Fantastical Naming Twists

Smashfiction · Oct 13, 2009

I really enjoy reading an SF or Fantasy story where an everyday term or phrase is redefined into a new slang word for the world, a symbolic name and what not. It makes me warm and fuzzy. But I'm having trouble doing it myself. One of the rather confusing protagonists is a very mysterious theatrical character and i thoguht something to do with stagecraft or acting would be a fitting name others might bewstow upon him, but turns out all synonyms for 'actor' are pretty dull or common. Likewise, I was after a slangish word for some subterranean workers. Anyway got some good ideas on how to put a neat twist on something old?

And, just to keep this interesting, nayoen got any totally unrelated examples they know of, to help top up my warm fuzziness while i ponder?

Cyia · Oct 13, 2009

Call the theater guy MacBeth

Using the "unluckiest" theater word for a protag could work well. If he's more behind the scenes in his theater work, maybe "Winger" - as in someone who sticks to the stage wings.

For the diggers, I'd stick with something like Sandhogs (urban tunnelers). It's slang, and common enough that most people would know what you mean right off.

maxmordon · Oct 13, 2009

Gambarotta, meaning "Broken leg" in Italian, you know, break a leg...

Smashfiction · Oct 13, 2009

gah, sorry, forgot to mention its set sort of alternate victorian age, maybe a little later but with similar styles. i love the potential of that era. if that affects my available choice in any way (opening or closing doors) then i guess it is relevant.

I like that Gambarotta thing, but would readers get it? maybe as Cyia suggested, i just need some sort of theatrical sounding name or infamous character?

Kitty Pryde · Oct 13, 2009

My favorite inventor of slang is Rudy Rucker. He's got boppers (robots), little boppers (ambulatory robots), big boppers (building-sized robots), meatbops (robot/human hybrids), chipmold (bio disease that infects boppers) moldies (robot/infectious robot disease hybrids), and cheeseballs (humans who have sex with moldies).

As to a theatrical name...you have any number of shakespearean names to choose from, maybe pick one that suits him. Underground names: molemen, spelunkers, cavers, cataphiles (people who like catacombs!), splooshers.

Dicentra P · Oct 13, 2009

Olivier Lawrence?

maxmordon · Oct 13, 2009

Smashfiction said:
gah, sorry, forgot to mention its set sort of alternate victorian age, maybe a little later but with similar styles. i love the potential of that era. if that affects my available choice in any way (opening or closing doors) then i guess it is relevant.

I like that Gambarotta thing, but would readers get it? maybe as Cyia suggested, i just need some sort of theatrical sounding name or infamous character?

I guess a couple of them will get it, but isn't MacBeth too obvious? What about Gonzago? From The Murder of Gonzago or the Mousetrap (The play Hamlet shows to his relatives in Hamlet)

Smashfiction · Oct 13, 2009

Macbeth is a tad obvious yes, and i think wrong for the character to be honest. To be frank, i'm no great shakes at Shakespeare. Maybe if anyone could tell me if one of his characters (or any playwright's) seems similar to this guy?

He is masked, and well-dressed with a short cloak. He carries with him an odd assortment of combat gadgetry (mostly clockwork) and perhaps a cane. He has longish hair tied back for action. The other protagonists don't actaully know his real identity or even have a real relationship with him - he sort of swoops in and out of things. He has a penchant for the (melo)dramatic and tends to take the most theatrical course of action as supposed to the easiest. Despite this slightly childish way of viewing himself as the mysterious hero, the other characters respect him, mostly because he does keep helping them out and he chooses his words very carefully, appearing cultured and knowledgeable. He is quite acrobatic and charming in a way.

and the subterranean workers are more maintenance men than anything, sort of a whole class of mechanic/engineers used for labour. is there a particular slang term that rfers to that more than anything?

DangerT · Oct 13, 2009

I'd say "Puck" though I'm sure that's been done to freaking death.

Why not just the name "Theater"? Like...Theater Jones. Maybe a little on the nose, but maybe it could be a secret identity, then he can have a pedestrian birthname like John...Tyler?

When you talked about your underground people I thought of "Ants." They live underground and are constantly working to maintain the structures of their home. And it's slangish, common, and derogatory.

Smashfiction · Oct 13, 2009

Theater Jones sounds like the start of an excellently cheesy detective program with his partner Moses Valentine

But Theatre does, ofc, carry with it all the theatrical connotations...

Ants is pretty cool. Would it be a step too far to combine it with something else, like....Oilants or....Steamants or...i dunno. both terrible examples.

can anyone remember who said "something something something...all the world's a stage"?

