This post explores the meanings behind the new items and words that are included in the Wild West event. This covers Act 1.
Building or Decoration Names
The Top Chop Barber Shop name (along with image) appears to reference the Native American practice of scalping. Scalping is the barbaric practice of removing the skin of the head (the scalp) from a war victim. This creates a hairy war trophy.
Top Chop seems to indicate a well done haircut. Chop is a synonym for a haircut. But taking the two words literally it can be read as chopping the top of the head, i.e. the scalp.
What I can’t figure out is why this business would name itself this. Was it named back when racism against Native Americans was in vogue? Has this item ever appeared on the show, or is it exclusive to the game? Maybe the joke is similar to “I asked for some off the top, but the barber (or is it barbarian?) took it literally and scalped me”…
The Stage Coach is a simple decoration, but I’m going to explore the words that make it up.
“Coach” is based on a placename for where the first “carriages” (or the name of carriages) started, in Kocs, Hungary. This is similar to how we got the name for hamburgers (Hamburg, Germany) — ironically though, that origin is less well attested.
The word stage on its own would bring to mind the area where plays are performed. That is understandable since that is the older meaning. The meaning for this word is actually that of the distance between destinations, or a “leg”.
Putting the words together brings us to a meaning of a coach that is meant for travel, such as moving to a distant land, such as the Wild West was to the USA at the time. Speaking of putting the words together, they are not. They’re not together like the compound word “stagecoach” that is in the dictionary. The compound word was formed by the 1600s, including a hyphenated version. EA has seemed to favor separation of compound words, at times. I’m not sure why.
Characters
Gummy Joe is so named due to having nearly no teeth, and therefore being “all gums”. But he actually has one tooth, called “Chomper”, so he’s a bit incorrectly named.
Jobs
Make Wolfcastle Get To A Choppa [at the Top Chop Barber Shop].
While this can be taken literally, if we call the barber a “chopper” (see building naming above), this is apparently based on a meme from the movie Predator, where “choppa” refers to a helicopter. The meme has since mutated into the meaning “get to something important”, so the meaning here is that Wolfcastle (a parody of Schwartenegger) needs to get a haircut — badly!
Speaking of literal, helicopter becomes chopper via military slang during the Korean War. The meaning seems to have formed based on how the helicopter blades “chop” the air.
Dialogue
“This gold coin is an ultra-rare 1879 U.S. Triple Eagle! It’s priceless!”
This coin does not appear to exist, but that can be expected for a fictional world. The closest coin that exists is the Double Eagle circa 1850-1900s.
The $10 eagles were produced beginning in 1795 […]. Since the $20 gold piece had twice the value of the eagle, these coins were designated “double eagles”.
From that quote we can conclude that a triple eagle would be worth $30 at the time, and in the thousands nowadays (because they were made with 90% gold).
“It’s not a bar, Moe. It’s a wild west SALOON.”
It’s also not not a bar, Homer. 😉 Saloon can mean that it is just a place, but usually a place that also serves alcohol. In times of past a saloon was member’s only, whereas pubs and other bars were open to the public. It would most likely be a nicer place to be, as Moe worried. Later dialogue shows that it is essentially a bar, as Homer gets drunk.
“them thar” [and other forms of “thar“]
These are words that “mimic” the dialect of the frontiersmen (although my source places the dialect at the Appalachians, which is on the East Coast). “Thar” is simply “there”, and based on it’s etymology, “thær”, seems to be a more correct pronunciation, historically. “Them thar” together translates to “those”.
What do you think of these interpretations? Have a different reading of anything? Anything else from the Wild West Event that you wanted covered? Comment below.
TSTO, Stat! 
I didn’t read it yet, just wanted to ask: do you say “chop” for the mixture of tobacco and weed? I’ve heard it once but not sure when or where.
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Hah, that does not seem related, but thanks for the pothead chuckle. 😉
Though, that wooden Indian in front, I believe, can be featured in front of “tobacco” stores. I didn’t look into it.
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It’s not related at all. Just wanted to ask. 😛
And you didn’t answer me… I was serious. Do you (plural) say “chop” for the mixture of marijuana and tobacco?
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I see that you’ve clarified the plurality of “you”. But, well, I, personally, still wouldn’t know much about it first-hand. I had a quick look online and I see that, yes, it can be called “chop” but seems more likely to be called a “spliff”. I have heard of spliffs, but I didn’t know what they were…and I, personally, never heard of chop. I have seen Pineapple Express but I don’t think I remember a word of it, and that’s only relevant if it contained references to weed. lol. I have seen Cheech and Chong movies, but I was younger and I remember nothing from them anymore. But, back to chop, the consensus based on a forum dedicated to marijuana (with people writing in English) is that mixing the two is not a great idea. I’ve heard of drugs being laced/mixed before, but never in a very positive light…unless you were positive that you wanted to hurt/vomit/die. *shrug*
There you go, my quick opinion….
