mxyzptlk pronunciation
Cerebus0
To whoeveer doesn't look at the title of this message and run...
How exactly do you pronounce Mxyzptlk's name
Brad Ferguson
In article <19970330213...@ladder01.news.aol.com>,
cere...@aol.com (Cerebus0) wrote:
> To whoeveer doesn't look at the title of this message and run...
> How exactly do you pronounce Mxyzptlk's name
According to the late, great Mort Weisinger, who as SUPERMAN editor
addressed this question several times in his lettercol answers during his
long career: miz-yez-PITTLE-ick.
Mxyzptlk's name was given as Mxyztplk in the earliest stories about him,
circa 1942-44. I guess they screwed it up (perhaps while Weisinger was in
the army) and left it that way forever afterward.
The backwards pronounciation is not precisely backwards, BTW. Instead, the
syllables are reversed nearly intact: ick-tipple-YEZ-mix.
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Stop by http://www.fred.net/thirteen/
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Ericson
Cerebus0 <cere...@aol.com> wrote in article
<19970330213...@ladder01.news.aol.com>...
> To whoeveer doesn't look at the title of this message and run...
> How exactly do you pronounce Mxyzptlk's name
>
I always pronounced it (in my head, if you know what I mean) as:
mix-iz-pittle-ick
It's probably wrong -- don't ask me the BACKWARD pronounciation!!
E.
Martyr
Cerebus0 <cere...@aol.com> wrote in article
<19970330213...@ladder01.news.aol.com>...
> To whoeveer doesn't look at the title of this message and run...
> How exactly do you pronounce Mxyzptlk's name
>
--
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"Music Ignites the night with passionate fire"
-Jonathan Larson, RENT
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George Sean Browne
cere...@aol.com (Cerebus0) wrote:
>To whoeveer doesn't look at the title of this message and run...
>How exactly do you pronounce Mxyzptlk's name
I'm not running...but do not take this pronounciation as gospel on the
question.
In the recent "Silver Surfer Superman" #1 crossover, the Impossible
Man insultingly refers to Mxyzptlk as "Mixed Pickles", I believe this
may give us a clue to the proper pronouciation.
Phonetically, I'd say it should be pronounced as follows:
MIX-YEZ-PIT-LIK
That seems pretty close to "Mixed Pickles" in my humble O.
George Sean Browne
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"That's no moon...it's a digitally enhanced space station!"
Obiwan Kenobi
(From Star Wars - Special Edition)
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whe...@aol.com
>To whoeveer doesn't look at the title of this message and run...
>How exactly do you pronounce Mxyzptlk's name
From an old Action Comics (don't remember the issue, but it was the one where Mxy goes to elementary school), the little yellow box clued us in to:
Mix-Yez-Pittel-Ick
As for the backwards pronunciation, I guess it could be Ick-Pittel etc etc, but I always assumed it was Kilt-Pz-Yex-Um.
-Jon.
-Project Superman:2000 ------- Dedicated to Creating a Better Krypton....
"It's Ben Steel! ... and his bear .... Hans!"
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Brad Ferguson
In article <5hn3u5$2...@bolivia.earthlink.net>, gsbr...@earthlink.net
(George Sean Browne) wrote:
> In the recent "Silver Surfer Superman" #1 crossover, the Impossible
> Man insultingly refers to Mxyzptlk as "Mixed Pickles", I believe this
> may give us a clue to the proper pronouciation.
That's really odd. In one of the first Filmation cartoons done for CBS in
1966, the ones that had Bud Collyer and other members of the radio cast
doing the voices, Superman calls Mxyzptlk "Mister Mixed Pickle" throughout,
annoying him considerably.
It's mix-yez-PITTLE-ick, by the way.
frog & smash
A Superman story record I had as a kid had the pronunciation:
MIX-EL-PLICK
I always thought it sounded wrong.
I always say it like:
MIX-PLI-TULK
at least everyone seems to agree on the MIX part...
-froggy
Anthony O'Meara.
Cerebus0 <cere...@aol.com> wrote in article
<19970330213...@ladder01.news.aol.com>...
> To whoeveer doesn't look at the title of this message and run...
