.” The word comes from the Greek selēnē, “moon.” The company referred to here is Simplot, “one of the largest privately held agri-business companies in the world.”

tostilocos

Javier Plascencia: “You know Tostitos, right? The border culture has made something crazy. They call it tostilocos, which is tortilla chips, nuts, cucumber, salsa, and uncooked pig skin.”

“Baja,” No Reservations, May 28, 2012

Tostitos are a brand of tortilla chips, presumably a blend of tortilla and Frito or Dorito, while loco is Spanish for “crazy.” Border culture refers to culture at the U.S.-Mexico border.

walk back

Jon Stewart: “But of course as surely as winter follows fall, a full-grown gaffe must someday be walked back.”

The Daily Show with Jon Stewart, June 11, 2012

To walk back means “to withdraw or back-pedal on a statement or promise; retract.” Walk back may also take on a noun form, walk-back: “Welcome to the walk-back — a strained, three-act political exercise of speaking candidly, then shamelessly buckling under pressure.”

xenomorph

Stephen Colbert: “But nation, I’m not just annoyed, I’m terrified, because if [astrophysicist] Neil deGrasse Tyson points out everything inaccurate in movies and this was the only mistake he found, that can mean only one thing: everything else in Prometheus is true! The xenomorphs are coming for us!”

The Colbert Report, June 11, 2012

Xenomorph may refer to the extraterrestrial creatures in the Aliens movies, a monstrous creature in general, a strange form, or an allotriomorph, “a mineral that did not develop its otherwise typical external crystal form because of late crystallization between earlier formed crystals.” Xeno comes from the Greek xenos, “a guest, stranger, foreigner,” while morph comes from the Greek morphe, “shape, form.”

That’s it for this week! Remember, if you see any Word Soup-worthy words, let us know on Twitter with the hashtag #wordsoup. Your word and Twitter handle might appear right here!

While the television show The Soup brings you “the strange, obscure and totally unbelievable moments in pop culture, celebrity news and reality TV,” Word Soup brings you those strange, obscure, unbelievable (and sometimes NSFW) words from talk shows, sitcoms, dramas, and just about anything else on TV.

Aegishjalmur

Hank: “What the hell is that thing on his face?”
Nick: “It’s called the Aegishjalmur, the helm of awe. It’s a symbol the Vikings wore for invincibility.”

“The Woman in Black,” Grimm, May 18, 2012

Aegishjalmur may translate literally as “terror helm.”

beefsquatch

Linda: “He’s just mad because he thinks Gene beefsquatched all over his special moment.”
Bob: “Don’t use that as a verb.”

“Beefsquatch,” Bob’s Burgers, May 20, 2012

The Beefsquatch is a character that Gene developed for his father’s television cooking segment, in which he dons an ape mask and gorges himself on hamburgers. Beefsquatch is a blend of beef and Sasquatch, another name for Bigfoot, which comes from Halkomelem, “a native language of the Pacific Northwest.” To beefsquatch means to ruin something, perhaps reminiscent of squash or quash.

copera

Cop: “Love is not admissible evidence! I’m working on a cop opera.”
Everyone: “Copera!”
Pierce: “Policial!”

“First Chang Dynasty,” Community, May 17, 2012

Copera is a blend of cop and opera. Cop originated in 1704 as a northern British dialectecal meaning “to seize, to catch,” which may have ultimately come from the Latin capere, “to take.” Policial is a blend of police and musical. Cop Rock was a musical police TV drama that aired in 1990.

cryptozoologist

Hank: “Both were self-described cryptozoologists.”
Renard: “Meaning?”
Nick: “Big Foot hunters.”

“Big Feet,” Grimm, May 11, 2012

A cryptozoologist is one who studies crytozoology, “the study of creatures, such as the Sasquatch, whose existence has not been substantiated.” Crypto, meaning “secret” or “hidden,” comes from the Greek kryptos, “hidden, concealed, secret.” Zoologist and zoology come from the Greek zoion, “an animal.”

crap attack

Linda (to Tina): “Don’t you tell me not to have a crap attack! I’ll have a crap attack anytime I want!”

“Bad Tina,” Bob’s Burgers, May 13, 2012

A crap attack is the act of overreacting to something perceived as minor. Synonyms include spaz attack, where spaz is a shortening of spastic or spasm; conniption fit; to have kittens; and to have a cow.

deanelganger

Cop: “Of course. The head of security of Greendale Community College has kidnapped the real dean and replaced him with a deanelganger.”
Jeff: “Well, when you say it that way, it sounds ridiculous.”
Troy: “The word we used was doppeldeaner.”

