Television not only entertains us and informs us of the next sale at True Value Hardware, but it can also expand your vocabulary if you watch the right shows. The Simpsons is rife with made-up words, some of which have become part of the lexicon. Today we're celebrating words that aren't really words, so here are five of mine. Throw down some of your own in the comments. Check it:
- "Smeg" (Red Dwarf): We really do have too many damn swear words, but "smeg" could easily replace them all. It's the perfect all-purpose cry of anguish: "Ah, smegging hell!" or even a simple "SMEG!" does nicely.
- "Frell" (Farscape): Farscape was my favorite show I never watched. While I found it incredibly entertaining the few times I was able to catch it, I would always forget to make a point to keep tuning in. Anyway, "frell" is yet another all-purpose curse word. I still think I like "smeg" better, though.
- "Mebs" (Saturday Night Live, "Coneheads"): The last of my "alien words" for this little list. The Coneheads used this word to pretty much mean anything, though it usually seemed to act as a kind of warning or cry of anguish.
- "Vitameatavegamin" (I Love Lucy): That infamous tonic that made Lucy tipsy on live TV. It became the center of one of the most popular episodes of the series, and it's now more or less a part of TV history.
- "Knowitallism" (The Simpsons): This is kind of a cheat since I've already written about fake Simpsons words, but I especially like this one. Lisa is accused of "knowitallism" in her permanent record and immediately complains that it isn't even a word, thus negating the word itself while simultaneously proving that yes, she does suffer from "knowitallism." That's heavy, man.
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 3)
11-21-2005 @ 10:37AM
Keith McDuffee said...
You forgot "Frak" from BSG!
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11-21-2005 @ 10:49AM
Lacy Hall said...
I'm a big fan of Chrismukkah from "The OC." It was a made up word and then evil advertising geniuses turned it into a real word and ran with it.
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11-21-2005 @ 12:17PM
Anna said...
Yada, yada, yada...
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11-23-2005 @ 1:54PM
Ryan j Budke said...
I'm sorry, but I have to second "Frak". I substitute that all the time for another four letter favorite starting with F and ending in K. I can get away with it too because no one has any idea what I've just said.
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11-23-2005 @ 10:21PM
Joel Keller said...
Love "smeg", especially the episode where Kryten tries to swear and gets snagged on the word "smeghead" all the time.
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11-27-2005 @ 10:04AM
Martha Fischer said...
Disappointingly, "smeg" isn't quite as innocent and made-up as it seems...
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Smegma
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11-27-2005 @ 11:23AM
Jimmy said...
"Frell" over "frack" -- come on!
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11-27-2005 @ 11:58AM
MosquitoControl said...
Kwyjibo beats knowitallism. =)
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11-27-2005 @ 3:30PM
Tim said...
"Felderkarb" from the original BATTLESTAR GALACTICA.
"Kwijibo" - a large hairless ape!
"Shiny" - a real word, but with an entirely new meaning since FIREFLY...
"Shazbat!" - MORK & MINDY?
"Faversham" - THE BEVERLY HILLBILLIES. In the season when the Clampetts went to England, Jed always called the butler by the wrong name. When Faversham corrected him it went like this - "Faversham, sir" "And Faversham to you too!" Today, it means "thank you' in my house.
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11-27-2005 @ 4:08PM
Joel Keller said...
Oh, I knew what "smeg" was short for, Martha. Doesn't mean I like the sound of the word any less.
But, of course, it might disqualify it from this list... Adam, can you render a judgement here?
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11-27-2005 @ 4:37PM
elf said...
Add another vote for Frak, though I've always preferred to spell it Frack, with a C. But has the new series used "Feldercarb" yet? (I'm just glad the new series doesn't "yarens" and "centons.")
And, Anna, "yada yada yada" had been around as a cliche long before its use on Seinfeld. Might I add that I'm pretty sure "Festivus" was created pre-Seinfeld as well.
Finally, although it comes from the Coneheads movie and not the TV show, I have come to love using the phrase "Narfle the Garthog" in reference to any man-on-monster fight scene, usually in an arena setting. In fact, for those who have seen the latest Harry Potter movie, the scene where Harry has to fight the dragon in the arena was a Narfle the Garthog moment.
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11-27-2005 @ 4:42PM
Vito said...
What about "cromulent" or "embiggens"? Those are both perfectly cromulent words.
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11-27-2005 @ 5:02PM
Toby OB said...
Here are mine:
Blatherskythe - a "swear" word used by Aunt Clara (Bewitched)
splunge - which might mean "it's a great idea, but maybe not, and I'm not being indecisive" (Monty Python's Flying Circus)
hoopy frood - hoopy means a really together guy, and a frood is a really amazingly together guy, so being called a hoopy frood is quite a compliment. (Hitch-hiker's Guide To The Galaxy)
Twip - the all-purpose product that was featured in those early TV Land promos
unmutual - just off enough to sound like a real word, it describes a contrarian in Village society (The Prisoner)
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11-27-2005 @ 5:08PM
Toby OB said...
Here are mine:
Blatherskythe - a "swear" word used by Aunt Clara (Bewitched)
splunge - which might mean "it's a great idea, but maybe not, and I'm not being indecisive" (Monty Python's Flying Circus)
hoopy frood - hoopy means a really together guy, and a frood is a really amazingly together guy, so being called a hoopy frood is quite a compliment. (Hitch-hiker's Guide To The Galaxy)
Twip - the all-purpose product that was featured in those early TV Land promos
unmutual - just off enough to sound like a real word, it describes a contrarian in Village society (The Prisoner)
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11-27-2005 @ 5:39PM
Vito said...
OH! How could I forget??
"Guhzizza", "Dilznoofus", "Bitchcakes", "Adequatulence" - All from Newsradio.
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11-27-2005 @ 6:07PM
The Mind Robber said...
"Frak" is so appealing because it is harsh soundiing.
And according to the creators of Red Dwarf, "smeg" wasn't influenced by another existing word ie smegma - it just sounded like a good sounding word at the time.
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11-27-2005 @ 6:15PM
Ryan said...
Sticktoitiveness. Uttered on nearly every sports broadcast. Its got itsnotawordness written all over it.
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11-27-2005 @ 6:16PM
forzaq8 said...
who can forget mellon farmer !
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11-27-2005 @ 6:35PM
JoshV said...
"Strategery" from Will Farrel impersonating W. I still use that one all the time.
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11-27-2005 @ 6:52PM
elf said...
JoshV, "strategery" is a good one. I was going to suggest adding "subliminable" until I remembered it was the real W who came up with that one.
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