# Instances of life intentionally imitating art **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [April 24, 2023, 3:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/instances-of-life-intentionally-imitating-art/983116 "2023-04-24T15:31:42Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2023, 7:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/instances-of-life-intentionally-imitating-art/983116/41 "2023-04-24T19:47:15Z")
Not sure if it quite qualifies as art, but in the genre of words like embiggen and cromulent, President Bush the Elder was a fertile source of novel coinages that have crept into the lexicon. With some still in use today. My personal favorite is “misunderestimate”. As “My opponents misunderestimate me at their peril.” I use it, I use it as Bush intended it to mean, and I’m totally imitating him. I’m not alone in doing so. Is politics a form of performance art? Many of his other novel malapropisms have fallen by the wayside, but this one seems to have staying power. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/the_other_waldo_pepper/32/12370_2.png) [@The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Other_Waldo_Pepper)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2023, 7:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/instances-of-life-intentionally-imitating-art/983116/42 "2023-04-24T19:52:54Z")
> [@](#): > > President Bush the Elder was a fertile source of novel coinages that have crept into the lexicon. With some still in use today. > > My personal favorite is “misunderestimate”. As “My opponents misunderestimate me at their peril.” Wasn’t that Bush the _Younger?_ ---
**Author:** ![Q.Q.Switcheroo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/q.q.switcheroo/32/5713_2.png) [@Q.Q.Switcheroo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Q.Q.Switcheroo)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2023, 7:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/instances-of-life-intentionally-imitating-art/983116/43 "2023-04-24T19:54:26Z")
Another example from “The Simpsons”: Albuquerque’s minor league baseball team was named the “Isotopes” after an episode where the Springfield Isotopes were planning a move to Albuquerque. ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2023, 8:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/instances-of-life-intentionally-imitating-art/983116/44 "2023-04-24T20:16:19Z")
> [@The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](#): > > > [@](#): > > > > President Bush the Elder was a fertile source of novel coinages that have crept into the lexicon. With some still in use today. > > > > My personal favorite is “misunderestimate”. As “My opponents misunderestimate me at their peril.” > > Wasn’t that Bush the _Younger?_ You are totally right and I was totally wrong. Thank you. There’s even a wiki on Shrub’s … novel … take on the ~~English~~ American language: > **[Bushism](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bushism)** > > Bushisms are unconventional statements, phrases, pronunciations, possible Freudian slips, malapropisms, misfired attempts at sarcasm, as well as semantic or linguistic errors in the public speaking of former President of the United States George W. Bush. The term Bushism has become part of popular folklore and is the basis of a number of websites and published books. It is often used to caricature the former president. Common characteristics include malapropisms, the creation of neologisms, Bu... Although I _think_ I recall Bush the Elder being good at some impenetrable malformulations as well. ---
**Author:** ![mbh](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a6a055/32.png) [@mbh](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mbh)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2023, 9:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/instances-of-life-intentionally-imitating-art/983116/45 "2023-04-24T21:59:46Z")
Gangsters were imitating movies long before _The Godfather_. When Edward G. Robinson played crimelords, the costume designers dressed him in an aggressive, alpha-male style: double-breasted suits with shoulder pads, wide lapels, and strongly-contrasting pinstripes. Also, hats with a slightly taller crown, and a slightly wider brim, than most people were wearing. Police reported real-world gangsters imitating the style. The black-shirt-and-white-necktie combo was another style invented for Hollywood gangsters (most famously, Richard Widmark’s character in _Kiss of Death_), then imitated by real-life gangsters (most famously, “Crazy Joe” Gallo). ---
**Author:** ![hogarth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hogarth/32/1773_2.png) [@hogarth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hogarth)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2023, 5:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/instances-of-life-intentionally-imitating-art/983116/46 "2023-04-25T05:02:55Z")
> [@CaveMike](#): > > And similarly Wendy from **Peter Pan** And Cedric from **Ivanhoe**. > **[Cedric](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cedric)** > > Cedric (/ˈsɛdrɪk/) is a given name invented by Walter Scott in the 1819 novel Ivanhoe. > The invented name is based on Cerdic, the name of a 6th-century Anglo-Saxon king (itself from Brittonic Coroticus). > The name was not popularly used until the children's book Little Lord Fauntleroy by Frances Hodgson Burnett was published in 1885 to 1886, the protagonist of which is called Cedric Errol. The book was highly successful, causing a fashion trend in children's formal dress in America and populariz... ---