> How exactly do you pronounce Mxyzptlk's name
>
In Mxyzptlk's first appearance, in the post-crisis Superman series, it
was pronounced:
Mix-yez-pittle-ick
pablo daniel gonzalez
Cerebus0 (cere...@aol.com) wrote:
: To whoeveer doesn't look at the title of this message and run...
: How exactly do you pronounce Mxyzptlk's name
Hi. My name's Pablo. Some people call me UruMan. To answer your
question, Mxyzptlk's name is pronounced a few ways. The old series,
before the John Byrne revamp had it pronounced as "Mix-el-plix". After
the revamp, it was changed to "Mix-yez-pittle-ick" in Superman #11, the
first appearance of Mxy in the new series. If you're wondering about
the backwards pronounciation of his name, the old series had it as
"Kip-el-skim" Didn't go along to well with the spelling. The New
series has only used the backwards pronounciation once. In Superman
#11. That pronounciation was "Kill-tep-zix-em".
Pablo D. Gonzalez
AKA UruMan
http://www.geocities.com/hollywood/hills/2010
pablo.g...@sheridanc.on.ca
Shane Travis
George Sean Browne (gsbr...@earthlink.net) wrote:
: In the recent "Silver Surfer Superman" #1 crossover, the Impossible
: Man insultingly refers to Mxyzptlk as "Mixed Pickles", I believe this
: may give us a clue to the proper pronouciation.
I remember from long ago an animated Superman cartoon (_no_ idea what
series or who made it... could even have been Super Friends. Also no idea
of year; somewhere in 1974-1980. :-/ ) in which Mxyzptlk came to bedevil
Superman. This was apparently supposed to be the first meeting of the
two, as Supes also had no idea how to pronounce the name, and continued
mispronouncing it 'mixed pickles' much to the imp's consternation.
At the end of the episode, someone (Lois?) asked Superman (Clark?) why he
looked so fatigued... he said it was a bad case of mixed pickles.
Possibly, the SS/S crossover was making a reference to this; possibly it
was just something arrived at independently.
Anyone have any clue as to the cartoon series and/or episode to which I'm
referring?
Shane H.W. Travis | We judge ourselves by what we feel capable of doing,
tra...@sedsystems.ca | but others judge us by what we have already done.
Saskatoon, Saskatchewan | -- Longfellow
RMorris306
Brad Ferguson wrote:
<<According to the late, great Mort Weisinger, who as SUPERMAN editor
addressed this question several times in his lettercol answers during his
long career:
Miz-yez-PITTLE-ick.>>
Actually "Mix-yez-PITEL-ick," which is almost the same (though I try to
elide all the vowels as much as possibly, on the theory that only a
Zrffian larynx can truly pronounce it.
<<Mxyzptlk's name was given as Mxyztplk in the earliest stories about him,
circa 1942-44. I guess they screwed it up (perhaps while Weisinger was in
the army) and left it that way forever afterward.>>
No, it was Weisinger who made the mistake! (According to Nelson
Bridwell, he never even *tried* to pronounce the name--just spelled out
"M-X-Y-Z" when talking about him. Bridwell, his assistant, came up with
the pronunciation.) He was already in the Army when the character made his
first appearance ("The Mysterious Mr. Mxyztplk," in SUPERMAN #30 in 1944,
by writer Jerry Siegel and artist Ira Yarbrough--not, as erroneously given
on one reprint, by John Sikela), and Jack Schiff was the editor of the
Superman books at the time. The actual typo, retained thereafter, was made
by writer Jerry Coleman in "The Menace of Mr. Mxyzptlk" in SUPERMAN #131
(1959). The original version of the name, according to writer Alvin
Schwartz (who wrote several stories with him) was pronounced
"Mix-IST-a-plick."
<<The backwards pronounciation is not precisely backwards, BTW. Instead,
the syllables are reversed nearly intact: ick-tipple-YEZ-mix.>>
No, that's also been given as being pronounced roughly as spelled
(making allowances for non-Zrfffian larynxes): Kil-tip-ZYKE-sim. (Indeed,
at least one fan tried to go even further and reverse the *sounds* in
"Mxyzptlk", rendering it closer to Kil-tip-ZIA-skim...but, unfortunately,
that ignores the fact that, most of the times he's said it, he was reading
something off without realizing what it was...)
