Wikipedia:Reference desk/Archives/Language/2022 July 19

= July 19 =

Is there a word for this?
Is there a specific word for when a woman's preferred sex partner is a washing machine? 2601:646:8A81:6070:985:24A1:BADC:76BA (talk) 03:33, 19 July 2022 (UTC)


 * Mechanophilia, Technosexual -- AnonMoos (talk) 04:58, 19 July 2022 (UTC)


 * Yes, given the emphasis on framing the washer as being the "partner". But that's very unusual. The vibrations from a washing machine can create stimulation, of course, like any vibrator, but that would typically just be called masturbation unless the speaker is attempting humour, such as men lamenting that they can only get a date with "Madam Palm" and the like. Matt Deres (talk) 16:29, 19 July 2022 (UTC)


 * You can always make up new words (what about "lavamatophilia"?), but even if you use a word that has been attested before, you risk using words that pretty much nobody understands. Which is pointless, unless your intention is to impress people with the words you know. PiusImpavidus (talk) 10:34, 19 July 2022 (UTC)


 * If we'd be purist with our Greek, it could possible be "plyntiriophila". Although PlusImpavidus' point still stands. 惑乱 Wakuran (talk) 19:12, 19 July 2022 (UTC)


 * Thanks, everyone! And yes, to address the point raised by Matt Deres, this question did in fact have to do with a humorous video I saw online (although it was not an attempt at humor on my own part.) 2601:646:8A81:6070:E8CD:FEE2:670C:CAEB (talk) 02:02, 20 July 2022 (UTC)

Mr. Cab Driver
In the song Mr. Cab Driver, Lenny Kravitz sings "Mr. Cab Driver pass me up with eyes of fire, Mr. Cab Driver thinks we're all 165'ers". What is a 165'er? J I P &#124; Talk 17:39, 19 July 2022 (UTC)
 * According to this user-generated site, it's New York slang for a male prostitute. --Viennese Waltz 18:16, 19 July 2022 (UTC)
 * According to SDMB, it's from the New York Penal Code article number for theft. Story checks out.  -- Jayron 32 18:38, 19 July 2022 (UTC)
 * Or, apparently dropping off a ride without paying, freeloading... 惑乱 Wakuran (talk) 19:18, 19 July 2022 (UTC)
 * That certainly fits the song better than male prostitution. J I P  &#124; Talk 20:34, 19 July 2022 (UTC)

Secret celebrity weddings
The recent nuptialization of Jennifer Lopez and Ben Affleck was widely described, as so many celebrity weddings are these days, as "secret". I never know what this means anymore.

It certainly wasn't a secret to (a) the celebrant, (b) the witnesses, (c) any guests they may have had, (d) anyone else present, (e) any friends or family they may have told, or (f) the public official to whom they submitted their marriage license. Barring posting the news on social media (by no means universal) or putting a notice in the newspaper (almost non-existent these days), a-f apply to virtually all weddings. So what is so different about celebrity weddings that result in them being called "secret"?

All I can think of is that the media were not even told about it, let alone invited, and were informed only after the event. And since we (the media) own you (celebrities), we have a right to know all of your doings, and if you conspire to keep things from us, that's by definition a secret. Is that the correct interpretation of "secret wedding"? --  Jack of Oz   [pleasantries]  23:39, 19 July 2022 (UTC)
 * That's a good summary of the situation. --←Baseball Bugs What's up, Doc? carrots→ 01:12, 20 July 2022 (UTC)
 * In a double secret, probationary wedding, even the bride and groom don't know what's going on. Clarityfiend (talk) 07:53, 20 July 2022 (UTC)
 * Stranger Spouses, the new reality show for 2023 (or is that still a secret?) -- Verbarson talkedits 09:40, 20 July 2022 (UTC)
 * Verbarson -- You seem to think you're joking, but Married at First Sight is an international reality-TV show franchise... AnonMoos (talk) 20:56, 20 July 2022 (UTC)
 * I was pushing for the 'Married before First Sight' vibe. -- Verbarson talkedits 10:46, 21 July 2022 (UTC)
 * Seems to have been a fairly common practice in many upper class circles among the world. Not regarded quite as favorably, nowadays. 惑乱 Wakuran (talk) 12:57, 21 July 2022 (UTC)
 * Ever since Henry VIII met Catherine of Aragon, and realised how airbrushed her pictures were. -- Verbarson talkedits 13:45, 21 July 2022 (UTC)
 * Actually, by all accounts, Henry really did like Catherine, but as she couldn't give him a boy child, she had to go. It was Anne of Cleves that he felt he was duped into marriage via the 16th century equivalent of instagram filters.  -- Jayron 32 16:51, 21 July 2022 (UTC)
 * Thank you. I stand corrected. -- Verbarson talkedits 18:36, 21 July 2022 (UTC)
 * I think, in the celebrity world, a "secret wedding" just means you didn't manage to sell the rights to Hello! or OK! or whoever. DuncanHill (talk) 11:33, 20 July 2022 (UTC)
 * "Secret" always means that the information is hidden from some people. It does not imply it is hidden from all people. Usually, the party keeping the information hidden has itself access to it. Classical cryptography depends on a secret key, which is (obviously) not secret to the party doing to the encryption, and is also supposed to be known to the recipient. For a celebrity wedding, one may wish to keep the fandom from massively flocking to the event. This can be avoided by keeping it a secret from the media until the event is over. --Lambiam 09:08, 21 July 2022 (UTC)
 * OK, but couldn't such a wedding just as well be described as "a private wedding"? "Secret" has connotations of furtiveness, something underhand, dishonest, inappropriate. --  Jack of Oz   [pleasantries]  09:14, 21 July 2022 (UTC)
 * It could be so described. What happened in this case is that the people who wrote the article in question chose to use the word "secret", and the reason is "they felt like it."  -- Jayron 32 11:10, 21 July 2022 (UTC)
 * "Secret" in a headline will double the readership.
 * Cynical? Moi? -- Verbarson talkedits 12:38, 21 July 2022 (UTC)
 * Jayron, if this were a one-off case, your explanation might fly. But it's become the word that's often used in such cases. Used by the media, that is. Not by any actual human beings. --  Jack of Oz   [pleasantries]  20:09, 21 July 2022 (UTC)
 * Liam and Olivia did not communicate their wedding plans to the media. The media would not have been interested anyway. But Aunt Dorothy was very upset that she had been kept out of the loop. "They kept it secret!", she exclaimed. "How could they, after all I did for them?" In the case of a celebrity couple, I imagine the media are equally miffed. --Lambiam 06:25, 22 July 2022 (UTC)