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Help[Opinions] Viola -- still a good joke or not?
I was surfing my cable TV this morning and on Turner Classic Movies they were showing "The Saint in New York", a 1938 film featuring Simon Templar, the famous British crimefighter character, dealing with gangsters in New York.
I just happened to come into the movie when Templar had discovered who had kidnapped a girl from a wealthy family for ransom. He said to one of the leaders of the kidnappers: "Don't you think a girl with a name like Viola Throckmorton has enough problems without being kidnapped?"
I immediately thought that with Violet now being so popular as a baby name that that joke doesn't work as well as it might have in 1938. But then I checked on the popularity of Viola in the USA the last few years. It seems to have plateaued at a level of about 25 to 40 births fewer than it needs to break into the top thousand names.
So why do you all think Viola hasn't had a big comeback in the USA yet despite the great popularity of Violet and the fashion for girls' names ending in -a?
Does the joke from the 1938 film still work for you? And if not, what first name would you pair with Throckmorton to make it work for you in 2021?
I just happened to come into the movie when Templar had discovered who had kidnapped a girl from a wealthy family for ransom. He said to one of the leaders of the kidnappers: "Don't you think a girl with a name like Viola Throckmorton has enough problems without being kidnapped?"
I immediately thought that with Violet now being so popular as a baby name that that joke doesn't work as well as it might have in 1938. But then I checked on the popularity of Viola in the USA the last few years. It seems to have plateaued at a level of about 25 to 40 births fewer than it needs to break into the top thousand names.
So why do you all think Viola hasn't had a big comeback in the USA yet despite the great popularity of Violet and the fashion for girls' names ending in -a?
Does the joke from the 1938 film still work for you? And if not, what first name would you pair with Throckmorton to make it work for you in 2021?
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Replies
Don’t get it, but then I’m not Anglophone. I prefer Viola to Violet actually, and in Italian for instance Viola is more common than Violetta, which has a slightly ridiculous vibe. Viola reminds me of “Twelfth Night.”
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Very funny, haha. Suiwjsjwiww82728
man the name Viola literally got me laughing my arse off that name is such a good joke maybe I've got old fogey humour
I don't even know what the joke is BTW, can you explain to me what is so funny about the name? I'm a 12 year old Bri'ish child you see... And the only thing I find funny is "my dad went to get milk and never came back"
man the name Viola literally got me laughing my arse off that name is such a good joke maybe I've got old fogey humour
I don't even know what the joke is BTW, can you explain to me what is so funny about the name? I'm a 12 year old Bri'ish child you see... And the only thing I find funny is "my dad went to get milk and never came back"
This message was edited 10/26/2021, 2:21 PM
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Bri’ish child lmao
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Viola has several things stacked against it: no one knows how to pronounce it, it's a weird instrument, and "Violet" is right there and way easier to deal with.
I think it would have shed its old-lady association more if it hadn't had these things working against it when the trend it fits into was picking up.
"Throckmorton" is just a cumbersome sounding name, that's why it's funny. Maybe Viola is a prissy name? So Isabella Throckmorton?
I think it would have shed its old-lady association more if it hadn't had these things working against it when the trend it fits into was picking up.
"Throckmorton" is just a cumbersome sounding name, that's why it's funny. Maybe Viola is a prissy name? So Isabella Throckmorton?
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it's a weird instrument?
what is weird about violas lol
Disrespect to ling ling practise 40hrs a day Viola players
what is weird about violas lol
Disrespect to ling ling practise 40hrs a day Viola players
This message was edited 10/26/2021, 2:30 PM
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People don't really know what a viola is, and it has a whole genre of jokes about it. Source: professional violist
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This message was edited 9/8/2022, 4:37 PM
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Viola jokes are basically comparable to blond jokes. You can google "viola jokes" if u want.
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I think Viola isn’t popular for one very good reason: it’s really, terribly ugly. VI-OOHH-Luh. Yuck. That Ole sound is awful. Violet is much prettier, gentler, less 1930s hillbilly.
