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It's not slang! Nev. court permits 'HOE' license. «"While the Urban Dictionary might be an entertaining Web site about the English language, the court acknowledged it's not a reliable source for DMV decision-making about whether a license plate is vulgar," Gasca said. »
I think the court got it right here.
I trust the panel of judges of JEOPARDY! over the urban dictionary. One of my very favorite Ken Jennings responses went something like this:
“This term for a long-handled garden tool can also mean an immoral pleasure seeker.†Ken's response was: “What's a hoe?â€
His response was not the one they were seeking, but they made a ruling. They ruled him incorrect finally due to the spelling, claiming that the slang term is spelled without the final “e†of the tool: “hoe†is not “ho.â€
I would sure like to meet Ken. His incorrect answer showed more brain power than the correct one.
As for the ILVTOFU plate, the court clearly got it wrong. If the requestor wanted the suggestive meaning, they would doubtless request ILV2FU. Everyone born after 1970 knows that.
You NEVER use the letters TO as part of an infinitive construction in a character constrained medium. The only sound grammatical interpretation is TOFU.
Duh!
For TOFU related, the preferences would be: ILVTOFU, LUVTOFU, LOVTOFU, (MMTOFUMM ?)
For the other: ILV2FU, ILV2FKU, ILV2FUQ, (ILV2FUX ?)
Besides, who could take offense at such a magnanimous sentiment, whichever meaning was intended?
Take it all the way to the Supreme Court.
As for the ILVTOFU plate, the court clearly got it wrong.
Was an actual court involved? The article I read said that the Colorado Department of Revenue has a no FU policy for plates. Does each state have its own agency responsible for license plate approvals? That might be a fun job. The ACLU took the case for HOE. Will they take this one?
FUN would probably be okay, as would FUNK, FUNKY, FUNGUS, FUNGI. I think it's letter sequences such as FU, FUC, FUK, FUQ, etc., placed in such a way that they could be interpreted as an offending word, that's verboten. I'm sure there are some pretty detailed guidelines, designed to protect sweet, innocent Americans from immoral, obscene license plates. Ain't it funny that just about anything goes for song lyrics but license plates are so tightly regulated?
Still, I think that NOFUN would be rejected in Nevada. Nevada wants to be known as the FUN state. Come to think of it, they're also known as the state where it is LEGALTOFU.
I studied French in high school, too, but we never talked about seals (even though I lived in an area with lots of seals!). In your class, was le phoque presented to you as a regular vocabulary word, or was the teacher giving an example of a word that comes across funny between languages?
Speaking of words that come across funny between languages, is there a word for such words?
>>>Speaking of words that come across funny between languages, is there a word for such words?
Good q, and I don't know of one offhand. There should also be one for soundalike goofs when someone's new to a language. A few minutes ago, I was talking with someone whose English is quite limited, and for the life of me, I couldn't figure out why she was going on and on about hunting for her "piles." She's a native Spanish speaker who, I finally realized, had misplaced some batteries.
Lechuza and lechuga? That's hilarious! But you're right: with the Potter books any "normal" context flies out the window, either with the owl or the lettuce. Interestingly, Spanish slang sometimes associates lechuza with bruja - witches. Isn't it fairly common that owls are associated with wisdom or wickedness? Is that because of the eyes, the eerie hooting, or that Linda Blair thing they do with their heads?
In your class, was le phoque presented to you as a regular vocabulary word, or was the teacher giving an example of a word that comes across funny between languages?
You give my memory much more credit than it deserves. However, I suspect it was not one of the words in the lesson plan. There is a funny scene in an old comedy movie “Overboard†(Hawn, Russell) where a Portugese fisherman who rescued Hawn at sea is describing the events on live TV. I thought it was a riot.
Can you tell us what the woman was like
when you brought her aboard?Yes. We saw something float in water
like this. Just like that, just like that.We didn't know it… We bring… on board.
- On board.
- Yes. We say… foca!Excuse me,
you can't say that on television!No, no, no, no!
Foca! Foca!
Foca means seal in portugues!- Oh, I see!
- Seal, seal! So we bring…
Speaking of words that come across funny between languages, is there a word for such words?
I've made quite a few unintentional gaffs in this category. Foreign language study is cruel, if you don't have a good sense of humor. My face has gone crimson many times due to these devils.
Hahaphones?
Faux “ah, me's�
Transgrations?
I'll make a point of watching that movie.
You know, there oughta be a process whereby ordinary folks like you and me, and extraordinary folks like Grant and Martha, could submit ideas for new words that fill some need in the lexicon. I like transgrations. I can imagine that a lot of deserving and wonderful words and phrases never get the chance to make it into the mainstream. Sure, a lot of new words get added every year, but a lot of good ones that should don't.
It can be tough for those who try to learn English as a second language, especially when it comes to slang.
An student from the Middle East told me about the time he had offered to fix a friend's radio. "That should be easy," he told his American friend. "Is it AC or DC?"
At this point in telling the story, the student turned to me and asked, "Why did she laugh when I said that?"
I was aware the student had been brought up in a Moslem culture with the moral code of Islam, and was sensitive to the fact that he might be offended if I told him bluntly that "AC/DC" had sexual connotations in contemporary American slang. So, as delicately as I could, I tried to explain (or at least hint at) what meaning might have been triggered in his friend's mind.
Fortunately, I didn't need to get into any detail before he understood. He was somewhat embarrassed about his supposed faux pas (I would blame his American friend for even "going there," and especially for her laughing at him and his innocence), but he thanked me for informing him so he could avoid that phrase in the future.
Martha Barnette
Grant Barrett
Grant Barrett
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