“First Chang Dynasty,” Community, May 17, 2012

Deanelganger is a blend of dean and doppelganger, a double or apparition of a living person. Doppelganger translates from the German as “double-goer.” Sometimes doubleganger.

A deanelchanger, a blend of dean, doppelganger, and Chang, is a bell that Chang rings to summon the fake dean. Changer may be a play on clang, “a loud, sharp, resonant, and metallic sound,” and clanger, a British English word meaning “a blunder.”

folk racing

Anthony Bourdain: “The idea? Survive two laps on mirror ice. No snow tires or chains.”

“Finland,” No Reservations, May 14, 2012

Finnish folk racing is “a mixture of rally racing and demolition derby.”

GILF

Helen Cho [reading a suggestion from a fan]: “Have a grandma cook for you.”
Anthony Bourdain: “Get working on a GILF.”
Cho: “A GILF?!”
Bourdain: “A Grandma I’d Like to Feed Me.”

“Finland,” No Reservations, May 14, 2012

GILF plays on MILF, a “mother found sexually attractive; an attractive middle-aged woman.”

granny slippers

Anthony Bourdain: “I don’t even know what this shot was about, though it’s called granny slippers, disturbingly enough. Salmiakki vodka and Irish cream? Sure, why not?”

“Finland,” No Reservations, May 14, 2012

Granny slippers in Finnish is mummon tohveli.

nerf herder

News announcer: “Security cameras caught the getaway van heading west toward Manhattan.”
Liz [recognizing her boyfriend’s hot dog van]: “Nerf herder!”

“What Will Happen to the Gang Next Year?” 30 Rock, May 17, 2012

Nerf herder is a variation on Liz’s usual “swear word,” nerds, and is also a reference to the insult hurled by Princess Leia to Han Solo in The Empire Strikes Back: “Why, you stuck up, half-witted, scruffy-looking… Nerf herder!”

pocket warmer

Sammi Yaffa [on koskenkorva, a Finnish vodka]: “It’s made out of rye. They call it the pocket warmer because everyone walks around with a half drunk warm bottle of koskenkorva. This stuff is usually better when it’s pocket-warm.”

“Finland,” No Reservations, May 14, 2012

Koskenkorva is “the most common clear spirit drink in Finland,” and “is a small village. . .in Finland that translates as ‘(area) by the rapids.’”

sauna

Anthony Bourdain: “What is it with saunas in this country? Everyone says, number one answer, what you should do in Finland.”
Sammi Yaffa: “It’s a Finnish word.”

“Finland,” No Reservations, May 14, 2012

Sauna came into English around 1881.

snorgasm

Tammy: “Tina, no offense but this tour is giving me a snorgasm.”

“Bad Tina,” Bob’s Burgers, May 13, 2012

Snorgasm is a blend of snore and orgasm, and means a feeling of intense boredom.

twist

Bartender [to Emily]: “Want a twist? The hero and the villain are actually the same person. Get it?”

“Legacy,” Revenge, May 9, 2012

Twist here has a double meaning: “a sliver of lemon peel added to a cocktail, etc.” as well as “an unexpected change in a process or a departure from a pattern, often producing a distortion or perversion.” On the show, Emily is both the hero and the villain.

Wildermann

Monroe: “[Wildermann are] smart loners. Like the woods, cabins, campfires, hiking. You know, back to nature eco-warrior types. Thoreau, Emerson, Abbey.”

“Big Feet,” Grimm, May 11, 2012

Wildermann translates from the German as “savage (wilder) man (mann).”

Woge

Monroe: “Woge. It roughly translates to the wave that overtakes one. You know, the change, the surge, the massive hormonal jolt.”

“Big Feet,” Grimm, May 11, 2012

Woge translates from the German as “wave” or “surge,” and refers to the change that Vessen experience when changing from human to animal form.

That’s it for this week! Remember, if you see any Word Soup-worthy words, let us know on Twitter with the hashtag #wordsoup. Your word and Twitter handle might appear right here!

