# The wind from Minicoy. **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [November 6, 2008, 12:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-wind-from-minicoy/471379 "2008-11-06T00:08:06Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 11\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Peter\_Morris](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/peter_morris/32/359_2.png) [@Peter\_Morris](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Peter_Morris)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2008, 12:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-wind-from-minicoy/471379/1 "2008-11-06T00:08:06Z")
I’ve just been watching an [episode](http://www.st-minutiae.com/academy/literature329/422.txt)of Star Trek Deep Space 9. I was puzzled by the following exchange > [@](#): > > ``` > SISKO > > ``` > > Yes, of course, I do. For a minute, > I was thinking to myself… “There’s > a warm wind blowing in from Minicoy.” > > ``` > JARO > > ``` > > I’m sorry… ? > > ``` > SISKO > > ``` > > Just an old saying where I come from. > It all started with a famous > ambassador from Minicoy who used to > bluster, exaggerate, and dissemble > to get what he wanted… not at all > like you or me… he was a bag of > hot air and everyone recognized him > for what he was. Has anyone ever heard this expression, outside of that episode? It is unfamiliar to me. What is the story behind it? Was there really a famous ambassador from Minicoy? Not one that I’ve heard of. If he’s real, who was he. Maybe they made it up for the episode, but that would be unusual. When Human characters in Star Trek talk about an old Earth saying, it’s usually a real one, that the audience would know. I tried searching for it, but all the links led back to the episode. This question is about the expression, not a discussion of the episode. ---
**Author:** ![dolphinboy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dolphinboy/32/330_2.png) [@dolphinboy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dolphinboy)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2008, 4:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-wind-from-minicoy/471379/2 "2008-11-06T04:13:34Z")
Mods please move this to Cafe Society… ---
**Author:** ![Peter\_Morris](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/peter_morris/32/359_2.png) [@Peter\_Morris](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Peter_Morris)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2008, 4:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-wind-from-minicoy/471379/3 "2008-11-06T04:18:02Z")
Why move it to Cafe Society? As I said, it is a factual question about the origin of the phrase, not a discussion of the episode. ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2008, 4:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-wind-from-minicoy/471379/4 "2008-11-06T04:28:27Z")
> [@dolphinboy](#): > > Mods please move this to Cafe Society… If you think a thread should be moved, reporting the post is better than making a request in the thread. In any case, since this is a query about the source of the quote rather than the episode, GQ is appropriate. Given that Minocoy is a small, obscure island in the Indian Ocean, I doubt it ever had an ambassador of any note, and it’s pretty likely that the saying was made up for the show. ---
**Author:** ![XweAponX](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/x/7993a0/32.png) [@XweAponX](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/XweAponX)\ **Post date:** [September 1, 2013, 8:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-wind-from-minicoy/471379/5 "2013-09-01T20:04:12Z")
It’s a valid phrase. It has probably fallen out of use, due to maybe some of the factors mentioned. Read this: > **[Minicoy - English definition, grammar, pronunciation, synonyms and examples |...](https://en.glosbe.com/en/en/Minicoy)** > > Learn the definition of 'Minicoy'. Check out the pronunciation, synonyms and grammar. Browse the use examples 'Minicoy' in the great English corpus. ---
**Author:** ![Ethilrist](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ethilrist/32/4604_2.png) [@Ethilrist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ethilrist)\ **Post date:** [September 1, 2013, 8:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-wind-from-minicoy/471379/6 "2013-09-01T20:14:59Z")
I find it confusing because he’s from New Orleans… That’s a pretty stiff breeze. ---
**Author:** ![XweAponX](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/x/7993a0/32.png) [@XweAponX](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/XweAponX)\ **Post date:** [September 1, 2013, 8:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-wind-from-minicoy/471379/7 "2013-09-01T20:17:50Z")
> [@Colibri](#): > > If you think a thread should be moved, reporting the post is better than making a request in the thread. I wholly agree and the suggestion itself was highly inappropriate and should itself be removed. I apologize that it took me 5 years to find the source! The phrase would probably have been used in films of the 30s and 40s- but nevertheless, I had heard the phrase and not just from the mouth of “The Sisko” in Deep Space Nine. Given the political and historical allegories in the overall storyline in that show, it was a great use of the phrase- The Sisko was basically telling Minister Jaro/Nixon that he was a bag of Hot Air- and that was also appropriate due to Jaro’s later revealed association with Vedek Winn/Ratchet and that he was in fact the guy who started “The Circle” - the episode was actually carried over from events in the 2nd episode of season 1, “Past Prologue” where the Cardsssians allow members of the “Kohn-Mah” to escape- and The Circle was populated with people of the same strict isolationist values as the Kohn-Mah. So in fact The Siskos use of the phrase is very clever writing, and a hint of things to come later in the series- Vedek/Kai Winn was a religious leader who used the office for political gain. ---
**Author:** ![XweAponX](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/x/7993a0/32.png) [@XweAponX](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/XweAponX)\ **Post date:** [September 1, 2013, 8:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-wind-from-minicoy/471379/8 "2013-09-01T20:27:32Z")
(Double post, sorry) ---
**Author:** ![XweAponX](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/x/7993a0/32.png) [@XweAponX](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/XweAponX)\ **Post date:** [September 1, 2013, 8:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-wind-from-minicoy/471379/9 "2013-09-01T20:34:13Z")
Actually, looking at my first link it appears someone just kind of added the quote from DS9 without verifying its origin. Maybe it was made up for that episode, but taking into consideration that Minicoy is a very hot place. It is also a place where an ancient language has been lost with the death of the last person to use it. More interesting info here: > **[Minicoy](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Minicoy)** > > Minicoy, locally known as Maliku (IPA: \[məliku\]), is an island in Lakshadweep, India. Along with Viringili, it is on Maliku atoll, the southernmost atoll of Lakshadweep archipelago. Administratively, it is a census town in the Indian union territory of Lakshadweep. The island is situated 425 km west of Trivandrum, the capital city of Kerala. > Minicoy is known as Maliku in the local language, Dhivehi, which is also the national and official language of the Republic of Maldives. The language is ... ---
**Author:** ![Exapno\_Mapcase](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/exapno_mapcase/32/1051_2.png) [@Exapno\_Mapcase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Exapno_Mapcase)\ **Post date:** [September 1, 2013, 9:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-wind-from-minicoy/471379/10 "2013-09-01T21:19:41Z")
There’s nothing in Google Books for such a saying. My guess is that the writer wanted a real but virtually unknown location to stick into a saying and found Minicoy. ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [September 1, 2013, 9:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-wind-from-minicoy/471379/11 "2013-09-01T21:35:25Z")
> [@XweAponX](#): > > It’s a valid phrase. It has probably fallen out of use, due to maybe some of the factors mentioned. Read this: > > [Minicoy - English definition, grammar, pronunciation, synonyms and examples | Glosbe](http://en.glosbe.com/en/en/Minicoy) They just quoted from ST: DS9 and assumed that such an ambassador actually existed and that he actually said something along those lines.