Monkey Island taught me (not quite) everything I know.

When I first played The Secret of Monkey Island I was probably about 9 years old. I was a very good reader but at that age there were obviously words and phrases I was yet to come across. I can still distinctly remember a lot of vocab that I picked up just from playing Monkey Island, so I thought I'd share a few them with you:

- Halitosis (Talking to Otis)
- The term "Sales pitch" (Talking to Cobb)
- The phrase "Nosiree!" and the word 'Fop' (The Fettucini Bros.)
- Root Beer (it's not a very well known drink in England!)
- Minutes (as in notes for a meeting)

I'd love to hear of any words or phrases that Monkey Island taught other people.

Comments

  • edited June 2009
    Actually, I quite like that about Monkey Island. Stuff I can think of:
    • Being English too, when I played MI1 I hadn't heard of root beer either. Or grog, for that matter - although I understand the British connection to grog is a bit stronger :)
    • MI1 also taught me about minutes...
    • MI2 taught me the word "embargo". Shhh, I was 12!
    • MI3 taught me about duelling and gloves :)
    • I learned what a Narwhal was from Escape. I was 20. Actually, that was probably the first time I heard "gubernatorial" too. It was at this age that I tasted my first root beer (which was also my last, not a fan o_O)
  • edited June 2009
    Playing the German version of SMI, I learnt quite a bit, for instance that cinammon is 'Zimt' in German. Actually, I don't think I knew what cinnamon was called in English (it's 'kaneel' in Dutch) before I played the English version... so yeah, Monkey Island is really educational!
  • edited June 2009
    Ha! This is all true for me, too!
  • edited June 2009
    The title for game responsible for most of the things I learned as a kid is reserved for Space Quest. I learned to read, type, and spell by playing those games at 4 or 5 years old. I remember waking my parents up early in the morning asking how to spell "suit."
  • TimTim
    edited June 2009
    The title for game responsible for most of the things I learned as a kid is reserved for Space Quest. I learned to read, type, and spell by playing those games at 4 or 5 years old. I remember waking my parents up early in the morning asking how to spell "suit."

    That brings back some grand memories. Voldor or whatever his name was in Space Quest 1 or 2.. Gee. :D
  • edited June 2009
    I basically learned english with The Secret of Monkey Island.

    Being a portuguese/spanish native speaker I was learning english at the time and that game helped me a lot in my understanding of the language and in learning new words.

    It also thought me about how to become a pirate!
  • edited June 2009
    playclever wrote: »
    [*]I learned what a Narwhal was from Escape. I was 20. Actually, that was probably the first time I heard "gubernatorial" too. It was at this age that I tasted my first root beer (which was also my last, not a fan o_O)
    [/LIST]

    It's funny, I'm yet to talk to someone who isn't from the US who likes root beer. We grew up with the stuff, and I enjoy it, but all of my friends from other countries think it's gross.
  • edited June 2009
    A&W Rootbeer is probably one of the best beverages ever.... Especially if you can get one fresh from an A&W stand... But they do not really quench your thirst rootbeer make me more thirsty if anything.
  • edited June 2009
    Tim wrote: »
    That brings back some grand memories. Voldor or whatever his name was in Space Quest 1 or 2.. Gee. :D

    Sludge Vohaul. From Space Quest 2. Though, technically he was responsible for the events of Space Quest 1, which is why Space Quest 2 is called Vohaul's Revenge.
  • edited June 2009
    Is Root Beer the one that tastes of cloves and mouthwash?
    I preffer Ginger Beer.
  • edited June 2009
    serweet wrote: »
    Is Root Beer the one that tastes of cloves and mouthwash?
    I preffer Ginger Beer.
    Meh... give me Ginger Ale over beer any day of the week.

    (I even like Ouzo more than beer - how can anybody drink that stuff?)

    np: Phantom Ghost - The Process (After Brion Gysin) (Thrown Out Of Drama School)
  • edited June 2009
    Leak wrote: »
    Meh... give me Ginger Ale over beer any day of the week.

    (I even like Ouzo more than beer - how can anybody drink that stuff?)

    Isn't Gigner Beer and Ginger Ale practically the same anyway? Non-alcoholic ginger tasting fizz with alcohol removed.
    Ahwell.
    But out of beers, I preffer ales to lagers. Pint of bitter is much better than a pale lager.
  • edited June 2009
    I am Romanian. LucasArts adventure games have taught me english! Especially the Monkey Island series! I remember grabbing the dictionary each time I didn't understand a word...trying to figure out the puzzles. Man, those were the days! My first game was Loom. Until I actually looked in the dictionary, I really thought that "Loom" was Bobbin's name :p
  • edited June 2009
    I remember Monkey Island teaching me the meanings of several random words. "Browse" was one of them, and "ipecac", "embargo", "precipice", "precarious", "booze", "gubernatorial" (you can imagine the age difference with these, I'm sure) ect... And learning that the Caribbean was a real place and not some fictional location like I first thought (although, I still had no idea where it was for a while).

    Hey, I was seven at the start, and I have never claimed geography was one of my strong subjects...
  • edited June 2009
    I learned how to spell Caribbean
  • jtcjtc
    edited June 2009
    Finnish guy here, 30 years old. Those late 80's early 90's adventure games really taught me English along with non-subbed/dubbed english television, Monkey Island being of course one of my favourites. Always got good grades in English class without any studying whatsoever, thanks for that. :) But there were so many good titles back then, I still know almost every old Sierra and Lucasarts game by heart.

    It actually sucks a bit having absolutely no replay value in those games. I just went through MI2 for old times sake and there was absolutely nothing to make me scratch my head, I just remember nearly every oldschool (and some newer) adventure game from start to finish.

    Needless to say Tales of Monkey Island is very big news for me. Out with it already! 2 weeks to go...
  • edited June 2009
    If the MI games taught me anything, it must be insult-sword-fighting. Heck, I challenged everyone I saw. Not everyone was happy with it...
  • edited June 2009
    Irishmile wrote: »
    I learned how to spell Caribbean

    This
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