LenLowLand

Now you too can talk like the Enlows!

An ever-growing guide to the inside jokes in the Enlow Family. There's so much more, but here's everything I can think of. I don't know about you but I notice a whole lot of potty-humor goin' on...

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209 - The house in Harvard, MA where we grew up. Derived from our street address... which is a SECRET! No stalking Mommy.

And it goes on like this. - Like No, it's like... and And so forth.., but used mostly when reading something long and boring, or sometimes when listening to repetitive music. One possible (and probable) origin is the Simpsons episode when the Van Houtens divorce. Anyway, when Homer and Marge renew their wedding vows, Reverend Lovejoy officiates: "I will now read these special vows which Homer has prepared for this occasion. 'Do you, Marge, take Homer, in richness and in poorness' -- poorness is underlined -- 'in impotence and in potence, in quiet solitude or blasting across the alkali flats in a jet-powered, monkey-navigated"... [consults the notecards] ... and it goes on like this."

And so forth... - Like No, it's like... and And it goes on like this. Used primarily by someone who continues a joke theme by himself or herself and either realizes that nobody cares, or doesn't have the energy or creativity to keep going. This may have originated on the Simpsons when Homer says this after continuing to make fun of someone.

BACON! and the SAUSAGE! - From a great Bill Cosby bit about him grumpily making breakfast for his children because his wife told him to. Often used as a subtitute for saying "bacon" and/or "sausage" normally, or if we hear these words.

Blip - Fart. See Bunny Bear Burp. "Blip" was a great euphemism, thanks to its simplicity and to onomatopoeia. All the funnier when as we grew up we started to see in books and movies sentences like "There's a blip on the radar."

Bubby - How to pronounce "W", according to Matt circa age 2. Caught on cassette tape and replayed ad infinitum due to uncharacteristically high cuteness factor.

Bunny Bear Burp - Fart. When we were kids this was the F-word, which meant we needed a euphemism. I believe it was Mom who used this term most, and for some reason we never realized that it doesn't make any sense. Matt suggests that "bunny bears" meant "buttocks" (derived from "buns"), and hence....... burp....... Anyway, this was replaced by "blip" probably mid- to late-eighties, when we were too mature for a word like "bunny bear burp." So we used blip. More mature. Blip.

Butter Top Wheat - A variety of wheat bread, perhaps made by Wonder. One day Matt and I and maybe Katie accompanied Mommy to the grocery store, and for some reason we giggled hysterically whenever she said "Butter Top Wheat." So she said it a lot. Probably the only reason I remember this is because it was so bizarre. Aren't we cute.

Can they do that? - A funny manifestation of surprise and disbelief. This works in so many situations. When Karen makes a ketchup sandwich I say "Can you do that?" If you're watching SportsCenter's Top Plays and you are especially impressed you can say "Can he do that?" And so forth.

C'I've two? - "Can I have two?" This one comes from cousin Erik. When he was a wee lad and he spied oh, let's say some cookies, he said realllly slowly and with puppy-dog eyes "C'I... have... a cookie?" When given permission, without hesitating Erik asked "C'I've two?" This precocious use of the foot-in-the-door salesman technique amused us. These days when we go over to 209 looking to raid the fridge, we'll use manners and start with "C'I have...."

Dad Dance - Usually seen when Dad makes fun of our music, but in its true form when Dad hear music he likes a lot. Consists of any combination of shoulder-shrugging, toe-tapping, and shoulder-tapping (but no toe-shrugging, oddly). Impression perfected by Matt.

Dad's Sneeze - "Ah SHASHASHASHAAA" Very scary to people who haven't heard it before, and to pets always. Not to be confused with Jimmy Durante's catchphrase.

Dish - Pronounced "Diiiiiiiiiiiish", with a gradual elevation in the voice. This derives from the sound that a certain naughty word makes when played in reverse. Matt and I listened to a lot of rap growing up, and radio stations would censor songs by playing portions backward, and we thought that was funny. Later in life we actually heard a DJ use that in regular conversation, except I believe it was more like "Ish". These days every time we hear the word "dish" we repeat it this way.

Do as I do - One of the easiest ways to make Katie mad. On Sesame Street there was a woman who sang a song about following the leader or something useless like that. It was call-and-response, and the lyrics went "Do as I do \ Pick a peck of peppers \ Follow the leader and repeat after me". If one of us caught someone being a copycat, we sang the first line of the song to poke fun, often with violent results. Because nothing is more embarrassing as doing the same thing as someone else.

