What does 'Half-Offeus' mean?
Recently I happened to watch Married With Children Ep 507. In that episode, the dad (Al Bundy) was explaining why he took a header by a granite statue in the wishing pond:
...when I slipped on some wishing-pond slime, and took a header
right into the granite statue of the goddess of the malls: Half-Offeus.
I don't understand what 'half-offeus' means.
Could anybody help me out on this?
meaning
edited Jan 14 at 20:30
Laurel
32.1k660114
asked Jan 14 at 19:58
user331966user331966
361
add a comment |
Recently I happened to watch Married With Children Ep 507. In that episode, the dad (Al Bundy) was explaining why he took a header by a granite statue in the wishing pond:
...when I slipped on some wishing-pond slime, and took a header
right into the granite statue of the goddess of the malls: Half-Offeus.
I don't understand what 'half-offeus' means.
Could anybody help me out on this?
meaning
edited Jan 14 at 20:30
Laurel
32.1k660114
asked Jan 14 at 19:58
user331966user331966
361
4
Hello, and welcome to EL&U. It would be heard as "half-off" (in other words, a discount of 50%) plus eus to make it sound like a god such as Morpheus, or Prometheus. It would be readily understood by a native speaker, but possibly opaque to a non-native speaker.
– Cascabel
Jan 14 at 20:15
1
Note that malls, AKA shopping malls, often have sales, like a half-off sale. So the god of malls might be called "half-offeus".
– Todd Wilcox
Jan 15 at 0:21
add a comment |
Recently I happened to watch Married With Children Ep 507. In that episode, the dad (Al Bundy) was explaining why he took a header by a granite statue in the wishing pond:
...when I slipped on some wishing-pond slime, and took a header
right into the granite statue of the goddess of the malls: Half-Offeus.
I don't understand what 'half-offeus' means.
Could anybody help me out on this?
meaning
edited Jan 14 at 20:30
Laurel
32.1k660114
asked Jan 14 at 19:58
user331966user331966
361
Recently I happened to watch Married With Children Ep 507. In that episode, the dad (Al Bundy) was explaining why he took a header by a granite statue in the wishing pond:
...when I slipped on some wishing-pond slime, and took a header
right into the granite statue of the goddess of the malls: Half-Offeus.
I don't understand what 'half-offeus' means.
Could anybody help me out on this?
meaning
meaning
edited Jan 14 at 20:30
Laurel
32.1k660114
asked Jan 14 at 19:58
user331966user331966
361
edited Jan 14 at 20:30
Laurel
32.1k660114
asked Jan 14 at 19:58
user331966user331966
361
edited Jan 14 at 20:30
Laurel
32.1k660114
edited Jan 14 at 20:30
Laurel
32.1k660114
edited Jan 14 at 20:30
Laurel
32.1k660114
32.1k660114
asked Jan 14 at 19:58
user331966user331966
361
asked Jan 14 at 19:58
user331966user331966
361
asked Jan 14 at 19:58
user331966user331966
361
361
4
Hello, and welcome to EL&U. It would be heard as "half-off" (in other words, a discount of 50%) plus eus to make it sound like a god such as Morpheus, or Prometheus. It would be readily understood by a native speaker, but possibly opaque to a non-native speaker.
– Cascabel
Jan 14 at 20:15
1
Note that malls, AKA shopping malls, often have sales, like a half-off sale. So the god of malls might be called "half-offeus".
– Todd Wilcox
Jan 15 at 0:21
add a comment |
4
Hello, and welcome to EL&U. It would be heard as "half-off" (in other words, a discount of 50%) plus eus to make it sound like a god such as Morpheus, or Prometheus. It would be readily understood by a native speaker, but possibly opaque to a non-native speaker.
– Cascabel
Jan 14 at 20:15
1
Note that malls, AKA shopping malls, often have sales, like a half-off sale. So the god of malls might be called "half-offeus".
– Todd Wilcox
Jan 15 at 0:21
4
4
Hello, and welcome to EL&U. It would be heard as "half-off" (in other words, a discount of 50%) plus eus to make it sound like a god such as Morpheus, or Prometheus. It would be readily understood by a native speaker, but possibly opaque to a non-native speaker.
– Cascabel
Jan 14 at 20:15
Hello, and welcome to EL&U. It would be heard as "half-off" (in other words, a discount of 50%) plus eus to make it sound like a god such as Morpheus, or Prometheus. It would be readily understood by a native speaker, but possibly opaque to a non-native speaker.
– Cascabel
Jan 14 at 20:15
1
1
Note that malls, AKA shopping malls, often have sales, like a half-off sale. So the god of malls might be called "half-offeus".
