Wordsmith.org: the magic of words

Wordsmith Talk

About Us | What's New | Search | Site Map | Contact Us  

Previous Thread
Next Thread
Print Thread
#132710 09/06/04 11:17 PM
Joined: Jul 2003
Posts: 3,230
sjmaxq Offline OP
Carpal Tunnel
OP Offline
Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Jul 2003
Posts: 3,230
Just reading a web news article on the change at the top of golf's world rankings, I was surprised to see that the writer missed an opportunity. The article pointed out that Vijay Singh's first name means "victory" in Hindi, but missed the chance to play on the fact that Singh means "lion". Given the name of the player he deposed, I was surprised to see that chance for wordplay passed up.


#132711 09/07/04 01:25 AM
Joined: Mar 2000
Posts: 11,613
Carpal Tunnel
Offline
Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Mar 2000
Posts: 11,613
Ah, but they're not native to the same continent.


#132712 09/07/04 01:39 AM
Joined: Jan 2004
Posts: 1,475
J
veteran
Offline
veteran
J
Joined: Jan 2004
Posts: 1,475
Yes, vijaya is Sanskrit for 'victory' or 'contest for victory'; it's from vi 'apart' (possibley from dvi-) + verbal root ji (jayati 'to win, conquor, defeat') < PIE *gwey@- 'to overcome, overpower; force, sway', cf. Greek bia 'power, force', Old English cwìesan 'to bruise, smash', also English quench (with nasal infix).


#132713 09/07/04 01:41 AM
Joined: Jul 2003
Posts: 3,230
sjmaxq Offline OP
Carpal Tunnel
OP Offline
Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Jul 2003
Posts: 3,230
>Not native to the same continent.

Maybe there are no African tigers, but there have long been Asian lions. IIRC, Biblical Hebrew actually uses two different words for lion, one referring specifically to the Asian lion.


#132714 09/07/04 01:59 AM
Joined: Mar 2000
Posts: 11,613
Carpal Tunnel
Offline
Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Mar 2000
Posts: 11,613

#132715 09/07/04 11:11 AM
Joined: Jul 2000
Posts: 3,467
Carpal Tunnel
Offline
Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Jul 2000
Posts: 3,467
And, since Tiger's play has become a bit of a headache for him, you could have had a headline referring to his taking aspirin for it:

Lions and Tigers and Bayers, Oh My.



TEd
#132716 09/07/04 11:22 AM
Joined: Jun 2002
Posts: 7,210
Carpal Tunnel
Offline
Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Jun 2002
Posts: 7,210
Oh My

one of your best, TEd.



formerly known as etaoin...
#132717 09/07/04 02:30 PM
Joined: Sep 2000
Posts: 2,891
B
Carpal Tunnel
Offline
Carpal Tunnel
B
Joined: Sep 2000
Posts: 2,891
Lions and Tigers and Bayers, Oh My.

I love it.

How do you come up with these things? Does it just pop into your head when you read something?

============================================

Max, I think the heading wouldn't have gone over so well since the writer would have had to explain it to everybody. It's like when you have to explain a joke...it loses its hilarity.


#132718 09/07/04 09:24 PM
Joined: Jul 2003
Posts: 3,230
sjmaxq Offline OP
Carpal Tunnel
OP Offline
Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Jul 2003
Posts: 3,230
> It's like when you have to explain a joke...it loses its hilarity.

Indeed. Which is why I regret having to ask someone to explain TEd's "lions, tigers and Bayer's. Oh my" to me. I'm guessing it's a play on an advertising slogan for Bayer pharmaceuticals that I haven't seen before.


#132719 09/07/04 09:48 PM
Joined: Mar 2000
Posts: 6,511
Carpal Tunnel
Offline
Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Mar 2000
Posts: 6,511
Which is why I regret having to ask someone to explain

I guess if you were from Oz and not Zild you wouldn't need splainin.



Moderated by  Jackie 

Link Copied to Clipboard
Forum Statistics
Forums16
Topics13,913
Posts229,322
Members9,182
Most Online3,341
Dec 9th, 2011
Newest Members
Ineffable, ddrinnan, TRIALNERRA, befuddledmind, KILL_YOUR_SUV
9,182 Registered Users
Who's Online Now
0 members (), 466 guests, and 4 robots.
Key: Admin, Global Mod, Mod
Top Posters(30 Days)
Top Posters
wwh 13,858
Faldage 13,803
Jackie 11,613
tsuwm 10,542
wofahulicodoc 10,535
LukeJavan8 9,916
AnnaStrophic 6,511
Wordwind 6,296
of troy 5,400
Disclaimer: Wordsmith.org is not responsible for views expressed on this site. Use of this forum is at your own risk and liability - you agree to hold Wordsmith.org and its associates harmless as a condition of using it.

Home | Today's Word | Yesterday's Word | Subscribe | FAQ | Archives | Search | Feedback
Wordsmith Talk | Wordsmith Chat

© 1994-2024 Wordsmith

Powered by UBB.threads™ PHP Forum Software 7.7.5