In Other Media
The phrase "my hovercraft is full of eels" is often mentioned in relation to any translation system, in particular ones which translate poorly. In 1998, The Atlantic noted that two commercial translation programs could translate the phrase "into French and back and into Italian and back without a glitch." The phrase is also used as a cliche that takes the form of a character thinking he can speak a language, but whatever he tries to say in that language ends up sounding nonsensical or outright rude to native speakers of the language in question. It appeared in some versions of the OpenVMS operating system as an easter egg error message. It has become a running gag sometimes used in language learning phrasebooks.
The phrase "Drop your panties, Sir William; I cannot wait until lunchtime!" was spoofed in the Nintendo DS game Phoenix Wright: Trials and Tribulations, as an outburst by a supporting character in the game's second case.
In A Bit of Fry & Laurie, series 2 episode 3, a man in the audience claims that he will die unless someone will fondle his bottom.
Read more about this topic: Dirty Hungarian Phrasebook
Famous quotes containing the word media:
“Today the discredit of words is very great. Most of the time the media transmit lies. In the face of an intolerable world, words appear to change very little. State power has become congenitally deaf, which is why—but the editorialists forget it—terrorists are reduced to bombs and hijacking.”
—John Berger (b. 1926)