While the television show The Soup brings you “the strange, obscure and totally unbelievable moments in pop culture, celebrity news and reality TV,” Word Soup brings you those strange, obscure, unbelievable (and sometimes NSFW) words from talk shows, sitcoms, dramas, and just about anything else on TV.

alpha gay

Kurt: “You don’t know what it’s like being your boyfriend. You are the alpha gay. Even Rachel wanted to make out with you. I used to get solos every week. Do you know how many times I’ve had to sit on a stool and watch you perform?”

“Dance With Somebody,” Glee, April 24, 2012

Alpha is the first letter of the Greek alphabet and refers in general to “the first; the beginning.” It also means “being the highest ranked or most dominant individual of one’s sex,” and is “used of social animals.” Alpha gay means being the most dominant individual of a group of gays.

backslide

Schmidt: “Jess, first of all, you’re never gonna be old, humans are going to be immortal by 2026. Second of all, give me your phone. You have backslider written all over you.”

“Backslide,” New Girl, May 1, 2012

To backslide means “to slide back, in a figurative sense; apostatize; turn from the faith.” In this context, it means “to regress; to slip backwards or revert to a previous, worse state,” specifically, back to a bad relationship.

crapture

Homer [upon seeing Bart’s empty bedroom]: “Bart’s been raptured! And his crap’s been craptured!”

“A Totally Fun Thing Bart Will Never Do Again,” The Simpsons, April 29, 2012

Crapture is a blend of crap and rapture. Crap refers to Bart’s crap or stuff, while rapture is “the transporting of a person from one place to another, especially to heaven.”

Hat tip to 4ndyman.

fundemic

Cruise Director Priddis: “While the world deals with their pandemic, we’re having a fundemic!”

“A Totally Fun Thing Bart Will Never Do Again,” The Simpsons, April 29, 2012

Fundemic is a blend of fun and –demic, which comes from the Greek demos, “people.” Pandemic, which means “widespread” as well as “a pandemic disease,” comes from the Greek pandēmos, “of all the people.” Epidemic comes from the Greek epidēmos, “prevalent.”

funishment

Cruise Director Priddis: “You stand accused of letting down your team during music trivia. Your funishment: eight hours in the penal conga line.”

“A Totally Fun Thing Bart Will Never Do Again,” The Simpsons, April 29, 2012

Funishment, a blend of fun and punishment, is punishment through an activity that is supposed to be fun. Related is forced fun, “fun” activities (such as parties and outings) one is forced to do with one’s co-workers.

Geölter Blitz

Monroe: “My people know the [Murciélago] as Geölter Blitz, literally, bat out of hell. It’s a legendary liminal being.”

“Happily Ever Aftermath,” Grimm, May 4, 2012

Geölter Blitz, which is German, is actually not “bat out of hell” but “greased (geölter) lightning (Blitz).” The term figuratively means something very fast, like a bat out of hell. The German word for bat is Fledermaus (also the name of a well-known German opera).

humorsexual

Stephen Colbert: “These gay sitcom characters, or humorsexuals, are a menace to society. They seduce us into thinking gays are just like us. Normal people with relationships based on love and mutual respect. It is disgusting.”

The Colbert Report, May 7, 2012

Humorsexual is a play on homosexual. Colbert’s tongue-in-cheek commentary refers to Vice President Joe Biden’s statement that married gay couples deserve the same rights as heterosexual married couples, and that the sitcom Will and Grace “probably did more to educate the American public than almost anything anybody’s done so far.”

Hundjäger

Narrator: “The Verat enforcers were identified as Hundjäger, from a race so tenacious and vicious, it is said they are birthed by consuming their own mothers from inside the womb.”

“Cat and Mouse,” Grimm, April 20, 2012

Hundjäger translates from German as “hound (hund) hunter (jäger),” that is, one that is a hound and hunts, not one who hunts hounds.

insatia

Prince of Persuasia: “Step three: brag. Not lying, but close. Make up a story about how you single-handedly murdered a wild animal. Your story’s going to release a hormone deep inside her body called insatia. It makes women ovulate – for sex!”

“Dr. Yap,” Bob’s Burgers, April 29, 2012

Insatia comes from insatiable, “incapable of being satisfied or appeased; inordinately greedy: as, insatiable desire.” The name Prince of Persuasia is a blend of Prince of Persia and persuasion.

jabroni

Meredith [to Andy singing during a formal dinner]: “Hey, jabroni, show some class.”