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also ...
the only Viola most kids might know about is Miss Viola Swamp, the scary-looking substitute teacher from the book Miss Nelson Is Missing.
the only Viola most kids might know about is Miss Viola Swamp, the scary-looking substitute teacher from the book Miss Nelson Is Missing.
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Don't like viola at all, doesn't sound nice at all
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Viola, Maria, Olivia ... I love Twelfth Night, and it seems a pity that the female lead's name is, IRL, the least popular of the three - OK, so she's a drag act for most of the action, but that's Shakespeare for you.
I've been told by people I respect that on Shakespeare's stage Olivia would sound the same as now, but Maria would be maRYEa like the bread, and Viola would be veeOHla, not vyeOHla. Like the musical instrument, in fact. I like Viola a lot and dislike over-sweetened Violet, but hey, I'm not American!
I've been told by people I respect that on Shakespeare's stage Olivia would sound the same as now, but Maria would be maRYEa like the bread, and Viola would be veeOHla, not vyeOHla. Like the musical instrument, in fact. I like Viola a lot and dislike over-sweetened Violet, but hey, I'm not American!
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I find Throckmorton funnier than Viola.
Personally, I like and would use Viola. I don't find it comical. The thing that holds me back, and may be an issue in the States, is that Viola is awfully close to the word for rape in Spanish (which, in French, is similar to the word for 'to violate'). Another issue is pronunciation: is the 'i' long or short? That bothers me as well.
I think there is still time for Viola to come back into fashion.
Personally, I like and would use Viola. I don't find it comical. The thing that holds me back, and may be an issue in the States, is that Viola is awfully close to the word for rape in Spanish (which, in French, is similar to the word for 'to violate'). Another issue is pronunciation: is the 'i' long or short? That bothers me as well.
I think there is still time for Viola to come back into fashion.
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Well, when I hear Viola, I think of Gwyneth Paltrow's character from "Shakespeare In Love". I don't think of a movie from 1938, and I don't think people young enough to have children in 2021 would, either. So, the Throckmorton reference doesn't really matter.
Aside from that, I don't think Viola is an attractive name, at all. I tend to like "ugly" old lady names, but this one is so ugly I can't warm to it, just like I can't warm to Beulah. It's in that same class. Violet is pretty, cute, bright-eyed. Viola is...not that.
As for Throckmorton...what about an 80's name, like Jessica Throckmorton, or Jennifer Throckmorton? Amanda Throckmorton? That works better for me, I'm not sure why. Probably because that's my age group.
Aside from that, I don't think Viola is an attractive name, at all. I tend to like "ugly" old lady names, but this one is so ugly I can't warm to it, just like I can't warm to Beulah. It's in that same class. Violet is pretty, cute, bright-eyed. Viola is...not that.
As for Throckmorton...what about an 80's name, like Jessica Throckmorton, or Jennifer Throckmorton? Amanda Throckmorton? That works better for me, I'm not sure why. Probably because that's my age group.
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Amanda Throckmorton reminds me of Mandy Brocklehurst from Harry Potter.
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I had great aunts named Viola and Veda, so those seem about the same age to me, and Veda's come back sort of...I think it might be too close to Violet and clunkier, like the instrument, or kind of how Minerva is clunkier than Athena.
I like Viola, but mainly as a middle name (ex. Astrid Viola), and I sometimes prefer Iola.
I think Viola Throckmorton as a joke could make sense still, but it'd be a mean one and not because of Viola. Maybe something like Princess, Chastity, Randi? Or Agatha, Agnes, Minerva, Minnie, Narcissa, Prunella, Prudence, Priscilla, Pansy, Primrose? P names seem a little comical to me, even though I like most of those names.
I like Viola, but mainly as a middle name (ex. Astrid Viola), and I sometimes prefer Iola.
I think Viola Throckmorton as a joke could make sense still, but it'd be a mean one and not because of Viola. Maybe something like Princess, Chastity, Randi? Or Agatha, Agnes, Minerva, Minnie, Narcissa, Prunella, Prudence, Priscilla, Pansy, Primrose? P names seem a little comical to me, even though I like most of those names.
This message was edited 10/25/2021, 9:05 AM
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Viola wasn't her problem ..
