Wordsmith.org: the magic of words

Wordsmith Talk

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

Previous Thread
Next Thread
Print Thread
#70929 05/23/02 01:38 AM
Joined: Jan 2001
Posts: 13,858
W
wwh Offline OP
Carpal Tunnel
OP Offline
Carpal Tunnel
W
Joined: Jan 2001
Posts: 13,858
Hebephrenic: a condition of adolescent silliness. Remember his inappropriate grin?


#70930 05/24/02 09:25 AM
Joined: Sep 2001
Posts: 6,296
W
Carpal Tunnel
Offline
Carpal Tunnel
W
Joined: Sep 2001
Posts: 6,296
Hebephrenics in action:

A child farts in the classroom while the class listens to an exquisite excerpt from Beethoven's 9th symphony. The resultant reaction from the rest of his classmates is hebephrenic, if hebephrenic can be used as an adjective.

Hmmmm, pipe bomber is curiously appropriate here.


#70931 05/24/02 09:31 AM
Joined: Sep 2001
Posts: 6,296
W
Carpal Tunnel
Offline
Carpal Tunnel
W
Joined: Sep 2001
Posts: 6,296
Well, smack my face and call me Sally. Look at this definition:

1. hebephrenic adj Suffering from a form of schizophrenia characterized by foolish mannerisms and senseless laughter along with delusions and regressive behavior; Synonyms: schizophrenic

http://ultralingua.net/dictionary/index.php3?letters=hebephrenic

That definitely wipes out my application to the elementary music classroom above!


#70932 05/24/02 01:41 PM
Joined: Jan 2001
Posts: 13,858
W
wwh Offline OP
Carpal Tunnel
OP Offline
Carpal Tunnel
W
Joined: Jan 2001
Posts: 13,858
Dear WW: No indeed. Hebephrenia does not have to be pathological, though it often is.


#70933 06/13/02 08:31 PM
Joined: Aug 2001
Posts: 10,510
Likes: 1
W
Carpal Tunnel
Offline
Carpal Tunnel
W
Joined: Aug 2001
Posts: 10,510
Likes: 1
Does the name "Alfred E Neuman" ring any bells?


#70934 06/14/02 03:43 PM
Joined: Mar 2002
Posts: 1,692
D
dxb Offline
Pooh-Bah
Offline
Pooh-Bah
D
Joined: Mar 2002
Posts: 1,692
Stems from Greek, hebe = youth. Hebe was also cup-bearer to the gods - was she noted for her youth? Not a medical question, just wondering. Forgive me!

dxb.


#70935 06/14/02 03:59 PM
Joined: Jan 2001
Posts: 13,858
W
wwh Offline OP
Carpal Tunnel
OP Offline
Carpal Tunnel
W
Joined: Jan 2001
Posts: 13,858
Dear wofahulicodoc: Alfred E. Newman of Mad Magazine looks to me more like room temperature IQ than hebeprhrenic, which ususally has a distinctive inappropriateness in the facial expression.


#70936 06/14/02 04:02 PM
Joined: Jan 2001
Posts: 13,858
W
wwh Offline OP
Carpal Tunnel
OP Offline
Carpal Tunnel
W
Joined: Jan 2001
Posts: 13,858
Dear dxb: I suspect that Hebe was the role model, so that her name was applied to the type. I thought Zeus preferred male cup bearers. Divine deviation. Yuk.


#70937 06/14/02 04:28 PM
Joined: Mar 2002
Posts: 1,692
D
dxb Offline
Pooh-Bah
Offline
Pooh-Bah
D
Joined: Mar 2002
Posts: 1,692
Dear wwh,

Not sure of all his proclivities, but Zeus was married to Hera and seems to have enjoyed Leda and also Nemesis, by one or other of which he became father to Helen of Troy, supposedly hatched from an egg (swan egg?). Maybe he simply felt a godlike disdain for minor physiological differences.

dxb



Moderated by  Jackie 

Link Copied to Clipboard
Forum Statistics
Forums16
Topics13,912
Posts229,283
Members9,179
Most Online3,341
Dec 9th, 2011
Newest Members
TRIALNERRA, befuddledmind, KILL_YOUR_SUV, Heather_Turey, Standy
9,179 Registered Users
Who's Online Now
0 members (), 444 guests, and 3 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 10,510
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