“Fundraiser,” The Office, April 26, 2012

Jabroni is “professional wrestling slang for one whose main purpose is to make the better-known wrestlers of the organization look good . . . by losing to them,” and may be a mock-Italianized form of jobber. Jabroni also refers to losers in general.

jerk-gate

Reporter: “Ms. Knope, I have a follow up to what I’m now deciding to call jerk-gate. Are there any other deceased members of Bobby Newport’s family that you’d like to attack?”

“Bus Tour,” Parks and Recreation, May 3, 2012

Jerk-gate, in which Leslie Knope called someone recently deceased a jerk, is a play on Watergate, “a series of scandals occurring during the Nixon administration in which members of the executive branch organized illegal political espionage against their perceived opponents and were charged with violation of the public trust, bribery, contempt of Congress, and attempted obstruction of justice.” Adding –gate to a word signals a scandal or controversy. See boobgate, nipplegate, and Weinergate.

Hat tip to Fritinancy.

Lauffeuer

Rosalie: “Have you heard of the Lauffeuer?”
Monroe: “The Lauffeuer? You mean, the resistance?”

“Cat and Mouse,” Grimm, April 20, 2012

Lauffeuer translates from the German as “wildfire.”

lesbian bed death

Kurt [to Rachel]: “Have you ever heard of lesbian bed death? I read about it online. It’s when two lesbians date for long enough they become like sisters. And Blaine and I are like an old married couple.”

“Dance With Somebody,” Glee, April 24, 2012

The term lesbian bed death was coined by “sociologist Pepper Schwartz in her 1983 book American Couples.” Schwartz claimed that “lesbian couples in committed relationships have less sex than any other type of couple, and they generally experience less sexual intimacy the longer the relationship lasts,” a claim which “has been criticized by the lesbian community and some psychologists as popular myth.”

Murciélago

Nick: “At the murder site there were broken light bulbs and mirrors. Could that be a Murciélago or Geo-whatever?”

“Happily Ever Aftermath,” Grimm, May 4, 2012

Murciélago, which translates from the Spanish as bat, is a bat-like creature with “the ability to produce a sonic shriek that is fatal to humans.”

Rominee

Jon Stewart: “We’re talking about Mitt Romney who will be the Republican Presidential nominee, or as I now call it, the Rominee. That’s trademarked.”

The Daily Show with Jon Stewart, May 2, 2012

Rominee is a blend of Romney and nominee.

sanitipsy

Stephen Colbert: “Our kids are getting sanitipsy.”

The Colbert Report, May 7, 2012

Sanitipsy is a blend of sanitizer and tipsy, and is based on a report that teens drink hand sanitizer to get drunk.

smell-check

Reggie: “I should be back at my restaurant smell-checking the meats.”

“Moody Foodie,” Bob’s Burgers, May 6, 2012

Smell-check is a play on spell check, which refers to “an application within most word processing programs that checks for spelling errors in documents.” To smell-check means to check if something has spoiled by smelling it.

voir dire

Benjamin: “Juror number three, Ann Woodbury for instance. In voir dire, she presented as open, impartial. But based on her physical reactions to the prosecution’s evidence, it’s likely she’ll vote to convict.”

“Justice,” Revenge, April 25, 2012

Voir dire is legal term meaning “a preliminary examination of prospective jurors or witnesses under oath to determine their competence or suitability.” The phrase translates roughly from the Old French as “say (dire) the truth (voir).”

That’s it for this week! Remember, if you see any Word Soup-worthy words, let us know on Twitter with the hashtag #wordsoup. Your word and Twitter handle might appear right here!

While the television show The Soup brings you “the strange, obscure and totally unbelievable moments in pop culture, celebrity news and reality TV,” Word Soup brings you those strange, obscure, unbelievable (and sometimes NSFW) words from talk shows, sitcoms, dramas, and just about anything else on TV.

cahoots

Art [to Boyd]: “You’re not as dumb as you look. I like the use of the word cahoots, though.”

“Slaughterhouse,” Justified, April 10, 2012

Cahoots is defined as a “questionable collaboration; secret partnership,” and either comes from the French cahute, “cabin, hut,” or the French cohorte, “a word said to be in use in the South and West with a sense of ‘companions, confederates.’”

disadvertunity

Stephen Colbert: “While some people see a disaster, KFC Thailand saw a disaster advertising opportunity, or disadvertunity. Hey, I say there’s no reason SOS couldn’t stand for soup or salad.”