Kitty Pryde · Oct 13, 2009

lol! shakespeare! as you like it:

All the world's a stage,
And all the men and women merely players;
They have their exits and their entrances,
And one man in his time plays many parts,
His acts being seven ages.

Smashfiction · Oct 13, 2009

damn. that guy gets around

2Wheels · Oct 13, 2009

You say you didn't like the alternatives for 'actor'? What's wrong with 'Thespian'? I think that would be a great name.

"Thespian T. Lovejoy at your service, ma'am."

Or summat loike that.

DangerT · Oct 13, 2009

Smashfiction said:
Ants is pretty cool. Would it be a step too far to combine it with something else, like....Oilants or....Steamants or...i dunno. both terrible examples.

Sewerants!

...that's just the first thing that came to mind.

maxmordon · Oct 13, 2009

Smashfiction said:
Macbeth is a tad obvious yes, and i think wrong for the character to be honest. To be frank, i'm no great shakes at Shakespeare. Maybe if anyone could tell me if one of his characters (or any playwright's) seems similar to this guy?

He is masked, and well-dressed with a short cloak. He carries with him an odd assortment of combat gadgetry (mostly clockwork) and perhaps a cane. He has longish hair tied back for action. The other protagonists don't actaully know his real identity or even have a real relationship with him - he sort of swoops in and out of things. He has a penchant for the (melo)dramatic and tends to take the most theatrical course of action as supposed to the easiest. Despite this slightly childish way of viewing himself as the mysterious hero, the other characters respect him, mostly because he does keep helping them out and he chooses his words very carefully, appearing cultured and knowledgeable. He is quite acrobatic and charming in a way.

and the subterranean workers are more maintenance men than anything, sort of a whole class of mechanic/engineers used for labour. is there a particular slang term that rfers to that more than anything?

To be honest, your character reminds me more V from V From Vendetta than any Shakespeare's character. What about Yorick? The clown that used to make Hamlet so happy when he was a child? (You can see I have only read Hamlet and Titus Andronicus, can you?)

MAP · Oct 13, 2009

I second thespian.

Caitlin Black · Oct 14, 2009

"Dashing. Thespian Dashing."

Oh wait, you probably don't want to rip off the James Bond go-to. Or maybe you do? *nudge nudge*

I think Ants is fine. No real need to build on it, unless you make a point of giving long names for people/groups - like, a lot of Fantasy that I've read just seems to have a desire to give long names for some reason. Maybe because "Bob" doesn't inspire you to dragons... IMO, shorter is better, and usually easier to remember, though the trade-off is that it could be less likely to become a part of pop-culture unless it's really something special.

Just an opinion here, but I think working with the word Thespian... giving that as the name is a little on the nose, but I think Thespi could work. You know, like a group of people named Thespi would be Thespians, if you get my meaning. And people will probably know what you mean by it anyway. I know that whenever I read a name I'm not familiar with, I assess it in my head - does it sound like something else, is it like a place name, what would this word share a root with... that sort of thing.

You could name the book "Thespi and the Ants"

Cliff

Sarah W · Oct 14, 2009

If you aren't fond of Shakespeare, how about Christopher Marlowe? He wrote some marvelously rich stuff, worldly and base at the same time--like Dr. Faustus.

Yorick Marlowe, maybe? His closest friends could call him "Kit" as an inside joke . . .

Smashfiction · Oct 15, 2009

I considred Thespian but i wasn't sure about it. However, the original greek actor for which the term is coined was called Thespis.

So how about Thespis Nouveau? As in 'New Thespis'

DangerT · Oct 15, 2009

Smashfiction said:
I considred Thespian but i wasn't sure about it. However, the original greek actor for which the term is coined was called Thespis.

So how about Thespis Nouveau? As in 'New Thespis'

I don't like it when people mix up languages. I know it happens, IRL, but a Greek word followed by a French word throws it off for me.

Smashfiction · Oct 15, 2009

I did think that might grate a little, but I was taking Thespis as a name across all languages, like....Richard...if that works. And I thought maybe the Nouveau thing would help fit in with the victoriany, trying to be high class by being europeanly cultured...thing they had going on. but if it sounds too weird then something else shall be found

Rhys Cordelle · Oct 24, 2009

I don't think there's anything particularly wrong with Thespis Nouveau. If his father is french and his mother greek then there's your name explanation.

Smiling Ted · Oct 24, 2009

The underground workers - Morlocks. Or Myrmidons.
The actor - the Great Lorenzo.

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