– Todd Wilcox
Jan 15 at 0:21
Note that malls, AKA shopping malls, often have sales, like a half-off sale. So the god of malls might be called "half-offeus".
– Todd Wilcox
Jan 15 at 0:21
add a comment |
1 Answer
1
active
oldest
votes
Half-Offeus is probably a nonce; in other words, a "one-off", and so impossible to find in a dictionary.
It would be heard as "half-off" (in other words, a discount of 50%) plus eus to make it sound like a god such as Morpheus, or Prometheus. It would be readily understood by a native speaker, but possibly opaque to a non-native speaker.
This is probably an example of productivity in linguistics, a situation in which native speakers use a certain type of creativity (and some intuitive grammatical process) to express new ideas during word formation.
With the exception of schm reduplication and zero-derivation, there is little room for productivity in English, unless you are writing sitcoms for television, or struggling to express something in everyday speech for which there is no adequate word.
answered Jan 14 at 21:07
CascabelCascabel
7,87862756
I know some users will no doubt take exception to my posting an answer on this; I felt it was interesting based on the productivity issue. I have posted one or two thingies on this, and felt it worthwhile.
– Cascabel
Jan 14 at 21:09
1
I’m not sure what you mean exactly by “such productivity” – do you mean productivity of a specific type? If so, which one? There are many processes in English which are completely productive (e.g., zero-derivation).
– Janus Bahs Jacquet
Jan 14 at 21:10
2
@JanusBahsJacquet Thinking it through some more, I think what I meant was this particular type of productivity, that of adding eus to a commonly used word. It is not a recognized form of productivity (as zero-derivation is.)
– Cascabel
Jan 14 at 21:27
2
No, -eus is definitely not productive. But I don’t think there’s anything less productive about English than most other languages. There are lots of productive processes in English; new words can be productively formed in a wide array of ways – no fewer than any other language I can think of. (And it doesn’t really make sense to describe a language as productive: processes are productive, meaning they can be freely applied in circumstances they hadn’t been used in before; that doesn’t apply to a whole language.)
– Janus Bahs Jacquet
Jan 14 at 21:32
3
Prometheus was a Titan, not a god. Perhaps it would be more accurate to claim that the "-eus" suffix evokes Greek mythology in general.
– ApproachingDarknessFish
Jan 14 at 23:16
|
show 10 more comments
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Half-Offeus is probably a nonce; in other words, a "one-off", and so impossible to find in a dictionary.
It would be heard as "half-off" (in other words, a discount of 50%) plus eus to make it sound like a god such as Morpheus, or Prometheus. It would be readily understood by a native speaker, but possibly opaque to a non-native speaker.
This is probably an example of productivity in linguistics, a situation in which native speakers use a certain type of creativity (and some intuitive grammatical process) to express new ideas during word formation.
With the exception of schm reduplication and zero-derivation, there is little room for productivity in English, unless you are writing sitcoms for television, or struggling to express something in everyday speech for which there is no adequate word.
answered Jan 14 at 21:07
CascabelCascabel
7,87862756
I know some users will no doubt take exception to my posting an answer on this; I felt it was interesting based on the productivity issue. I have posted one or two thingies on this, and felt it worthwhile.
– Cascabel
Jan 14 at 21:09
1
I’m not sure what you mean exactly by “such productivity” – do you mean productivity of a specific type? If so, which one? There are many processes in English which are completely productive (e.g., zero-derivation).
– Janus Bahs Jacquet
Jan 14 at 21:10
2
@JanusBahsJacquet Thinking it through some more, I think what I meant was this particular type of productivity, that of adding eus to a commonly used word. It is not a recognized form of productivity (as zero-derivation is.)
– Cascabel
Jan 14 at 21:27
2
No, -eus is definitely not productive. But I don’t think there’s anything less productive about English than most other languages. There are lots of productive processes in English; new words can be productively formed in a wide array of ways – no fewer than any other language I can think of. (And it doesn’t really make sense to describe a language as productive: processes are productive, meaning they can be freely applied in circumstances they hadn’t been used in before; that doesn’t apply to a whole language.)
– Janus Bahs Jacquet
Jan 14 at 21:32
3
Prometheus was a Titan, not a god. Perhaps it would be more accurate to claim that the "-eus" suffix evokes Greek mythology in general.
– ApproachingDarknessFish
Jan 14 at 23:16
|
show 10 more comments
Half-Offeus is probably a nonce; in other words, a "one-off", and so impossible to find in a dictionary.
It would be heard as "half-off" (in other words, a discount of 50%) plus eus to make it sound like a god such as Morpheus, or Prometheus. It would be readily understood by a native speaker, but possibly opaque to a non-native speaker.
