# "Helen Highwater" **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [June 4, 2020, 4:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/helen-highwater/855025 "2020-06-04T04:47:52Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![terentii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terentii/32/212_2.png) [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2020, 9:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/helen-highwater/855025/41 "2020-06-07T21:36:36Z")
> [@Loach](#): > > In a previous life I had to frequently speak by phone to someone in our German branch named Michael Hunt. Although his English was impeccable I don’t know if he knew how his name has been used in English. Mike Rotch comes in a close second, I think. ---
**Author:** ![terentii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terentii/32/212_2.png) [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2020, 9:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/helen-highwater/855025/42 "2020-06-07T21:47:23Z")
Come to think of it, I once worked with a British gentleman who had the surname “Bone.” I won’t write his given name here either, but it suffices to say that the average schoolboy would erupt in giggles if he heard it. ---
**Author:** ![GuanoLad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guanolad/32/42_2.png) [@GuanoLad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GuanoLad)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2020, 1:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/helen-highwater/855025/43 "2020-06-08T01:03:19Z")
> [@SciFiSam](#): > > Mork and Mindy once had guest characters called Mr and Mrs Wanker. I know that’s a real surname and the swearword wasn’t widely known in the US at the time, but the way Mindy repeatedly enunciated Mr Wanker with great emphasis makes me think the writers knew full well what they were doing. Undoubtedly. Robin Williams would have been a school of British comedy at that time in his life, for certain. He was great friends with Billy Connolly too, not sure when that relationship formed though. _Married With Children_ also had the Wanker triplets appear a few times, I think they were Peg’s cousins. ---
**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2020, 2:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/helen-highwater/855025/44 "2020-06-08T02:44:09Z")
Goldfinger’s first name was “Auric,” which is close to the Latin word for “gold” (aurum). The National Lampoon High School Yearbook Parody has dozens of punny names as the names of underclassmen. A 19th century political commentator used the name of “Orpheus C. Kerr” (office seeker) for his columns. ---
**Author:** ![GuanoLad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guanolad/32/42_2.png) [@GuanoLad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GuanoLad)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2020, 2:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/helen-highwater/855025/45 "2020-06-08T02:56:00Z")
> [@GuanoLad](#): > > _Married With Children_ also had the Wanker triplets appear a few times, I think they were Peg’s cousins. Actually, now that I think about it, that was surely because it was Peg’s maiden name. ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2020, 3:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/helen-highwater/855025/46 "2020-06-08T03:29:15Z")
> [@GuanoLad](#): > > Actually, now that I think about it, that was surely because it was Peg’s maiden name. Maybe not, and don’t call me Shirley. ---
**Author:** ![SciFiSam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/47e85d/32.png) [@SciFiSam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SciFiSam)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2020, 8:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/helen-highwater/855025/47 "2020-06-08T20:11:46Z")
If we’re talking real-life amusing names too, one that’s currently in the news is the Commissioner of the Metropolitan Police (London), whose name is Cressida Dick. A previous met commissioner was called Paul Condon. Perhaps they became senior cops as a result of a sort of Boy Named Sue toughening up. > [@GuanoLad](#): > > Undoubtedly. Robin Williams would have been a school of British comedy at that time in his life, for certain. He was great friends with Billy Connolly too, not sure when that relationship formed though. > > _Married With Children_ also had the Wanker triplets appear a few times, I think they were Peg’s cousins. Yeah, Williams would have know for sure. ---
**Author:** ![Limmin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/f04885/32.png) [@Limmin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Limmin)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2020, 8:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/helen-highwater/855025/48 "2020-06-08T20:57:08Z")
I’ve always wondered about this character in War and Peace: Zherkov You see, his behavior is actually that of a jerkoff. Could this character name be the origin of that word? Or a coincidence? Or a strange cross-cultural joke (funny in both Russian and English)? Enquiring minds want to know… ---
**Author:** ![terentii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terentii/32/212_2.png) [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2020, 10:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/helen-highwater/855025/49 "2020-06-08T22:15:58Z")
I doubt it. The Russian verb is _drochit’_ (дрочить), as I once found out to my embarrassment. The rocket scientist in _ **Flesh Gordon** _ was, however, named “Flexi Jerkoff” (after Dr Hans Zarkov in _ **Flash Gordon** _), so maybe there is a connection. ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2020, 11:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/helen-highwater/855025/50 "2020-06-08T23:59:34Z")
Mad Magazine’s version, from Issue #11 was Dr. Zark. Noah Zark. ---
**Author:** ![terentii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terentii/32/212_2.png) [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\ **Post date:** [June 9, 2020, 12:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/helen-highwater/855025/51 "2020-06-09T00:27:00Z")
My ex, who is both Russian and a fellow linguist, says that neither Zherkov nor its apparent root have any meaning she’s aware of. Sorry about that. ☹ I’m wondering if maybe it’s derived from French? :dubious: ---