Egg Kaka - Swedish for "Egg Cake." Well actually it's just the "kaka" part that needs translating. This is a diiiiiish that Mommy makes with eggs and other stuff. It's like a breakfast thing, and I don't know enough about cooking to describe it. But it has a funny name.

Finger twiddle - The host of our college comedy show Matt introduced this to us when he emceed the talent show. He told tales of a kid he knew growing up who was... I guess the opposite of retarded, but maybe bordering on autism. Anyway, whenever this kid would get really excited, he would twiddle all his fingers and rock back and forth, making sort of a "neenle-neenle nee" noise. So these days when something excites us, we do the same thing. We were delighted to hear from our friend Jonathan that this is not uncommon behavior; his little brother did the same thing.

Fog dart - Canine flatulence. Funny for obvious reasons, even moreso because it uses the word "fog." Rest in peace, Hazel.

Fun game! - This is a phrase I remember bringing into heavy circulation at summer camp. Its most appropriate usage is when you're doing something childish and repetitive, and usually annoying to others. The best example is a little game we invented in the mid-90's, during which we'd say "fun game" quite a lot. It consisted of tossing small items (usually tennis balls) toward another guy's crotch. The idea was to catch your "friend" unsuspecting. The only rules were (1) Females were prohibited from playing the game (2) Gentle, non-pain-inflicting tosses only. The game fit the "fun game" definition to a tee, being both childish and repetitive.

Glasses Poke - Sign language for "nerd". This simple motion is handy for making fun of yourself or for other people. Comes in handy when someone says or does something incredibly geeky. Or when you talk about computers. Just pretend you're wearing glasses and they've slidden down your nose... point to the center of your nose and drag your finger up to the point between your eyebrows. In the realm of computer geekiness, acceptable alternatives to the glasses poke are "boo-beep-boo" and "10001011011" (or similar binary gibberish).

Go back to _____ - Best used immediately after "That guy", if you happen to know who that guy is. This can be either a way to show off that you know who someone is, or a way to condescend to someone for no reason. For maximum comedic effect, use one of the following.
(1) an obscure reference (e.g. "Go back to Return of the Jedi" for Warwick Davis when you're watching Willow)
(2) a future reference (e.g. "Go back to Patriot Games" for James Earl Jones when you're watching Dr. Strangelove)
(3) a sequel (e.g. "Go back to Ghostbusters II" for Rick Moranis when you're watching Honey I Shrunk the Kids)
(4) a sentence that doesn't really make sense (e.g. "Go back to not being stupid") -- opposite of "Commence _____"
(5) something not even true (e.g. "Go back to Foot Locker" to any referee)

Good plan, king! - This is from a catchy little Sesame Street vignette featuring a king and his loyal subjects planning a picnic. It ends with the king telling each person what to bring to the picnic, and it goes... a little something... like this: "You bring the potato salad! (Good plan, king!) You bring the watermelon! (Good plan, king!) You bring the apple pie! (Good plan, king!)... and so forth.

Here's this... - From cousin Erik. When he was a wee lad his family sent his Massachusetts relatives a video tape of them showing off their new home. Erik led the tour of the home, helpfully pointing to household objects and saying "Here's this..." and "Here's this..." And we laughed.

Hope that... - How Katie would begin every sentence, when asked to say grace before meals.

Hosie - To have dibs on something. Sample sentence: "I hosie the recliner!" Started with Mom and her family, not sure why. Didn't really catch on with us kids... I think we usually dropped everything but the thing being hosied, as in "Recliner!" or "Front!". That way we could get it out quicker.

How'm I doin? Lemme check. - Dad's cookie cutter answer for people he talks to on the phone. Every other phone call he received, we'd hear "Y'ello............... How'm I doin? Lemme check..... I'm doin' good." By the way, Homer got "Y'ello" from Dad.

Luke Matt George - What Dad called us kids when he couldn't remember our names.

Meow meow meow meow - What we sing when we don't know the words. Or, what we sing when there aren't any words. I have no idea when this started, but its origins may lie in a couple different places: (1) That cat in Mister Rogers' land of make believe that intersperses "meow" into her conversation... Henrietta Pussycat (thanks Karen) (2) The Meow Mix song featuring Baxter the cat (recently repopularized by Dr. Evil in Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery). Something really weird happened once... I heard a coworker meow along with a song. He must have been frightened at the way I stopped and stared at him. That was eerie. Can it be that we are not alone?