And Pablo Gonzalez wrote:
<<To answer your question, Mxyzptlk's name is pronounced a few ways. The
old series, before the John Byrne revamp had it pronounced as
"Mix-el-plix".>>
Where? Nelson Bridwell came up with "Mix-yez-pitel-ick" back in
1964, when Byrne was still in high school. The only different version I
remember was one given by Weisinger himself before he hired Bridwell, to
the effect that, "You don't pronounce it...you sneeze it."
<<After the revamp, it was changed to "Mix-yez-pittle-ick" in Superman
#11, the first appearance of Mxy in the new series. If you're wondering
about the backwards pronounciation of his name, the old series had it as
"Kip-el-skim" Didn't go along to well with the spelling.>>
Not even the *old* spelling (presumably "Kulpt-ZYKE-sim"). Again,
where did you get that?
<<The New series has only used the backwards pronounciation once. In
Superman #11. That pronounciation was "Kill-tep-zix-em".>>
Ah, yes...Byrne always *did* think he could improve on the classics.
At least the cartoon has restored the original Gnostic concept...but why
would he (as given in a recent SUPERMAN ADVENTURES) have to say it
backwards *twice?*
Rich Morrissey
Logan
On 30 Mar 1997 21:39:46 GMT, cere...@aol.com (Cerebus0) wrote:
>To whoeveer doesn't look at the title of this message and run...
>How exactly do you pronounce Mxyzptlk's name
isn't it Mixy-Pid-ill-ik
user
In article <19970402005...@ladder01.news.aol.com>,
rmorr...@aol.com (RMorris306) wrote:
> And Pablo Gonzalez wrote:
> <<The New series has only used the backwards pronounciation once. In
> Superman #11. That pronounciation was "Kill-tep-zix-em".>>
I'm sorry, Pablo, but nowhere in Superman #11 does Mxy say, "Kill-tep-
zix-em;" he says, "Kltpzyxm." For my money, the way to pronounce these
two fifth-dimensional words _should_ be the _fifth-dimensional_ way
(or Zrfffian way, if you prefer. But don't forget the third "f.") --
_without vowels._ I'm serious. Spell it without vowels, say it without
vowels.
> Ah, yes...Byrne always *did* think he could improve on the classics.
> At least the cartoon has restored the original Gnostic concept...but why
> would he (as given in a recent SUPERMAN ADVENTURES) have to say it
> backwards *twice?*
Naw, Rich, Byrne didn't change the pronunciation of "Kltpzyxm;" that was
just Pablo's error above. But "Lois & Clark" has shown by Howie Mandeleristic
methods that forward it's pronounced "Mix-yez-pittle-ick," and backward it's
"Kill-tip-zix-im." Perhaps they have a rule: When in doubt, add an "i."
And I can't answer the question about SUPERMAN ADVENTURES. I don't buy that
book because, ever since ADVENTURES OF SUPERMAN #441, I can't take seriously
the "cartoonish" look. "Marvy Mouse"--?!
[I'm vanj...@ocf.berkeley.edu, posting from someone else's account, FYI.]
pablo daniel gonzalez
RMorris306 (rmorr...@aol.com) wrote:
: <<The backwards pronounciation is not precisely backwards, BTW. Instead,
: the syllables are reversed nearly intact: ick-tipple-YEZ-mix.>>
I'm willing to admit that it's different nowadays, but never was Mxy's
name pronounced phoenetically before the Byrne revamp. Backwards
either.
: No, that's also been given as being pronounced roughly as spelled
: (making allowances for non-Zrfffian larynxes): Kil-tip-ZYKE-sim. (Indeed,
: at least one fan tried to go even further and reverse the *sounds* in
: "Mxyzptlk", rendering it closer to Kil-tip-ZIA-skim...but, unfortunately,
: that ignores the fact that, most of the times he's said it, he was reading
: something off without realizing what it was...)
Sorry, but if we're in the current continuity and not the MAN OF
TOMORROW Elseworld. Then Mxy has never given his races name. Only that
he was from the 5th D.