The Colbert Report, April 12, 2012

During a tsunami scare in Indonesia last month, KFC Thailand told people on their Facebook page: “don’t forget to order your favorite KFC menu.” Disadvertunity is a blend of disaster, advertising, and opportunity.

disarm

Raylan: “You know what they’re saying at the office? I disarmed him.”

“Slaughterhouse,” Justified, April 10, 2012

SPOILER ALERT: Disarm means “to deprive of arms; take the arms or weapons from.” In this context, Raylan is using the word literally.

hobbyturnity

Randy: “Filmmaking was just another hobbyturnity for me.”

“Food Trucks,” Bob’s Burgers, April 15, 2012

Hobbyturnity, a blend of hobby and opportunity, is a hobby that is also a career opportunity.

hooah

Jon Stewart: “Sarah Palin’s rather dramatic pin is in fact a barometer that tells you what side of the culture wars you’re on. If you’re a patriotic real American, you read it like this.”
Soldier: “Hooah!”
Jon Stewart: “But if you’re from New Jersey and some liberal east coast elite, you think it’s just a tongue-in-cheek homage to the Sopranos.”
Ralph Cifaretto: “She was a hooah [whore].”

The Daily Show with Jon Stewart, April 16, 2012

Hooah is the battle cry of the U.S. Army. The origin of the word is unknown though there are several theories.

inquizzical

Virginia: “I was immediately inquizzical of this mystery.”

“Inside Probe,” Raising Hope, April 10, 2012

Inquizzical, a blend of inquisitive and quizzical, is an example of an eggcorn, a lexical misuse that makes sense to the speaker or listener.

pentimento

Dr. Lee: “[Pentimento] refers to when art historians inspect a painting and discover traces of earlier work. Evidence that the artist changed his mind in the course of creating it. This is a perfect metaphor for what your mind has done.”

“Ricky’s Tacos,” Awake, April 12, 2012

In Italian, pentimento means “correction,” and comes from the Latin penitire, “to regret.”

puninator

Matt Lauer: “President Obama, meanwhile, is back at the White House this morning, following a trip to Colombia, a visit that was overshadowed by a prostitution scandal involving members of the Secret Service.”
Jon Stewart: “To the puninator!” [Cut to screen: On Her Vagesty’s Secret Service]

The Daily Show with Jon Stewart, April 16, 2012

Puninator is short for pun generator.

reverse-Urkel

Tracey: “Son, we have a lot of work today if I’m going to reverse-Urkel you.”

“Meet the Woggels,” 30 Rock, April 12, 2012

Urkel refers to Steve Urkel, a nerdy African-American character on the sitcom, Family Matters. African-American nerds are also known as blerds, a blend of black and nerd. To reverse-Urkel means to turn someone from a nerd into a non-nerd.

talk-portunity

Liz [to Jack and Colleen]: “I know it won’t be welcome, but I will point out that this is your final talk-portunity.”

“Meet the Woggels,” 30 Rock, April 12, 2012

A talk-portunity, a blend of talk and opportunity, is an opportunity to talk about one’s feelings.

transvaginal

Liz [to Jack regarding her decision to adopt or remain childless]: “You’re being so transvaginal right now.”

“Murphy Brown Lied to Us,” 30 Rock, April 19, 2012

Transvaginal refers to transvaginal ultrasounds, which some states have attempted to make required for women having abortions. In this context, Liz means that Jack is being invasive about her decision about having children.

Winklevoss

Schmidt [to Nick about their invention]: “I’m not gonna be Winklevossed.”

“Normal,” New Girl, April 10, 2012

Winklevoss refers to the Winklevoss twins who claimed that Mark Zuckerberg stole their idea for Facebook. Here, Schmidt is accusing Nick of stealing his idea for Real Apps, a set of utensils that attaches to a cell phone.

Yoko

Liz: “Wait, you’re trying to break up a children’s group?”
Jenna: “Well, it checks off a lot of boxes on my sexual walkabout list. Yoko a band, make love to a beloved children’s entertainer, be with a non-aboriginal Australian.”

“Meet the Woggels,” 30 Rock, April 12, 2012

Yoko refers to Yoko Ono, who some accused of breaking up the Beatles. Yoko in this instance is an example of anthimeria, “the use of a word from one word class or part of speech as if it were from another,” especially “the use of a noun as if it were a verb.”

That’s it for this week! Remember, if you see any Word Soup-worthy words, let us know on Twitter with the hashtag #wordsoup. Your word and Twitter handle might appear right here!