**Author:** ![TheGunIsMightierThanThePen](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thegunismightierthanthepen/32/2981_2.png) [@TheGunIsMightierThanThePen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TheGunIsMightierThanThePen)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2023, 5:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/instances-of-life-intentionally-imitating-art/983116/47 "2023-04-25T05:23:41Z")
The opening scene of the 2015 James Bond film _Spectre_ features a then-fictional parade in Mexico City for the _Día de los Muertos_ (Day of the Dead) holiday. However, inspired by the film, in 2016 Mexico City decided to stage a real parade for _Día de los Muertos_, which is a tradition that, as far as I could find online, still continues to this day. > **[Mexico City stages first Day of the Dead parade](https://www.bbc.com/news/world-latin-america-37813562)** > > Mexico City holds its first Day of the Dead parade, inspired by scenes from the latest James Bond film, Spectre. ---
**Author:** ![markn\_1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f9ae1b/32.png) [@markn\_1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/markn_1)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2023, 5:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/instances-of-life-intentionally-imitating-art/983116/48 "2023-04-25T05:56:35Z")
> [@LSLGuy](#): > > I had known that Klingon started out with some bit of real thought behind it, not just nonsense syllables of noise. But I had thought almost all of the elaboration into a usable albeit esoteric language had been done by fans in a process akin to fanfic, not by professionals working for the studio(s). Well, to be completely pedantic about it, the first Klingon dialog appeared in ST:TMP, and it WAS just nonsense gibberish created by James Doohan. When Okrand developed the full language, he designed it so that Doohan’s gibberish was meaningful and grammatical in his language. ---
**Author:** ![Robot\_Arm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/robot_arm/32/18280_2.png) [@Robot\_Arm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Robot_Arm)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2023, 6:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/instances-of-life-intentionally-imitating-art/983116/49 "2023-04-25T06:16:22Z")
The modern use of the word “nimrod” to mean a fool or an idiot seems to trace back to Bugs Bunny. Nimrod was a grandson of Noah in the bible, and was a great hunter. In _A Wild Hare_, the first pairing of Bugs and Elmer Fudd, Bugs outsmarts Elmer and refers to him as “Nimrod”, and from the context it took on a new meaning. ---
**Author:** ![commasense](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/commasense/32/3017_2.png) [@commasense](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/commasense)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2023, 10:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/instances-of-life-intentionally-imitating-art/983116/50 "2023-04-25T10:40:57Z")
Thanks for that detail. ---
**Author:** ![solost](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/solost/32/11776_2.png) [@solost](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/solost)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2023, 12:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/instances-of-life-intentionally-imitating-art/983116/51 "2023-04-25T12:44:57Z")
> [@TheGunIsMightierThanThePen](#): > > The opening scene of the 2015 James Bond film _Spectre_ features a then-fictional parade in Mexico City for the _Día de los Muertos_ (Day of the Dead) holiday. However, inspired by the film, in 2016 Mexico City decided to stage a real parade for _Día de los Muertos_ This is a fantastic example-- A whole annual real life parade inspired by a fictional movie parade. Thanks! I had not been aware of this. ---
**Author:** ![Q.Q.Switcheroo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/q.q.switcheroo/32/5713_2.png) [@Q.Q.Switcheroo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Q.Q.Switcheroo)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2023, 1:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/instances-of-life-intentionally-imitating-art/983116/52 "2023-04-25T13:05:42Z")
It helps that “nimrod” already **sounds** like an insult (cf. “nitwit,” “dimwit,” etc.). ---
**Author:** ![Scougs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/scougs/32/3158_2.png) [@Scougs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scougs)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2023, 1:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/instances-of-life-intentionally-imitating-art/983116/53 "2023-04-25T13:06:05Z")
Another name more or less invented by an art form - Kayleigh. There were less than twenty registered in England from when records began to the end of 1984. Then along came Marillion with a hit single, and along came around 2500 new babies called Kayleigh in 1985. Bizarrely, the girl it was written about wasn’t even called Kayleigh - she was called Kay. But that doesn’t scan very well. ---
