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Al Kelly
Abraham Kalish (December 18, 1896, – September 7, 1966), known by the stage name Al Kelly, was an American vaudeville comedian. Kelly was known as a double-talk artist, and went on to stooge for other comedians such as Willie Howard and Ernie Kovacs. Near the end of his life, he made occasional appearances on '' The Soupy Sales Show'' when it was based in New York. Biography Kelly was born in Kreva, Russian Empire (now Belarus), the eldest of six children of Max and Gelle (Mary) Kalish. The family immigrated to the United States in 1906. His younger siblings were Benjamin, Isidore, Israel, Fannie, and Annie. His parents both worked in the garment industry.''New York, U.S., State and Federal Naturalization Records, 1794–1943'' Kelly started in an act called ''Nine Crazy Kids'', then started performing comic monologues. Early in his career, he performed largely in the Borscht Belt. When he was performing this stand-up comedy in the 1930s, he fluffed a joke so that it cam ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Doublespeak
Doublespeak is language that deliberately obscures, disguises, distorts, or reverses the meaning of words. Doublespeak may take the form of euphemisms (e.g., "downsizing" for layoffs and "servicing the target" for bombing), in which case it is primarily meant to make the truth sound more palatable. It may also refer to intentional ambiguity in language or to actual inversions of meaning. In such cases, doublespeak disguises the nature of the truth. Doublespeak is most closely associated with political language used by large entities such as corporations and governments. Origins and concepts The term ''doublespeak'' derives from two concepts in George Orwell's novel, ''Nineteen Eighty-Four'', "doublethink" and "Newspeak", despite the term itself not being used in the novel. Another version of the term, ''doubletalk'', also referring to intentionally ambiguous speech, did exist at the time Orwell wrote his book, but the usage of ''doublespeak'', as well as of "doubletalk", in t ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Doublethink
Doublethink is a process of indoctrination in which subjects are expected to simultaneously accept two conflicting beliefs as truth, often at odds with their own memory or sense of reality. Doublethink is related to, but differs from, hypocrisy. George Orwell coined the term '' doublethink'' as part of the fictional language of Newspeak in his 1949 dystopian novel '' Nineteen Eighty-Four''.Orwell, George. 1949. ''Nineteen Eighty-Four''. London: Martin Secker & Warburg Ltd. In the novel, its origins within the citizenry are unclear; while it could be partly a product of Big Brother's formal brainwashing programmes,Such as, for example, the seemingly formal brainwashing programme that broke Winston Smith. the novel explicitly shows people learning doublethink and Newspeak due to peer pressure and a desire to "fit in", or gain status within the Party—to be seen as a loyal Party Member. In the novel, for someone to even recognize—let alone mention—any contradiction within ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Gibberish
Gibberish, also known as jibber-jabber or gobbledygook, is speech that is (or appears to be) nonsense: ranging across speech sounds that are not actual words, pseudowords, language games and specialized jargon that seems nonsensical to outsiders. "Gibberish" is also used as an imprecation to denigrate or tar ideas or opinions the user disagrees with or finds irksome, a rough equivalent of "nonsense", " folderol", "balderdash", or " claptrap". The implication is that the criticized expression or proposition lacks substance or congruence, as opposed to being a differing view. The related word ''jibber-jabber'' refers to rapid talk that is difficult to understand. Etymology The etymology of ''gibberish'' is uncertain. The term was seen in English in the early 16th century. It is generally thought to be an onomatopoeia imitative of speech, similar to the words ''jabber'' (to talk rapidly) and ''gibber'' (to speak inarticulately). It may originate from the word '' jib'', w ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Nonsense
Nonsense is a form of communication, via speech, writing, or any other formal logic system, that lacks any coherent meaning. In ordinary usage, nonsense is sometimes synonymous with absurdity or the ridiculous. Many poets, novelists and songwriters have used nonsense in their works, often creating entire works using it for reasons ranging from pure comic amusement or satire, to illustrating a point about language or reasoning. In the philosophy of language and philosophy of science, nonsense is distinguished from sense or meaningfulness, and attempts have been made to come up with a coherent and consistent method of distinguishing sense from nonsense. It is also an important field of study in cryptography regarding separating a signal from noise. Literary The phrase " Colorless green ideas sleep furiously" was coined by Noam Chomsky as an example of nonsense. However, this can easily be confused with poetic symbolism. The individual ''words'' make sense and are arranged ac ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Charlie Chaplin
Sir Charles Spencer Chaplin (16 April 188925 December 1977) was an English comic actor, filmmaker, and composer who rose to fame in the era of silent film. He became a worldwide icon through his screen persona, the Tramp, and is considered one of the film industry's most important figures. His career spanned more than 75 years, from his childhood in the Victorian era until a year before his death in 1977, and encompassed both accolade and controversy. Chaplin's childhood in London was one of poverty and hardship. His father was absent and his mother struggled financiallyhe was sent to a workhouse twice before the age of nine. When he was 14, his mother was committed to a mental asylum. Chaplin began performing at an early age, touring music halls and later working as a stage actor and comedian. At 19, he was signed to the Fred Karno company, which took him to the United States. He was scouted for the film industry and began appearing in 1914 for Keystone Studios. He soon intr ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Comedy
