Wikipedia:Reference desk/Archives/Language/2006 November 23

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[edit] November 23

[edit] Riff question

Can you tell me what is a riff. thanskl—Preceding unsigned comment added by 88.110.143.178 (talk • contribs)

A short and repeated series of notes in rock music or jazz. Clio the Muse 00:09, 23 November 2006 (UTC)
(Edit conflict) A musical riff? 惑乱 分からん 00:10, 23 November 2006 (UTC)
Welcome to Wikipedia. You can easily look up this topic yourself. Please see riff. For future questions, try using the search box at the top left of the screen. It's much quicker, and you will probably find a clearer answer. If you still don't understand, add a further question below by clicking the "edit" button to the right of your question title. --Shantavira 09:02, 23 November 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Please don't laugh - or laugh all you want :)

I am currently re-writing the article Upskirt. Don't ask me how I got to this page in the first place, because it's a long story. Anyway, it's a mess (no really, that's the most neutral term for it), so I decided to give it a go (big expert that I am).

The first question: what's the word that describes this kind of word? I know there is one. It describes a slang term that's created by smushing one word with another. I can't for the life of me remember what it is though.

The second question: Would someone with perhaps a slang dictionary or some kind of powerful search engine find and etymology for this word? If you can't find one, just let me know. I have a feeling you won't anyway.

I appreciate your help, and Happy Thanksgiving (if you celebrate it). NinaEliza 08:09, 23 November 2006 (UTC)

You're probably thinking about portmanteau words but it's not one, it's a compound word. (A portmanteau shortens the words, like motel = motor + hotel (or, since it's Thanksgiving, turducken).
The etymology is from Modern English up + Modern English skirt. Use www.dictionary.com to get the etymology on up and skirt if that is important.
Incidentally, that website gave the wrong definition, or an ambiguous one: something about the view FROM under a woman's skirt. Hah. -THB 08:31, 23 November 2006 (UTC)
That's a good one - I didn't even notice that...
  • See "Ball Four" by Jim Boutonhotclaws**== 13:38, 23 November 2006 (UTC)

Well dang, I was hoping it was more than just a compound word, but I'll go with it. So - forgive me - I don't understand about the etymology. Am I using the word incorrectly? I probably am, forgive me. What I meant was the orgin of the specific phrase. In other words, when did the phrase get coined, in what context, and by whom? Barring that, when was the first recorded usage of the phrase? I tried to do an internet search and that was HILARIOUS. It's not that big a deal, but it could lend a bit more credibility to the article by providing a little bit of info that no one commonly knows.

Thanks for your help:), NinaEliza 09:37, 23 November 2006 (UTC)

A good place to look for Internet related history is Usenet here is up skirt and upskirt from google groups. meltBanana 15:36, 23 November 2006 (UTC)
Isn't the etymology quite simply from "looking up skirt"? 惑乱 分からん 20:08, 23 November 2006 (UTC)
I've looked up skirt in several dictionaries, am I a pervert? meltBanana
Goddamit, you logophiles are a twisted bunch! Someone should stop you from punning wild on the streets. 惑乱 分からん 23:12, 23 November 2006 (UTC)
Don't make fun of me, I suffer from paranomasia meltBanana 01:04, 24 November 2006 (UTC)
But that's what we do. It's a natural expression of ourselves. Do you want a world inhabited by logo-eunuchs?  :) JackofOz 01:54, 24 November 2006 (UTC)
Paranomasia? Don't worry, I know about an ex-play/ex-ludus movement I could write you up for... ;) 惑乱 分からん 13:08, 24 November 2006 (UTC)
The Japanese will always be ahead of us :) :"It's now required that all digital cameras and camera phones in Japan make an audible noise when taking a picture."Evilbu 12:38, 24 November 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Definition : Lavacious

I have tried 7 - yes 7 - online dictioneries and printed dictioneries and still cannot find the definition of this word... It is being used as the name of a beverage in South Africa (LAvacious Lemon) so it is a "real" word... Please help...