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Thanks. I’d say more but it’s Sunday
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Oh, Sunday is spliff day? 😉 chuckle
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My comment didn’t show 😦
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That’s weird. Your email address is the same, right?
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Yes. Neither of my comments showed. But now I know I wasn’t banned, so it’s okay. 😉
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Well, when one comment needs moderated then they all need it. Looks like you’re getting auto-moderated fine again now. If it happens again I’ll take another look at why.
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Do you not sign in to your WordPress account when you comment here? I see “Vanessa” and “Vanessa M. Y.” but isn’t “vanessamy2542” your WP account?
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As far as I can tell, and this is from the perspective of a user/commenter, signing in through WordPress just lets you have an easier time signing in. Before I got a WordPress account I had to sign in each time, but thankfully the browser keeps the text in those fields (security risk! 😉 ). Then you can choose whatever name you want each time you post a comment. Using a WP account just means that to use different names you needs to go into the WP settings and change it there. Either way, there’s no indication that she didn’t sign in with WP.
WordPress might have other reasons to not auto-approve a comment, but I’ve not been made aware. Plus, the log shows that it was auto-approved…which of course doesn’t make sense.
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I was wondering, more in general, than specifically about this issue. I noticed the different names and was curious if there was a reason for the change(s).
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Oh. Then I’ll keep my lip zipped.
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You needn’t do any lip-zipping. Extra insight is always welcome. 🙂
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Correct. WordPress account email is my first and last names exactly. I chosen to not use it,, too revealing.
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I understand. I’m wary about that, too.
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Unrelated, but your breakdown of Stage Coach reminded me of a Deep Thought… “Maybe in order to understand mankind we have to look at that word itself. ‘Mankind.’ Basically, it’s made up of two separate words ‘mank’ and ‘ind.’ What do these words mean? It’s a mystery and that’s why so is mankind.”
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That’s horrible. 😛 I can see “mank” being a word, but “ind”? If it were a real word, would it be spelled “inde” or “eind” or something similar or even “inned”?
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You’re putting some deep thought into this “Deep Thought.” 😛
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Also, that’s related enough for me. 😉 😛 If one of my thoughts led to a “deep thought” — perfect! 🙂
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Is this a joke?
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Deep Thoughts by Jack Handey.
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I partially agree with you on Friends. Season 8 is still “fine” to me, but isn’t nearly as fun as the first seasons. Seasons 9 and 10 are worse… You kinda feel the writers are tired, and it turns from a well written to a cliché, obvious kind of comedy. Oh lord I wish my vocabulary was better. I can talk for hours about this. You’re talking to a Friends maniac.
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Looks like you would get my “Fun Bobby” reference! (That was probably in an email, though…)
I have the first three seasons of Friends on DVD (no TV service, remember?) and I can tell you that I see many uses of tropes to get laughs. (Tropes are the nicer version of cliches.) Even though I can see them I think they’re funnier because they’re not performed (or written) in a tired way. It’s probably what you were saying, too.
I think the reason that later seasons get this way is that the stars become too big (movies, other shows), too busy, too orange (tans, fake or real), and can no longer inhabit the roles with any honesty (they’re no longer poor or struggling enough). Then there’s the writers, who probably aren’t treated well enough anymore.
Similarly, I look at the Simpsons writers and see all the upheaval in writing staff, i.e. Matt Groening leaving, and see that maybe shows should not continue past like 5 seasons. It’s harsh, I know, but isn’t that more the norm for British shows which are often more acclaimed than our own?
Anyways…feel free to go on about Friends.
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I forgot about your email! 😛 Just kidding. Yes, I got your Fun Bobby reference. I think I can get any Friends reference I come across… I once took a Friends SAT just for fun and scored 100%. Lol.