Mommy shows - Soap operas.

My glasses! - Origin unknown. Said in the a nerdy voice. Use it whenever you feel the need to refer to your glasses, and you need to use the nerdy voice, even if you're mid-sentence. This could also be accompanied by the glasses poke. Some actual sightings: In the Simpsons Milhouse says it perfectly as he falls from a waterfall Fugitive-style. In "Dark City" Kiefer Sutherland says it as he searches on the ground for his specs. In "Real Genius" some nerd says it when he gets stepped on while they're checking the hole in the statue. Special mention goes to the original Lord of the Flies movie... I think Piggy says something very similar. If he's not whining about his ass-mar he's whining about his specs.

More like... - A great way to express distaste. Simply take the name of a TV show, movie, celebrity, or musical artist that you don't care for, and replace some syllables with humorous words that sound similar. When Mom would turn the TV to the sitcom "Ellen", I'd say "Ellen? More like... Smellin!" Another good one was "Species 2? More like... Feces Poo!" This was an effective way to make fun of little sis's music. And it should be pointed out that the more juvenile, the better. Also funny is when you say the exact same thing (e.g. "Dick Butkus? More like... Dick Butkus!"), or when you say something completely meaningless (e.g. "More like... Fartificial Insmelligence!"). Sometimes you don't plan ahead and you have no choice but to admit defeat: "Christina Aguilera?? More like... Christina... Aguilera." [hang head in shame.]

My pen! - From a funny "Kids in the Hall" skit. Use whenever referring to your pen. See My glasses!

Neenle-neenle nee - The sound that accompanies the finger twiddle.

Nevermind, Brain - From back in the day when Matt and I use to sleep in the same room. One of us made fun of the other for saying this in his sleep. The other then retaliated, saying "Oh yeah, well you said 'Pennies... for Mom'." Those are odd things to say, eh?

No, it's like... - Like And it goes on like this... and And so forth.., but reserved only for when someone continues to make a joke on the same topic, carrying it too far or maybe over "the line".

Nose to the grindstone - Dad's words of encouragement while I was at college... apparently it means "work hard." I could usually count on hearing this once per phone call. Dad never really suspected how predictable he was until one day in a phone conversation he asked what was new and exciting, and instead of replying "How'm I doin? Lemme check" I replied "Nose to the grindstone."

Not... in... CHURCH - Back when we were young and fidgety in church, we sometimes found the need to entertain ourselves during the sermon. This often entailed pinching and punching. When one of us felt like pretending to be responsible, we'd say "not... in... CHURCH" and punch the other in the arm for emphasis.

Oak Monster - A large, ugly piece of furniture which has been in the family for many many years. The weirdest thing about this is that I had to actually call Mom and ask her if she invented that name. Up until recently I've never even thought "what a strange name."

Oh wow, wha na - Translated from the ancient Matt-age-2 dialect, "Oh wow, what's that?" What he said upon opening a present on his birthday. Followed immediately by "He can't believe it" from Mom. Occasionally these days we'll say that when something inspires awe in us, at which time the proper response is "he can't believe it."

One time? - Prelude to an anecdote. Vocalized as if it were a question, but not actually a question! Funny because of the way little kids tend to use this phrase a lot. There may have been an Animaniacs character that said it a lot, but we came up with it independently. We also were saying it way before American Pie came out (the whole "band camp" gag)

Oogie Mush - A diiiiiiish prepared by Mommy consisting of ground beef, cream of mushroom soup, and egg noodles. So-named because it made my stomach feel funny. One time Mom posted on the fridge a list of all meals she prepared and she was the first to describe this diiiiiish as "oogie mush" instead of "Mrs. Musser's." (Mom would often name her diiiiishes after the people who gave her the recipes; hence diiiish names like "Mrs. Musser's", "Nelda's", "Carol's Broccoli Casserole", "Heather's Chicken", etc.) We didn't think much of it until our friend Amy came over and made fun of it. And us. And Mommy.

Ook - A nickname for me, only returned to circulation recently... and come to think of it not very frequently. Based on the way toddlers (and probably my sibs as toddlers) called me by name.

Pennies... for Mom - See Nevermind, Brain.