:
And Pablo Gonzalez wrote:
: <<To answer your question, Mxyzptlk's name is pronounced a few ways. The
: old series, before the John Byrne revamp had it pronounced as
: "Mix-el-plix".>>
: Where? Nelson Bridwell came up with "Mix-yez-pitel-ick" back in
: 1964, when Byrne was still in high school. The only different version I
: remember was one given by Weisinger himself before he hired Bridwell, to
: the effect that, "You don't pronounce it...you sneeze it."
:
Sorry, Bridwell came up with the spelling not the pronounciation. It
was supposed to be, originally a name that couldn't be pronounced
normally by 3rd D. people.
: Not even the *old* spelling (presumably "Kulpt-ZYKE-sim"). Again,
: where did you get that?
There was no "old" spelling. It's been spelt the same way always. The
only thing that's changed was the pronounciation.
: Ah, yes...Byrne always *did* think he could improve on the classics.
: At least the cartoon has restored the original Gnostic concept...but why
: would he (as given in a recent SUPERMAN ADVENTURES) have to say it
: backwards *twice?*
Again, we're dealing with two different continuities. The Mxyzptlk from
the cartoon is not the same as from the comics. Nor is Superman. Any
rules that the writers of the cartoon want can apply. Or names. Case in
point, they've changed the names of the Kryptonian Criminals countless
times between, cartoon, comics (both), and movies. So different
continuities can have different names.
Pablo D. Gonzalez
AKA UruMan
http://www.geocities.com/Hollywood/Hills/2010
whe...@aol.com
> Perhaps they have a rule: When in doubt, add an "i."
Well, they're probably adding a "Schwah" (spelling?), which is that upside down "e" thing you see in dictionary pronuncitation guides. It's a little closer to a short "u" in pronunciation, but it
doesn't have a common phonetic spelling in English ... so they have to improvise, and I guess "i" is the closest they can come.
If "Schwah" is pronounced as the "u" in "circus," that makes it a cross between "uh" and "eh" (I lean towards "eh," you'all might do otherwise. It's a regional dialect kind of thing)... So if we
indicate "schwah" with "@," (I don't have a schwah on my keyboard) the pronunciation is
M@x-y@z-p@tt@l-@ck
which for me is
Mehcks-yehz-pehttehl-ehck. That's not too far from "i" with my regional accent.
Now, as for the backwards pronunciation. I like the idea that it's pronounced with the syllables reversed (@ck-@l-P@t-Y@z-M@x), seeing as that seems more likely for an alien phonetic system, but I'e
never seen evidence of it being done that way. After all, when we see Supes spell it out, it's always "Why, this card says 'Happy Birthday Kltpzyxm! OH NO!" poof!
And if we take the spelling phonetically we get
K@lt-p@z-y@x-@m.
Now as for the pronunciation of "Zrrrf." ..... I'm in favor of "Z@rrrrrrrf" rolling the "r"s, but I've also heard it "Z@r-If".
Actually, I prefer "Fifth Dimension."
-Jon.
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-Project Superman:2000
Dedicated to Creating a Better Krypton....
"It's Ben Steel! ... and his bear .... Hans!"
------------------------------------------------------------------
whe...@aol.com
I don't remember who wrote this originally, but I have to say:
>> Ah, yes...Byrne always *did* think he could improve on the classics.
>> At least the cartoon has restored the original Gnostic concept...but why
>> would he (as given in a recent SUPERMAN ADVENTURES) have to say it
>> backwards *twice?*
>
>
>
Man, the Byrne/Stern/Ordway revamp of Mxy was a solid idea. I mean, what kind of schmuck is this "sorceror" from an alien dimension?
He sees his name written backwards on giant children's blocks carved out of stone. "Kltpzyxm? Oh NO! I'll return in 90 days to plague you again SuperStupe!"
Then 90 days later: He sees his name spelled out backwards on a blimp flying over the city. "Kltpzyxm? Oh NO! I'll return in 90 days to plague you again SuperStupe!"
Then 90 days later: He sees his name spelled out on a billboard backwards. " "Kltpzyxm? Oh NO! I'll return in 90 days to plague you again SuperStupe!"
Then 90 days later: Superman asks "Say, what's you name backwards?" and Mxy answers "Kltpzyxm? Oh NO! I'll return in 90 days to plague you again SuperStupe!"