**Author:** ![terentii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terentii/32/212_2.png) [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\ **Post date:** [June 29, 2020, 9:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/helen-highwater/855025/52 "2020-06-29T21:54:25Z")
The latest name I caught on _ **Doc Martin** _ was “Darrell Hannah,” for a boy. It seems the Doc usually says them when he’s calling in his next patient. ---
**Author:** ![peccavi](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/peccavi/32/388_2.png) [@peccavi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/peccavi)\ **Post date:** [June 29, 2020, 10:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/helen-highwater/855025/53 "2020-06-29T22:07:03Z")
One of the first “name puns” I was aware of was in a diner our family ate at every once in a while when I was a child. During one visit, I noticed a sign taped to the cash register: > Cash Only - Our accounts manager is Helen Waite. So if you need to pay by check, go to Helen Waite. (It was the 60’s, so forget about credit cards in a small diner in rural California) 🤭 ---
**Author:** ![zbuzz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/e19b73/32.png) [@zbuzz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zbuzz)\ **Post date:** [June 30, 2020, 4:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/helen-highwater/855025/54 "2020-06-30T04:53:16Z")
> [@terentii](#): > > The latest name I caught on _ **Doc Martin** _ was “Darrell Hannah,” for a boy. It seems the Doc usually says them when he’s calling in his next patient. If you’re on season 9, you’ve already missed a few. ---
**Author:** ![lobotomyboy63](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lobotomyboy63/32/2900_2.png) [@lobotomyboy63](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lobotomyboy63)\ **Post date:** [June 30, 2020, 5:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/helen-highwater/855025/55 "2020-06-30T05:44:42Z")
> [@Loach](#): > > In a previous life I had to frequently speak by phone to someone in our German branch named Michael Hunt. Although his English was impeccable I don’t know if he knew how his name has been used in English. The guy on “Man, Woman, Wild” is Mykel Hawke. > **[Man, Woman, Wild](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Man,_Woman,_Wild)** > > Man, Woman, Wild was a cable television reality series which originally aired on the Discovery Channel from July 2010 to January 2012. The show features former US Army Special Forces survival expert Mykel Hawke, and his television journalist wife, Ruth England, who have to survive for a half-week with limited supplies in wild and inhospitable locations around the world. > The show focuses on Hawke teaching his wife various survival skills such as starting fire without the aid of modern implement... Armand Joy. Biff Wellington. Scott Schtape. The possibilities are endless. ---
**Author:** ![terentii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terentii/32/212_2.png) [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\ **Post date:** [July 1, 2020, 3:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/helen-highwater/855025/56 "2020-07-01T03:54:18Z")
Tonight’s patient name: “Iona Castle.” ---
**Author:** ![Maserschmidt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/maserschmidt/32/18829_2.png) [@Maserschmidt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Maserschmidt)\ **Post date:** [July 1, 2020, 4:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/helen-highwater/855025/57 "2020-07-01T04:01:56Z")
I used to work with an guy named Richard Steele, and he went by Dick Steele. I never once heard anybody make a joke. One of the great philanthropists who gave money to the University of Texas had a daughter named Ima Hogg, and her name is on a building there. ETA - actually, the story as I heard it at school was wrong, the money looks to have been hers. Quite the interesting life she led! > **[Ima Hogg](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ima_Hogg)** > > Pages for logged out editors learn more > > > > Ima Hogg (July 10, 1882 – August 19, 1975), known as "The First Lady of Texas", was an American society leader, philanthropist, mental health advocate, patron and collector of the arts, and one of the most respected women in Texas during the 20th century. Hogg was an avid art collector, and owned works by Picasso, Klee, and Matisse, among others. Hogg donated hundreds of pieces of artwork to Houston's Museum of Fine Arts and served on a committee... ---
**Author:** ![Dendarii\_Dame](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/bbce88/32.png) [@Dendarii\_Dame](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dendarii_Dame)\ **Post date:** [July 1, 2020, 8:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/helen-highwater/855025/58 "2020-07-01T20:18:02Z")
I just reread a Perry Mason mystery, The Case of the Ice-Cold Hands. The murder is committed because the victim had discovered he’d been stolen from. The murderer’s name? Larsen E. Halstead. I can’t believe I missed that when I read the book back in high school. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_Q](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/898d66/32.png) [@Johnny\_Q](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_Q)\ **Post date:** [July 2, 2020, 1:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/helen-highwater/855025/59 "2020-07-02T01:26:35Z")
Of course the Perry Mason name that truly fits the topic is Hamilton Burger. The kids must’ve been cruel. ---
**Author:** ![terentii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terentii/32/212_2.png) [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2020, 1:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/helen-highwater/855025/60 "2020-07-03T01:41:21Z")
Tonight’s patient name: “Nick de Silva.” [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/helen-highwater/855025.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/helen-highwater/855025.md?page=4)