Pilgrims dying - What makes Matt really sad. If you ask him why they died, he'll say: "Well, a lot of them were old." Caught on tape! So what if this was over 20 years ago... I guess it's been a while since anyone asked him what makes him sad, but I'm betting he's still mourning those elderly pilgrims.

Poop - Don't think I need to define it, but it's worth a mention as a popular substitute for a naughty word, especially when it means "stuff". There is a lot of comedy in this, which many fail to understand. Often fun to use it on the unsuspected, like when I asked Mom if I could put my poop in the basement. Most commonly heard in phrases like "Funny poop" or "good poop".

Pow - "Finished." May or may not be translated directly from Hawaiian. One time Mom had an old friend from Hawaii over, and her young child asked her "C'I be pow?" We got a big kick out of this. And we still do, especially after we haven't heard it in a while.

Restore the Shore - Not some sort of ecology activist group, but the title of a CD which Dad loved. The reason this is funny: have you ever heard of anyone listening to muzak in a department store and asking a clerk what the muzak was in order to purchase said muzak? Of course you haven't.

Sammies - Sandwiches. Shortened from "Sammiches".

Sing it Kataaay - Yet another way to make Katie angry. When she used to sing a lot around the house I usually thought she was trying too hard to sound like Mariah or Whitney or Tiny Tim, so I'd make fun of her by pretending I was one of her cheesy R&B backup singers. But don't I feel foolish now that she's a superstar. She probably won't even let me play the triangle on her next CD.

Skeefo / Skiffa-skiff - Bear with me on this one. I have no idea where it came from or even what it means. But once in a while when listening to music, Matt and I will interject some of this nonsense. I think it is an imitation of scratching that one might hear in the "rap" music, but Matt's not so sure. But we both agree that we are very strange. P.S. I remember watching World Cup action in '98 and cheering wildly for an Italian player named "Scifo". Good times.

Small Package - A "wrestling" move taught by Dad, based on the "cradle". There's no way out. It's been a while, but I remember having difficulty breathing. There was a funny moment once when I explained to some of my Wheaton friends how the "small package" was an Enlow family tradition. Unfortunately Dad was there at the time.

Spray - From church growing up... this is Mr. Parker's abbreviation for "let's pray."

Stay out! - The only way to get away from would-be sibling assailants. If you ran into your room and said "Stay out!", they were not allowed to enter your room. I think Mom & Dad originally just told us that we could ask for privacy when in our bedrooms (parents excluded). So briefly the norm was "Get out." But then one of us smart alecs realized that this meant we had to get out, but we could come right back in. So forever after it was "Stay out." And there was nothing you could do about it.

Tan-too - Baby talk for "thank you". Not just for babies anymore.

That guy - What you say when you're watching TV or a movie and you recognize one of the actors but you don't know where you've seen him before. This usually results in a quick surf to the Internet Movie Database, where our questions are answered. Though it is fun to guess first, and if you're right this should be immediately followed by "Go back to ______".
We've been saying this for years. So imagine my surprise when the Boston Sports Guy, who I only discovered a couple months ago, uses this term in the same way on a regular basis! He even wrote a whole article about "Those Guys", and proposed some nominees for the "That Guy" hall of fame. Wish he was still around so I could link you to it.
N.B.: I first heard "That guy" in a different context. I was at a Wheaton soccer game I think freshman year with my suitemate Dean. He said some funny and random poop at soccer games. He coined the phrase "Score train" among others. Any way, we were cheering for various players just by yelling their names, and Dean just suddenly pointed at some dude walking in front of us and yelled "that guy!" It eventually became (and can still be) used as a greeting, especially for someone whom you haven't seen in a while.

The idea has merit - A sophisticated way to say "that sounds like a good idea" or "you may be right". Jafar said it in "Aladdin". You just don't hear it much these days... let's bring this one back into circulation people!

Uh no - "Oh no," pronounced with a Mexican accent. Originated by Jay T of our college comedy show "The Salad Years".

Unpersqueebable - Unbelievable. Dad would say this sometimes. For some reason.

What's new and exciting? - After "Hey dude," this is what Dad says in the average phone call, when he wants to know what's new and exciting. My response is usually "nothing".

Yah dode. - "Ya dude" with a wicked thick Boston accent. Matt and I heard a funny radio bit a while back about "Massholes" and the way they talk, and this was the funniest one. Honorable mention goes to "Wicked pissa."

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