Smurftymology

Man, so working with data sets that are as massive as the ones I now deal with, you can’t help but occasionally actually read something in them instead of just analyzing them for their given purpose.  Like the other day, in a block of randomly compiled sentences, I came across one that translated to “because of a sack full of bears”.  That cracked me up, as I could not picture any context whatsoever in which it could possibly make any sense.*

And just now, I’ve discovered what is quite possibly a fascinating new etymological-childhood-cartoon connection.  You know the main villain in The Smurfs, Gargamel?  The mean old man who wore the white boxers with red hearts on them that were so often accidentally displayed, and who liked to kill/torture/capture/somehow mistreat Smurfs?  And whose cat was named Azrael, which struck me as similar to the demon Azazel wheh I watched that Denzel Washington movie Fallen?**  Well anyway, I think I may have found the linguistic origin for Gargamel.  Voilà.  Sounds very similar to the Catalan word for “throat”.  Maybe that explains his weird voice?  I don’t claim to understand the symbolism, I just continue with the mission that Hanna-Barbara and Microsoft have given me.

 

* But Grant kindly pointed out that it could have been a sack full of Gummy Bears.  Entirely true; I had not thought of that.  This is what boyfriends are for, FYI.

** Yeah, apparently I’ve been seeking out Smurf-linguistic connections for a while now.  That movie came out while I was in high school.

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