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Meh/Obfuscate

Filed Under January 2008, columns

Dear Word Detective: I submitted a word “obfuscate” several days ago and I would like to know the origin of it. I also would like to offer a word my family and a neighboring family began using in the 1970s. Now that all my children and their children are grown and have children I am beginning to hear it in the strangest places. The word is “meh-meh.” You have to say it softly to someone who has a bit of basil leaf on a tooth, or a dried droplet of spit on the corner of their mouth, or a mascara smear, or maybe pepperoni on their lapel. It is a gentle hint that you have a wee mess. — Joellen.

“Pepperoni on their lapel”? Are you folks having food fights in a pizzeria? And here I thought I was untidy because I have coffee spots on my shoes, the result of carrying a full cup upstairs to my office while a few dozen cats are trying to trip me. I suspect they’re trying to get my car keys.

“Obfuscate” is a useful word. To “obfuscate” something (usually a fact) is to obscure it or to make an issue unclear in order to gain an advantage (”Bob’s attempts to obfuscate his guilt by claiming he thought the plasma TVs were ‘free samples’ didn’t work”). White House press briefings, for instance, are almost always exercises in obfuscation, regardless of the party in power. “Obfuscate” comes directly from the Late Latin “ob” (over, in front of) plus “fuscare” (to make dark), giving the literal meaning of “to cast darkness over.”

“Meh-meh” is a new one on me, at least in that form. The interjection “meh” has been gaining ground in recent years, mostly due to its popularization by The Simpsons. A typical use is in the episode “Hungry Hungry Homer,” when Homer tries to interest Bart and Lisa in a visit to Blockoland, an amusement park: Bart and Lisa together: Meh. Homer: But the TV gave me the impression that… Bart: We said, “Meh!” Lisa: M-E-H, meh.

“Meh” in this usage is an expression of apathy and lack of interest, not as strong as “feh,” which connotes actual disgust. “Meh” is, not surprisingly, popular on the internet, and you can even pick up a “meh” t-shirt at thinkgeek.com. There is some evidence that “meh,” like “feh” (which was popularized in the US by Mad magazine), is Yiddish in origin. The title song of the 1936 Yiddish film “Yidl Mitn Fidl” contains the verse “A goat stands in the meadow, And bleats a sad ‘meh!’, Hey you goat, you foolish one, Being sad is ‘feh’!” On the other hand, goats do make a sound that strongly resembles “meh,” so that may be just a coincidence.

So, does “meh” come from (or lead to) “meh-meh”? Hard to say, but since “meh” is an expression of vague disgust, and pepperoni on one’s lapel is a fashion statement unlikely to win friends, I’d say it’s a possibility.

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