Words/phrases you learned from musicals?

[jpbran]

Posted: 4/20/08 at 12:00am

With geniuses like Sondheim and J.R. Brown writing clever and meaningful lyrics, surely you've become familiar with a "new" word thanks to a lyricist.

Examples for me (mostly from high school when I started listening to cast recordings) include:

Assuage: Sweeney Todd
Ablutions: Sweeney Todd
Capricious: Aspects of Love
Tsurrus: Last Five Years (my most recent de-ignorant-ing)

Yours?



Updated On: 4/20/08 at 12:00 AM

[jpbran]

Posted: 4/20/08 at 12:10am

ALSO:

Edited to add "phrases."

I'd never heard "at sixes and sevens" before I first heard Evita in high school. There are others, but it's late and we just got back from a wedding.

(PS- I also learned "safe as houses" from a Depeche Mode song. Wasn't too familiar with many Britishisms before British music and BBC shows.)

[Yero my Hero]

Posted: 4/20/08 at 1:22am

illin' - RENT (not to mention countless street names for heroin)

calumnies - WICKED (it was one of my GRE words, but the lyric helped me remember it)

[roseaddams]

Posted: 4/20/08 at 1:44am

I'ma - from Little Shop of Horrors. "I'ma run down to Schmendrik's, get somethin' to eat."

[SpellingBeeFan4Ever]

Posted: 4/20/08 at 2:07am

Spelling Bee

Lugubrious
Hasenpheffer

and MANY others. I stmpped people at hangman when I was in 6th grade. I wanted to see who would fall for it.

[Midnight Radio]

Posted: 4/20/08 at 2:20am

Oh, Snapeth.
Huzzah!
True dat, sister Clio.
Bitch, I don't know your life.

Not a day goes by without a Xanadu line working into my vocab...

[LePetiteFromage]

Posted: 4/20/08 at 2:27am

Updated On: 5/6/09 at 02:27 AM

[oohshizz146]

Posted: 4/20/08 at 2:40am

Really interesting thread! Unfortunetaly I cant think of any now...

But I will think of a million the day it comes out

[bwybuff87]

Posted: 4/20/08 at 2:42am

no good deed goes unpunished. "Wicked"

[BDrischBDemented]

Posted: 4/20/08 at 3:20am

The Music Man has given me "Jeely Kly", "Great Honk" and "phraseology".

[Eris0303]

Posted: 4/20/08 at 4:07am

I say "phraseology" quite often myself

[Eris0303]

Posted: 4/20/08 at 4:09am

Sorry...board hiccup caused a double post

Updated On: 4/20/08 at 04:09 AM

[broadwayrules]

Posted: 4/20/08 at 9:34am

Schadenfreude

[Weez]

Posted: 4/20/08 at 9:38am

When people invite me to a social gathering I'd rather not attend but have no valid excuse to avoid, I have been known to refuse by saying "I have to finish the hat". It's nice to have an excuse that sounds plausible if you're not listening properly, or too implausible to question if you are. ^_^

Also I never came across the words crepuscule/crepuscular before Spelling Bee, now they're everywhere!

[Kasie]

Posted: 4/20/08 at 9:49am

I too find myself saying "phraseology" a lot. And whenever I say 15 minutes, I have to say it exactly like Robert Preston...Fiffftteeeen minutes.

Also, I've always thought that "jugie boogy boy" was an interesting word choice for drugs.(Rent)

[bwaymizfit]

Posted: 4/20/08 at 9:56am

Imagine my extreme happiness when the first analogy on the SAT involved the word "garish."

[jpbran]

Posted: 4/20/08 at 9:58am

That's funny-- I didn't learn the word 'schadenfreude' from Ave Q, but I did finally learn how to pronounce it correctly.

[Weez]

Posted: 4/20/08 at 10:13am

Avenue Q helped me learn how to spell schadenfreude. Lots of musicals are helpful for spelling; I can also do supercalifragilisticexpialidocious and pretty much anything from Spelling Bee. :3

[hermionejuliet]

Posted: 4/20/08 at 10:22am

I learned about lots of people/things from La Vie Boheme. When I first heard the song (11 years ago or so), I basically had no idea about anyone/anything mentioned in this song--- I quite innocent the first time I saw the show. As I finished high school and college, I came across the names one by one in my educational/real life experience. And said more than once --- "hey, that's in Rent!" Rent is definitely a show you can grow with.

[Unknown User]

Posted: 4/20/08 at 1:34pm

Wicked- Festivate, Outuendo and so many more.

[LePetiteFromage]

Posted: 4/20/08 at 1:38pm

Updated On: 5/6/09 at 01:38 PM

[LizzieCurry]

Posted: 4/20/08 at 1:42pm

I can't think of any actual words or phrases, but I did learn most of my Bible stories thanks to ALW.

[DG]

Posted: 4/20/08 at 1:44pm

"Damn, damn, damn, damn, DAMN!" - MY FAIR LADY

I used to stand in front of the stereo 'conducting' the soundtrack when I was four - and saying this line along with Mr. Harrison was my favorite part.

[oohshizz146]

Posted: 4/20/08 at 1:48pm

schaudenfraude- avenue q =)

[AStack75]

Posted: 4/20/08 at 2:06pm

Ecdysiast....Gypsy.

"Assuage: Sweeney Todd"
That's also in Candide in Glitter and Be Gay.
Updated On: 4/20/08 at 02:06 PM