This is probably an example of productivity in linguistics, a situation in which native speakers use a certain type of creativity (and some intuitive grammatical process) to express new ideas during word formation.
With the exception of schm reduplication and zero-derivation, there is little room for productivity in English, unless you are writing sitcoms for television, or struggling to express something in everyday speech for which there is no adequate word.
answered Jan 14 at 21:07
CascabelCascabel
7,87862756
I know some users will no doubt take exception to my posting an answer on this; I felt it was interesting based on the productivity issue. I have posted one or two thingies on this, and felt it worthwhile.
– Cascabel
Jan 14 at 21:09
1
I’m not sure what you mean exactly by “such productivity” – do you mean productivity of a specific type? If so, which one? There are many processes in English which are completely productive (e.g., zero-derivation).
– Janus Bahs Jacquet
Jan 14 at 21:10
2
@JanusBahsJacquet Thinking it through some more, I think what I meant was this particular type of productivity, that of adding eus to a commonly used word. It is not a recognized form of productivity (as zero-derivation is.)
– Cascabel
Jan 14 at 21:27
2
No, -eus is definitely not productive. But I don’t think there’s anything less productive about English than most other languages. There are lots of productive processes in English; new words can be productively formed in a wide array of ways – no fewer than any other language I can think of. (And it doesn’t really make sense to describe a language as productive: processes are productive, meaning they can be freely applied in circumstances they hadn’t been used in before; that doesn’t apply to a whole language.)
– Janus Bahs Jacquet
Jan 14 at 21:32
3
Prometheus was a Titan, not a god. Perhaps it would be more accurate to claim that the "-eus" suffix evokes Greek mythology in general.
– ApproachingDarknessFish
Jan 14 at 23:16
|
show 10 more comments
Half-Offeus is probably a nonce; in other words, a "one-off", and so impossible to find in a dictionary.
It would be heard as "half-off" (in other words, a discount of 50%) plus eus to make it sound like a god such as Morpheus, or Prometheus. It would be readily understood by a native speaker, but possibly opaque to a non-native speaker.
This is probably an example of productivity in linguistics, a situation in which native speakers use a certain type of creativity (and some intuitive grammatical process) to express new ideas during word formation.
With the exception of schm reduplication and zero-derivation, there is little room for productivity in English, unless you are writing sitcoms for television, or struggling to express something in everyday speech for which there is no adequate word.
answered Jan 14 at 21:07
CascabelCascabel
7,87862756
Half-Offeus is probably a nonce; in other words, a "one-off", and so impossible to find in a dictionary.
It would be heard as "half-off" (in other words, a discount of 50%) plus eus to make it sound like a god such as Morpheus, or Prometheus. It would be readily understood by a native speaker, but possibly opaque to a non-native speaker.
This is probably an example of productivity in linguistics, a situation in which native speakers use a certain type of creativity (and some intuitive grammatical process) to express new ideas during word formation.
With the exception of schm reduplication and zero-derivation, there is little room for productivity in English, unless you are writing sitcoms for television, or struggling to express something in everyday speech for which there is no adequate word.
answered Jan 14 at 21:07
CascabelCascabel
7,87862756
edited Jan 14 at 21:31
answered Jan 14 at 21:07
CascabelCascabel
7,87862756
answered Jan 14 at 21:07
CascabelCascabel
7,87862756
answered Jan 14 at 21:07
CascabelCascabel
7,87862756
7,87862756
I know some users will no doubt take exception to my posting an answer on this; I felt it was interesting based on the productivity issue. I have posted one or two thingies on this, and felt it worthwhile.
– Cascabel
Jan 14 at 21:09
1
I’m not sure what you mean exactly by “such productivity” – do you mean productivity of a specific type? If so, which one? There are many processes in English which are completely productive (e.g., zero-derivation).
– Janus Bahs Jacquet
Jan 14 at 21:10
2
@JanusBahsJacquet Thinking it through some more, I think what I meant was this particular type of productivity, that of adding eus to a commonly used word. It is not a recognized form of productivity (as zero-derivation is.)
– Cascabel
Jan 14 at 21:27
2
No, -eus is definitely not productive. But I don’t think there’s anything less productive about English than most other languages. There are lots of productive processes in English; new words can be productively formed in a wide array of ways – no fewer than any other language I can think of. (And it doesn’t really make sense to describe a language as productive: processes are productive, meaning they can be freely applied in circumstances they hadn’t been used in before; that doesn’t apply to a whole language.)
– Janus Bahs Jacquet
Jan 14 at 21:32
3
Prometheus was a Titan, not a god. Perhaps it would be more accurate to claim that the "-eus" suffix evokes Greek mythology in general.
