Author Archives: Anna McNamara

“If you are about to sneeze, say Orange”

Nationality: American
Age: 49
Occupation: Therapist
Residence: Newport Beach, CA
Performance Date: April 10th, 2013
Primary Language: English

Informant Data: The informant is in her late 40’s, Caucasian and self-identifies strongly with Judaism. She is married with two daughters, and has a career as a Family Mental Health Therapist.

Item: The folk-belief that if you are about to sneeze, say “Orange” and it will stop you from sneezing. The following quotations are direct transcriptions of my dialogue with the informant, while the additional information provided is paraphrased.

Contextual Data: My informant first heard this phrase sometime in her mid-20’s. “I was about to sneeze, and a friend of mine at the time shouted “say “Orange”!” and after I lost the need to sneeze. Since then, I’ve used it in situations where I’d rather not sneeze and it seems to work for me.” Referring to it as a “not infallible technique,” the informant says she “partially” believes it works, and therefore “why not use it?” When asked about the relevance of the word “Orange”, the informant replied “well it could be completely arbitrary, or perhaps there’s something going on with the pronunciation that affects your nose, maybe in the “n” sound.” Or maybe, the word itself is inconsequential, but the act of saying (or repeating) a word distracts your system from its sneeze. Or perhaps, when you are focusing so hard on not sneezing, you suppress the sneeze by simply “willing yourself not to sneeze.” The informant says she has shared this belief with her family, and thinks they occasionally employ its use, but that she doesn’t take it seriously enough to tell others outside the home. This folk-belief can be placed into the category of protection or protective superstitions, if one views a sneeze as an unpleasant occurrence. The custom of employing this miraculously endowed term “Orange” will inexplicable ward off the disagreeable and normally compulsory act. It could also fall under the category of folk-medicine, if one regards a sneeze as a medical condition or function, with “Orange” being the proposed remedy.

“If you swallow your gum, it will stay in your stomach for seven years”

Nationality: American
Age: 20
Occupation: Student
Residence: Los Angeles, CA
Performance Date: April 18th, 2013
Primary Language: English
Language: Tagalog

Informant Data: My informant is an International Relations and Global Business major here at the University of Southern California. She is a first generation Filipina and is fluent in Tagalog.  She grew up in Oakland, California before coming down here for her undergraduate degree. She is very bubbly and loves to use proverbial phrases in everyday life.

Item: The folk-belief that if you swallow your chewing gum, it will stay in your stomach for seven years. The following quotations are direct transcriptions of my dialogue with the informant, while the additional information provided is paraphrased.

Contextual Data: My informant first heard this belief as a young child, “as early as I first started chewing gum,” she says. The belief is that “if you were to swallow your gum, it would stay stuck in your stomach for seven years, piling up with all the previous pieces you have swallowed.” When asked if she believes this, she says “I understand that it is not true, I’ve looked it up and gum goes through your system like everything else. But still, I can’t swallow gum! It feels so unnatural after believing I couldn’t for so long.” Where this belief originated is rather tangible, chewing gum is different than the other food items we consume. It is very obviously man-made, does not disintegrate when chewed and it has a very sticky, adhesive-like consistency. All these factor into a question of whether one’s stomach could break it down. “I always thought it would get stuck in my stomach, because it was so sticky, not that it was mysteriously impassible.” When asked why she thought it was seven years, my informant said: “I think seven is often a daunting number, there are a lot of other sayings that involve it, like for instance they say if you break a mirror you will have seven years of bad luck. I guess it’s completely arbitrary but it also sounds convincing.” Despite the folk-belief being disproven, it serves as a good general caution for children to be careful what they try to eat. However, it should be noted, that eating anything indigestible in mass quantities can be dangerous. If a child is to swallow one marble, something even more apparently inedible than gum, there is relatively low risk (despite the major choking hazard) of complications—it should pass through your system just like chewing gum. But, there are commonplace stories circulating of a kid who swallowed all his marbles and needed surgery. Albeit these are legends with questionable veracity, it seems to be common sense that this is a dangerous activity. On the other hand, chewing gum resides more in the grey zone between food and not-food, and should be swallowed (if you must) with caution.

“Nose Goes”

Nationality: American
Age: 20
Occupation: Student
Residence: Los Angeles, CA
Performance Date: April 18th, 2013
Primary Language: English
Language: Tagalog

Informant Data: My informant is an International Relations and Global Business major here at the University of Southern California. She is a first generation Filipina and is fluent in Tagalog.  She grew up in Oakland, California before coming down here for her undergraduate degree. She is very bubbly and loves to use proverbial phrases in everyday life.

Item: The custom of using the folk-phrase “Nose Goes” as a means of selection. The following quotations are direct transcriptions of my dialogue with the informant, while the additional information provided is paraphrased.

Contextual Data: My informant first heard this phrase on the playground in elementary school. She describes the process as: “If there is some type of unwanted task to be done amongst a group of peers, someone might shout “Nose goes!” and touch their index finger to the tip of their nose. Everyone must follow in suit as quickly as they can, and the last person to touch their nose is the one who has to do the task.” She says that on the playground, the phrase was used often to pick who was “it” in games such as tag, hide and seek, and “hot lava monster.” Nowadays, she uses it in everyday scenarios, but not in big decision making. “I will still use “nose goes” occasionally, maybe if no one wants to go meet the take-out food delivery guy or deciding who is going to drive a group to a destination.” My informant regards the process as rather childish, and therefore inappropriate for many situations, “but among close friends, its occasional use is fun.” She also speaks of its negative implications, as oftentimes, the last one to touch their nose is created separate from the group, now an “other” by rule of the custom. My informant implies that there are ways to cheat the system; to employ “Nose goes” when certain members of the group are distracted or busy, giving you and whoever else an advantage. “This is why “Nose goes” decisions are often disputed and the person who is last, is often annoyed.” This is an example of perspective enhancing one’s disposition towards a custom, if you come out on the advantageous side of this means of selection; it was performed in good humor and is acceptable. To be on the other side facilitates a switch of the perspective switch that views the custom as unfair and childish.