**Author:** ![solost](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/solost/32/11776_2.png) [@solost](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/solost)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2023, 1:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/instances-of-life-intentionally-imitating-art/983116/54 "2023-04-25T13:26:41Z")
> [@Q.Q.Switcheroo](#): > > It helps that “nimrod” already **sounds** like an insult (cf. “nitwit,” “dimwit,” etc.). And on the topic of insulting nicknames borrowed from popular media, “Poindexter” as a nickname for a nerdy brainiac type is from the old “Felix the Cat” cartoon, which had a brainy character named Poindexter. If I recall from memory, one of the writers took it from the actual last name of someone they knew. So, maybe more of a “life imitates art imitating life” example 🤔 ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2023, 1:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/instances-of-life-intentionally-imitating-art/983116/55 "2023-04-25T13:29:02Z")
Gem Plumbing, a local company here in New England obtained the toll free phone number (866) 867-5309 and has defended it’s use as a trademark. The phone number 867-5309 is well known from the [Tommy Tutone](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/867-5309/Jenny) song [Jenny.](https://youtu.be/6WTdTwcmxyo) ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2023, 1:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/instances-of-life-intentionally-imitating-art/983116/56 "2023-04-25T13:47:33Z")
> [@Robot\_Arm](#): > > The modern use of the word “nimrod” to mean a fool or an idiot seems to trace back to Bugs Bunny. Nimrod was a grandson of Noah in the bible, and was a great hunter. In _A Wild Hare_, the first pairing of Bugs and Elmer Fudd, Bugs outsmarts Elmer and refers to him as “Nimrod”, and from the context it took on a new meaning. The Looney Tunes writers slipped a lot of rather highbrow intellectualisms into Bugs, _et al_. Literary allusions, opera, etc. ---
**Author:** ![griffin1977](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/977dab/32.png) [@griffin1977](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/griffin1977)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2023, 4:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/instances-of-life-intentionally-imitating-art/983116/57 "2023-04-25T16:21:05Z")
There is also Star Wars the film giving us (sort of) Star Wars the Strategic Defense Initiative: > **[How the Star Wars movies almost gave us real lasers in space](https://www.cnet.com/culture/entertainment/star-wars-ronald-reagan-sdi-cosmic-cold-war-vision/)** > > Crazy-scary weaponry and a malevolent empire threaten planetary peace and stability. No, this isn't a George Lucas film. ---
**Author:** ![griffin1977](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/977dab/32.png) [@griffin1977](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/griffin1977)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2023, 4:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/instances-of-life-intentionally-imitating-art/983116/58 "2023-04-25T16:23:36Z")
And Shakespeare gave the US plagues of invasive starlings: [https://psmag.com/environment/shakespeare-fanatic-introduced-bards-birds-america-82279](https://psmag.com/environment/shakespeare-fanatic-introduced-bards-birds-america-82279) ---
**Author:** ![suranyi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e36b37/32.png) [@suranyi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/suranyi)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2023, 4:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/instances-of-life-intentionally-imitating-art/983116/59 "2023-04-25T16:35:56Z")
There have now been elected officials named [Madison](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Madison_Nguyen). I’m sure that would have blown people’s minds back then. ---
**Author:** ![DrCube](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/a3d4f5/32.png) [@DrCube](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrCube)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2023, 5:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/instances-of-life-intentionally-imitating-art/983116/60 "2023-04-25T17:09:20Z")
In basic training, I remember thinking “these drill sergeants sure are quoting Major Payne a lot”. Then at the end of basic, the night before graduation, we had a pizza party and watched Full Metal Jacket. It was the first time I’d seen it, and so then I found out where the _rest_ of the things the drill sergeants said came from. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/instances-of-life-intentionally-imitating-art/983116.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/instances-of-life-intentionally-imitating-art/983116.md?page=4)