I think it was Throckmorton. Throckmorton is just so comically upper-crust, she'd sound funny even if her first name was Mary or Anne.
My guess is Simon made the joke because by that time, Viola was out of fashion and maybe had a hillbilly or bumpkin vibe?
That's why I don't think Viola has come back. I knew one Viola, she was a bit older than me and was from a seriously backwoods white family in Oklahoma, though I think they originally came from Arkansas. She had a brother named Claude and a sister named Kitty-Sue. In a school full of kids named Jennifer and Angie and Chris and Matt, they definitely stuck out.
I think it was Throckmorton. Throckmorton is just so comically upper-crust, she'd sound funny even if her first name was Mary or Anne.
My guess is Simon made the joke because by that time, Viola was out of fashion and maybe had a hillbilly or bumpkin vibe?
That's why I don't think Viola has come back. I knew one Viola, she was a bit older than me and was from a seriously backwoods white family in Oklahoma, though I think they originally came from Arkansas. She had a brother named Claude and a sister named Kitty-Sue. In a school full of kids named Jennifer and Angie and Chris and Matt, they definitely stuck out.
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Viola, Claude and... Kitty-Sue??? Way to make your child stick out like a sore thumb within her own family lmao
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Throckmorton sign is also a medical term, although I'm not sure how old it is.
This message was edited 10/25/2021, 8:36 AM
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I had to look this up to find out what it was. It's more often called the John Thomas sign and seems to have been named after a physician named Thomas Bentley Throckmorton who was born in 1885 and died in 1961. It is exceedingly unlikely that the screenwriters or film audiences in 1938 would have known about this -- I doubt if there are hardly any screenwriters or members of a film audience who have no training in a medical profession who've heard of it today. So I think the problem with "Throckmorton" has to do with its sound and length, not an association with this discredited medical sign.
https://radiopaedia.org/articles/throckmorton-sign-pelvis?lang=us
https://radiopaedia.org/articles/throckmorton-sign-pelvis?lang=us
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Oh, good. Yeah, I figured that was kind of obscure, but it does add to why the name's unenviable.
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yes ...
The sound of it is funny; throck! Like choking on a fishbone. Or like hitting someone upside his head, more solidly than a thwack but not as solid as a thump.
There is a town and county in Texas called Throckmorton.
And I believe there's some castle or family or both in England called Throgmorton, which is even funnier.
The sound of it is funny; throck! Like choking on a fishbone. Or like hitting someone upside his head, more solidly than a thwack but not as solid as a thump.
There is a town and county in Texas called Throckmorton.
And I believe there's some castle or family or both in England called Throgmorton, which is even funnier.
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Throckmorton and Throgmorton are from an English place name which according to "A Dictionary of English Place-Names" by A. D. Mills is possibly from Old English for "farmstead by a pool with a beam bridge", with the "Throc" part meaning "beam bridge".
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looked up the medical sign ...
Now I know more than I ever wanted to know about penis location in relation to pelvic or leg injuries. I didn't actually want to know anything about it at all. lol
As I recall, John Thomas was slang for penis in "Lady Chatterley's Lover."
Now I know more than I ever wanted to know about penis location in relation to pelvic or leg injuries. I didn't actually want to know anything about it at all. lol
As I recall, John Thomas was slang for penis in "Lady Chatterley's Lover."
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In Lady Chat and beyond. I know an Englishman whose ln is Thomas and who has three given names. He once remarked that he was extremely grateful that none of them was John, and everyone nodded wisely!
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A friend of mine named his son John Thomas recently. I uh didn't say anything. But I thought thing.
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I agree with your statement than "In a school full of kids named Jennifer and Angie and Chris and Matt, they definitely stuck out." However, that is NOT what schools are full of today! That's a list of names that elementary schools would have been full of around 1990, thirty years ago.
Today elementary schools are full of kids named Sophia, Ava, Mason and Noah. :) Viola seems to me to fit in a bit better with those.
Today elementary schools are full of kids named Sophia, Ava, Mason and Noah. :) Viola seems to me to fit in a bit better with those.
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