Comedy is a genre of dramatic works intended to be humorous or amusing by inducing laughter, especially in theatre, film, stand-up comedy, television, radio, books, or any other entertainment medium. Origins Comedy originated in ancient Greece: in Athenian democracy, the public opinion of voters was influenced by political satire performed by comic poets in Ancient Greek theatre, theaters. The theatrical genre of Greek comedy can be described as a dramatic performance pitting two groups, ages, genders, or societies against each other in an amusing ''agon'' or conflict. Northrop Frye depicted these two opposing sides as a "Society of Youth" and a "Society of the Old". A revised view characterizes the essential agon of comedy as a struggle between a relatively powerless youth and the societal conventions posing obstacles to his hopes. In this struggle, the youth then becomes constrained by his lack of social authority, and is left with little choice but to resort to ruses which e ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Technobabble
Technobabble (a portmanteau of ''technology'' and ''babble''), also called technospeak, is a type of nonsense that consists of buzzwords, esoteric language, or technical jargon. It is common in science fiction. Use of technobabble in the ''Star Trek'' universe is referred to treknobabble. See also * Academese * Bullshit * Bogdanov affair * Dihydrogen monoxide parody * Flux capacitor * Fedspeak * Neologism * Officialese * Psychobabble * Reverse the polarity * Rubber science * Sokal affair * Turbo encabulator * Pseudoscience Pseudoscience consists of statements, beliefs, or practices that claim to be both scientific and factual but are incompatible with the scientific method. Pseudoscience is often characterized by contradictory, exaggerated or unfalsifiable cl ... References External links Technology Column called TechnobabbleTechnobabble Generators* * * Jargon Science fiction terminology Nonsense {{Term-stub ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious
"Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious" () is a song and single from the 1964 Disney musical film ''Mary Poppins''. It was written by the Sherman Brothers, and sung by Julie Andrews and Dick Van Dyke. It also appears in the 2004 stage show version. Because ''Mary Poppins'' was a period piece set in 1910, songs that sounded similar to songs of the period were wanted. The movie version finished at #36 in AFI's 100 Years...100 Songs survey of top tunes in American cinema. Story context The song occurs in the chalk-drawing outing animated sequence, just after Mary Poppins wins a horse race. Flush with her victory, she is immediately surrounded by reporters who pepper her with questions and suggest that she is at a loss for words. Mary disagrees, saying that at least one word is appropriate for the situation, and begins the song with this very word. Word meaning and general origin The word is a compound word, and said by Richard Lederer in his book ''Crazy English'' to be made up ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Prisencolinensinainciusol
"Prisencolinensinainciusol" (; stylized on the single cover as "PRİSENCÓLİNENSİNÁİNCIÚSOL") is a song composed by the Italian singer Adriano Celentano, and performed by Celentano and his wife Claudia Mori. It was released as a single in 1972. Both the name of the song and its lyrics are gibberish, but are intended to represent what American English sounds like to people who do not understand English. The song charted in several European countries. Background By the 1960s, Celentano was already one of the most popular Rock music, rock musicians in Italy, in large part due to his appearance at the Sanremo Music Festival in 1960 and the subsequent success of his song "24.000 baci". Martina Tanga writes that his artistic persona was characterised by "loud lyrics and inelegant body movements", which differentiated him from other singers of the time. Paolo Prato describes his style as "a bit of Elvis, a bit of Jerry Lewis, a bit of folk singer". "Prisencolinensinainciusol" w ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Jabberwocky
"Jabberwocky" is a Nonsense verse, nonsense poem written by Lewis Carroll about the killing of a creature named "the Jabberwock". It was included in his 1871 novel ''Through the Looking-Glass'', the sequel to ''Alice's Adventures in Wonderland'' (1865). The book tells of Alice's adventures within the Parallel universes in fiction, back-to-front world of the Looking-Glass world. In an early scene in which she first encounters the chess piece characters White King (Through the Looking-Glass), White King and White Queen (Through the Looking-Glass), White Queen, Alice finds a book written in a seemingly unintelligible language. Realising that she is travelling through an inverted world, she recognises that the verses on the pages are written in mirror writing. She holds a mirror to one of the poems and reads the reflected verse of "Jabberwocky". She finds the nonsense verse as puzzling as the odd land she has passed into, later revealed as a dreamscape. "Jabberwocky" is considered ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Bloviation
Bloviation is a style of empty, pompous, political speech. The word originated in Ohio and was most notably used by Warren G. Harding in his successful 1920 US presidential campaign. He subsequently described it as "the art of speaking for as long as the occasion warrants, and saying nothing". His opponent, William Gibbs McAdoo, compared it to "an army of pompous phrases moving over the landscape in search of an idea." Origin Bloviation in Ohio was originally idle chatter. As a form of political speech, it appears in the ''Debates and Proceedings of the Convention for the Revision of the State of Ohio'' in the mid 19th century. One etymology suggests that the word is a "compound of blow, in its sense of 'to boast' (also in another typical Americanism, ''blowhard''), with a mock-Latin ending to give it the self-important stature implicit in its meaning." Gamalielese H. L. Mencken lampooned Harding's bloviate style as gamalielese, from his middle name of Gamaliel. He complain ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