– ApproachingDarknessFish
Jan 14 at 23:16
|
show 10 more comments
I know some users will no doubt take exception to my posting an answer on this; I felt it was interesting based on the productivity issue. I have posted one or two thingies on this, and felt it worthwhile.
– Cascabel
Jan 14 at 21:09
1
I’m not sure what you mean exactly by “such productivity” – do you mean productivity of a specific type? If so, which one? There are many processes in English which are completely productive (e.g., zero-derivation).
– Janus Bahs Jacquet
Jan 14 at 21:10
2
@JanusBahsJacquet Thinking it through some more, I think what I meant was this particular type of productivity, that of adding eus to a commonly used word. It is not a recognized form of productivity (as zero-derivation is.)
– Cascabel
Jan 14 at 21:27
2
No, -eus is definitely not productive. But I don’t think there’s anything less productive about English than most other languages. There are lots of productive processes in English; new words can be productively formed in a wide array of ways – no fewer than any other language I can think of. (And it doesn’t really make sense to describe a language as productive: processes are productive, meaning they can be freely applied in circumstances they hadn’t been used in before; that doesn’t apply to a whole language.)
– Janus Bahs Jacquet
Jan 14 at 21:32
3
Prometheus was a Titan, not a god. Perhaps it would be more accurate to claim that the "-eus" suffix evokes Greek mythology in general.
– ApproachingDarknessFish
Jan 14 at 23:16
I know some users will no doubt take exception to my posting an answer on this; I felt it was interesting based on the productivity issue. I have posted one or two thingies on this, and felt it worthwhile.
– Cascabel
Jan 14 at 21:09
I know some users will no doubt take exception to my posting an answer on this; I felt it was interesting based on the productivity issue. I have posted one or two thingies on this, and felt it worthwhile.
– Cascabel
Jan 14 at 21:09
1
1
I’m not sure what you mean exactly by “such productivity” – do you mean productivity of a specific type? If so, which one? There are many processes in English which are completely productive (e.g., zero-derivation).
– Janus Bahs Jacquet
Jan 14 at 21:10
I’m not sure what you mean exactly by “such productivity” – do you mean productivity of a specific type? If so, which one? There are many processes in English which are completely productive (e.g., zero-derivation).
– Janus Bahs Jacquet
Jan 14 at 21:10
2
2
@JanusBahsJacquet Thinking it through some more, I think what I meant was this particular type of productivity, that of adding eus to a commonly used word. It is not a recognized form of productivity (as zero-derivation is.)
– Cascabel
Jan 14 at 21:27
@JanusBahsJacquet Thinking it through some more, I think what I meant was this particular type of productivity, that of adding eus to a commonly used word. It is not a recognized form of productivity (as zero-derivation is.)
– Cascabel
Jan 14 at 21:27
2
2
No, -eus is definitely not productive. But I don’t think there’s anything less productive about English than most other languages. There are lots of productive processes in English; new words can be productively formed in a wide array of ways – no fewer than any other language I can think of. (And it doesn’t really make sense to describe a language as productive: processes are productive, meaning they can be freely applied in circumstances they hadn’t been used in before; that doesn’t apply to a whole language.)
– Janus Bahs Jacquet
Jan 14 at 21:32
No, -eus is definitely not productive. But I don’t think there’s anything less productive about English than most other languages. There are lots of productive processes in English; new words can be productively formed in a wide array of ways – no fewer than any other language I can think of. (And it doesn’t really make sense to describe a language as productive: processes are productive, meaning they can be freely applied in circumstances they hadn’t been used in before; that doesn’t apply to a whole language.)
– Janus Bahs Jacquet
Jan 14 at 21:32
3
3
Prometheus was a Titan, not a god. Perhaps it would be more accurate to claim that the "-eus" suffix evokes Greek mythology in general.
– ApproachingDarknessFish
Jan 14 at 23:16
Prometheus was a Titan, not a god. Perhaps it would be more accurate to claim that the "-eus" suffix evokes Greek mythology in general.
– ApproachingDarknessFish
Jan 14 at 23:16
|
show 10 more comments
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4
Hello, and welcome to EL&U. It would be heard as "half-off" (in other words, a discount of 50%) plus eus to make it sound like a god such as Morpheus, or Prometheus. It would be readily understood by a native speaker, but possibly opaque to a non-native speaker.
– Cascabel
Jan 14 at 20:15
1
Note that malls, AKA shopping malls, often have sales, like a half-off sale. So the god of malls might be called "half-offeus".
– Todd Wilcox
Jan 15 at 0:21