“Bow Chicka Wow-Wow”

Nationality: American
Age: 20
Occupation: Student
Residence: Los Angeles, CA
Performance Date: April 18th, 2013
Primary Language: English
Language: Tagalog

Informant Data: My informant is an International Relations and Global Business major here at the University of Southern California. She is a first generation Filipina and is fluent in Tagalog.  She grew up in Oakland, California before coming down here for her undergraduate degree. She is very bubbly and loves to use proverbial phrases in everyday life.

Item: The folk-phrase: “Bow chicka wow-wow,” usually said in a sing-songy and animated fashion. The following quotations are direct transcriptions of my dialogue with the informant, while the additional information provided is paraphrased.

Contextual Data: My informant first heard this phrase at some point in high school. “I don’t know if it’s a phrase, or more of a sound effect to accompany a situation.” She explains that the phrase “Bow chicka wow-wow” has come to be a well-known imitation of the cheesy music that starts a pornographic scene. “Porn is notorious for bad music, and “bow chicka wow-wow” mimics the sound of the average intro into a scene. People say it comically, never seriously, as if to say “things are getting steamy in here!” or the like. It can be used in a bunch of different circumstances, always as a joke though.” My informant provided me with several examples:

“Say your roommate comes home late from a date and you ask how it went. If she replies “good!” it’s definitely an appropriate time to go “Oh! Bow chicka wow-wow!” implying that they had their own porno together.”

“Or similarly, if your friend asks for a minute alone with someone, asking you to leave, you can say “Oh I see, bow chicka wow-wow!” joking that they need some seriously private time.” My informant details this as a way, as a third-wheel, to make your position less awkward, to make a joke about two people’s intimacy. “The funnier times the phrase is used when it’s completely arbitrary, when there is nothing sexual about the scenario.”

Finally, my informant tells me a joke in which knowing the phrase’s implication is essential. “What happens when you cross a brown chicken and a brown cow? Brown-chicken-brown-cow (pronounced like “Bow chicka wow-wow”)” This puts a spin on the normative structure of the joke, in which the usual punch-line is the product of their crossing; instead, here is it the act of their crossing in and of itself. While the term may be comical, it also illustrates how our society navigates around the taboo of sexuality. In the social environment, one rarely refers directly to sex without the aid of a folk-term or reference, “bow chicka wow-wow” being one of many.

Another version of this folk-speech is employed in Mike Posner’s appropriately titled song, “Bow Chicka Wow Wow” (see citation below). He utilizes his audience’s assumed familiarity with the phrase to provide the unstated context of his lyrics. Lines such as, “Once I throw on this “bow chicka wow wow” what you gonna say? You act like you gone leave but you know you ‘bout to stay,” implying that the folk-phrase represents a pre-coital ambience. While he could be literally “throwing on” some cheesy music, it seems more appropriate that he acknowledges the phrases origin, but is generalizing it to the implied scenario—not to be taken so literally.

Posner, Mike. “Bow Chicka Wow Wow.” Cisse Methods and The Smeezingtons, 2010. MP3.

“Whoever smelt it, dealt it”

Nationality: American
Age: 20
Occupation: Student
Residence: Los Angeles, CA
Performance Date: April 18th, 2013
Primary Language: English
Language: Tagalog

Informant Data: My informant is an International Relations and Global Business major here at the University of Southern California. She is a first generation Filipina and is fluent in Tagalog.  She grew up in Oakland, California before coming down here for her undergraduate degree. She is very bubbly and loves to use proverbial phrases in everyday life.

Item: The proverb: “Whoever smelt it, dealt it.” The following quotations are direct transcriptions of my dialogue with the informant, while the additional information provided is paraphrased.

Contextual Data: My informant cannot remember exactly when she was introduced to this proverb, but remembers it significant popularity in her elementary school. She described for me the usual scenario for the proverb: “Usually someone farts. Then, someone will remark along the lines of “Ew, someone farted!” and the proper response if you are in the vicinity is to say “Whoever smelt it, dealt it.” She goes on to express that the structure of the proverb, the rhyming and “quip-y” and accusatory nature of it makes it difficult to refrain from use. “It became almost like a “call and response” game, where if someone accused someone of farting, you couldn’t help but compulsively say “Whoever smelt it, dealt it.” I still struggle to keep myself from saying it nowadays.” The general idea behind it, which can be applied to more than just flatulence, is that a person commits a social faux pas, and attempts to evade blame by drawing attention to it. My informant tells me that “among my friends, I like to use the proverb to apply to other typically shameful acts, as a joke.” She gave me the following examples:

“At a party, my friend comes from the bathroom and says someone completely ruined the plumbing, and advises me not to go in there. My witty response might be “Yeah? Well you know what they say, whoever smelt it, dealt it.” In this case, both participants must be aware of the reputation of the proverb for it to make sense, for it is not the literally “smelling” and “dealing” this time, it is the implied act of covering up an occurrence by drawing attention to it.

But my informant says this is not limited to occasions involving bodily excrement. “Say my roommate finds the dishwasher broken, and sounds super accusatory and shocked by this. “Whoever smelt it, dealt it” can be applied here as well, as if saying “your reaction seems unfit, like you are covering up something.” This scenario also necessitates that both people involved understand the implications behind the proverb, and is almost stretching the proverb beyond its normative domain.