I mean ... RAO! What kind of idiot is this guy? THIS is a sorceror? Or fifth-dimensional scientist? How did he ever study any of this stuff? He's got a memory like a sieve!!!!!! If I
wrote the Silver Age Mxyzptlk, I'd have him keep forgetting where he put his glasses, even though they were on his head!
It was cute, okay, cute. And Alan Moore explained it slickly ... but I like the new idea of there being a different challenge every time Mxy appears ... and I really like how Mxy has
stopped being a menace and started trying to be Supes' pal. These are ALL solid improvements over seeing his name backwards on a t-shirt and "Kltpzyxm? Oh NO! I'll return in 90 days to plague you
again SuperStupe!" .....
thad a doria
>Cerebus0 (cere...@aol.com) wrote:
>: To whoeveer doesn't look at the title of this message and run...
>: How exactly do you pronounce Mxyzptlk's name
>
Pre-and post-Crisis, DC's pronunciation guides have had
"mix-yez-pittle-ick"
The golden age or Earth-2 imp's name was spelled slightly differently
(myxtzplk?) and was pronounced (i think) "mix-itz-pulk"
On the Superfriends cartoon they eliminated a syllable or two and
pronounced it "mixtel-plick" (which is what I prefer to use)
Backwards it's easier: "kilt-plik-skim"
--
-Thad Doria
"We *don't* like the atomic bomb. WHAT IS YOUR MEANING, LARRY?!"
--The Monks, 1966
RMorris306
Pablo Gonzalez wrote:
<<I'm willing to admit that it's different nowadays, but never was Mxy's
name pronounced phoenetically before the Byrne revamp. Backwards
either.>>
Maybe not, but the pronunciation was given in innumerable footnotes,
going back to 1964 at least.
<<Sorry, but if we're in the current continuity and not the MAN OF
TOMORROW Elseworld. Then Mxy has never given his races name. Only that
he was from the 5th D.>>
So, at least in lieu of anything contradictory, I'm sticking with
"Zrfff" (which has indeed been used in MAN OF TOMORROW, not to mention the
ATLAS OF THE DC UNIVERSE that Paul Kupperberg put together).
<<Sorry, Bridwell came up with the spelling not the pronounciation. It
was supposed to be, originally a name that couldn't be pronounced normally
by 3rd D. people.>>
No argument there.
<<There was no "old" spelling. It's been spelt the same way always. The
only thing that's changed was the pronounciation.>>
No, the spelling *did* change in 1959. He was originally Mr. Mxyztplk,
and his name was spelled that way (with occasional typos) right up through
1956. When Jerry Coleman inadvertently rendered the name as "Mzyzptlk" in
SUPERMAN #131, that's the way the name stayed.
<<Again, we're dealing with two different continuities. The Mxyzptlk from
the cartoon is not the same as from the comics. Nor is Superman. Any
rules that the writers of the cartoon want can apply. Or names.>>
You're right. I just don't see *why* they have to change it.
<<Case in point, they've changed the names of the Kryptonian Criminals
countless times between, cartoon, comics (both), and movies. So different
continuities can have different names.>>
There were at least 100 Kryptonian criminals in the Phantom Zone, so
why should they always have the same names?
Wheoum wrote:
<<I mean ... RAO! What kind of idiot is this guy? THIS is a sorceror? Or
fifth-dimensional scientist? How did he ever study any of this stuff? He's
got a memory like a sieve!!!!!! If I wrote the Silver Age Mxyzptlk, I'd
have him keep forgetting where he put his glasses, even though they were
on his head! >>
It's a common malady of the great tricksters of fiction and comedy,
from Brer Rabbit (who thought the sticky Tar Baby was alive) through Bugs
Bunny (who once fell in love with a greyhound track's mechanical rabbit)
that they can all be extremely stupid in some (decidedly not all) ways.
Mxyzptlk is no exception...
<<It was cute, okay, cute. And Alan Moore explained it slickly
... but I like the new idea of there being a different challenge every
time Mxy appears ... and I really like how Mxy has stopped being a menace
and started trying to be Supes' pal.>>
Oh, great. Now he's trying to imitate the schtick of, of all people,
Bat-Mite...
Rich