Thanks and regards J

There is no such word in English. Perhaps it should be spelled lascivious (lustful), or luscious (delicious)?--Shantavira 09:07, 23 November 2006 (UTC)
It's a word they coined so they can trademark it. Sounds like they were playing off lascivious, delicious, lava, bodacious, etc. On the website for lemon it gives the definition as "exotic, gorgeous, glamorous, strikingly stunning, zesty, and trendy". website. Most of the non-beverage references on Google appear to be a misspelling of "lascivious"-THB
That's strikingly similar to the definition of me :)NinaEliza 09:39, 23 November 2006 (UTC)
Well, you should enter the contest on the website. -THB 15:31, 23 November 2006 (UTC)
NinaEliza, are you a non-beverage reference ? -- DLL .. T 21:56, 23 November 2006 (UTC)
If I found the word lavacious in a book, I'd take it to mean tending to wash frequently. —Tamfang 06:29, 24 November 2006 (UTC)

Hi Guys! Using Google to search the word brought showed Lavacious used in several places... both local sites and internationals sites, none of which belong to this beverage... So a) It is an English word, B) it is not a trademark name; C) it is neither lascivious nor lucious, and d) it certainly does not mean "to wash frequently". Anyone else got any suggestions??

J

The word has never entered any dictionary afaik. Google is no help because it seems to be used to mean different things on different websites. As often as not the person using the word is confusing it with "lascivious". In other cases, there is no explanation. It just sounds good, so people tend to pick it up and use it without knowing what it's supposed to mean (if anything). I think THB's post above is the right answer. In this sense, it's marketing-speak, and the word has no more inherent meaning than "funkadelic" or "bootylicious" - it means whatever it means to you. If it makes you want to buy the drink Lavacious Lemon, it's done its job. However, this very discussion will undoubtedly bring it to the attention of a lot of people who'd never heard it before, and I predict we'll now see an upsurge in the use of this admittedly very cool word. In time, its meaning (or meanings) will be nailed down and some reputable dictionary will admit it as a word. JackofOz 01:00, 28 November 2006 (UTC)

[edit] "not a girl who misses much"

Here's a question for the German Wikipedia article on Pipilotti Rist. She references the Beatles line "she's not a girl who misses much" in one of her works. What does the verb to miss mean here? That she is happy with what she has, or that she doesn't let many opportunities slip? thanks --08-15 15:09, 23 November 2006 (UTC)

I'd say "miss out", but out of context, I interpret it as a girl who takes everything she can ...? 惑乱 分からん 15:20, 23 November 2006 (UTC)
I always interpreted it as "she's very observant; very little escapes her notice". Fun how things like this can be read various ways. On the other hand, wtf does "she's well acquainted with the touch of the velvet hand like a lizard on a window pane" mean? Bang bang shoot shoot. --jpgordon∇∆∇∆ 15:25, 23 November 2006 (UTC)
That's another option I thought about after I wrote the post, btw, the quote is from the song Happiness is a warm gun, where context is quite difficult to discern... 惑乱 分からん 15:31, 23 November 2006 (UTC)

Yes, 'she notices things and knows what's going on'. Saying someone "doesn't miss much" often means this - at least in the UK - see here --HJMG 15:53, 23 November 2006 (UTC)

I interpreted it as: "She has basically all she needs", not implying that she is happy with it. Maybe she is spoilt. That fits with the "velvet hand": she is treated like a princess. I'm curious to see how many different interpretations there are.  --LambiamTalk 15:59, 23 November 2006 (UTC)
It means that she is observant, but is not used as a compliment. Example: person finds trifling fault, complains, leaves. "She doesn't miss much," says someone. I don't think I've ever heard it used in other than a negative sense. Of course, this is about the only line in the song which can be said to make any sense, so it probably doesn't. Notinasnaid 16:19, 23 November 2006 (UTC)
Like most song lyrics - it could mean both.. any context - ie the rest of the song.83.100.250.186 16:25, 23 November 2006 (UTC)
In my experience (U.S. English), "she doesn't miss much" has always had the meaning given by jpgordon and HJMG. Wareh 19:13, 23 November 2006 (UTC)
How curious. In Australia, to be told "you don't miss much" is usually meant as a compliment. It's intended as an acknowledgment of superior visual skills rather than any form of criticism. It is often used, for example, when someone spots a bad error in some written text (say a TV ad) that others have read and noticed nothing wrong. Then it becomes so obvious to the others that they can never again see the text without their eyes being drawn to the error. It probably wouldn't be used if the error was trifling (the definition of which is somewhat subjective). Just don't push your luck, though, or you'll be branded a pedantic nitpicker or a wanker. JackofOz 01:49, 24 November 2006 (UTC)