I do remember you don’t have TV service, but you have seen all seasons, right? Or you’re just prejudging the quality of the last seasons because of the color of their skins? 😅
Thanks for explaining what “trope” means. I agree, especially with Phoebe’s jokes. I know she’s supposed to be “weird”, but sometimes they push it too hard. But not only her… Joey being a dim-witted character doesn’t help. I know “stupid” characters are common in sitcoms, and that leads to “obvious” jokes. But even then, you can spot creative and well elaborated jokes here and there – I like Zack (from Big Bang Theory) very much, for example. But now I’m rambling… Where was I? Oh, yes. The writers and actors becoming tired. Yes, yes. Their tan doesn’t bother me much, but after watching it a gazillion times, I started noticing some… hmm I don’t know how to say this… involuntary body movements? Lol sorry. Matthew Perry shows his tongue a little bit after saying a line and Matt LeBlanc has this super annoying twitch (?) where he lifts the right side (ALWAYS THE RIGHT SIDE) in an awkward, half-smile way. On top of that, Courteney Cox had her lips done when the filming for the 9th season began (it took me a while to notice it, but after I did, I can’t not see it), and Phoebe’s haircut bothers me. And Chandler was super fat when he asked Monica to marry him in the last episode of season 6, but in the first episode of season 7, which in Friends time continuum has happened right after the proposal, he is super thin.
What I want to say is, yes, the team as a whole becomes tired and they start having their own personal issues. It’s just sad. Fortunately they all seemed to get along very well, at least.
Oh, and sorry, but I understand nothing about The Simpsons. And sorry if I used some words or terms that don’t fit… I got all excited typing this all that I didn’t do much thinking. It was fun. 😊
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Matt LeBlanc lifts the right side, and always the right side, of his mouth*. Sorry, didn’t proofread.
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Yes, but this time it’s not my joke. Or attempt at a joke. 🙃
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I could tell it wasn’t your joke… It’s too well elaborated to be yours. 😛
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Hey, plenty of people have told me I’m funny…or was it funny looking? 😛
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The video starts at 0m48s.
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Um, which part of that is relevant?
So, off topic, except it’s about the video…. Friends was just not as good by those seasons. And I can’t get past their tans. Kinda orange-y.
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48s. 😛
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The video starts at 0m48s. That’s the only relevant part. Please edit my comment so David will know I want him to see only this part. Your comment split mine (I commented twice, don’t know if you noticed).
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Oh, I see. Edited.
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I have seen all of the seasons (just not totally sure if I’ve seen every episode in the later seasons), yes.
What you described there, about Phoebe being too weird or Joey getting dumber is called Flanderization (yeah, that’s based on Ned Flanders 🙂 ). It seems to happen on most shows and is another reason I think US TV shows should run shorter. The 20+ episodes a season already create a lot of episodes, then imagine that running for 10 (or godforbid 20) years and having to turn the scripts in without having much more to write about….
I like Zack, too. I wish for more of him, but I know that the more they use him the more jokes they’ll run out of. I appreciate the limited time he had. I noticed in the very early Friends, Phoebe is not only “weird” but a stereotyped New Age person. They lessened that and we settle on the prototypical Phoebe that we all know and love. Did you hear about the theory that Friends is all part of the imagination of Phoebe (like an “It was all a dream” story)? It can be read that way in at least the early seasons. I noticed that she was the one to catch us up on a cliffhanger concluding episode. (I don’t know if others do it in later seasons, but that this would be another reason this theory might be true, since she’s talking to the fourth wall.)
About the personal ticks (I hope that’s the right spelling), I’ve noticed them, too, especially if you see them in another show/movie and see that….maybe they weren’t acting too hard. lol. It’s okay. About the lips…I don’t know, but I know that she was on a show called Cougar Town (name later changed), so that probably made a little sense for that character.
About characters being fat/thin…lol. I see it in too many places. I really have to ignore that one, it’s very distracting. If you’ve ever seen The Office (US version), Angela is supposed to be a skinny and uptight person but she got fat (chubby for those requiring PC language) when she was pregnant in real life… I think they should have just let her get pregnant in the show because it didn’t make sense and was distracting. Or at least made her depressed and eating a lot of ice cream. 😛
And you’re welcome. 😉
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No, Sunday is hangover day. Oh my head…
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Oh. Sorry ’bout your head. pats
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Thanks. Those pats seemed like you smacked my head with a pan, though… Never again…
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Never again? Hmm. Must not write guesses.
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This turned into a Friends fan site so fast I thought I was lost. 😛
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lol. Rather Cheers or Frasier?
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Of the three…Friends. 🙂 I did watch Cheers but never really got into Frasier. Seinfeld is my favorite sitcom. I liked Friends but it wasn’t a favorite or a “must-see.” And the reasons why not? It’s already been mentioned here. Joey and Phoebe. I’ve known a lot of dumb people (takes one to know one) but nobody quite as dumb as Joey; Phoebe is kinda dumb, too. I must not have been watching it regularly towards the end because I don’t remember Courteny Cox looking different on Friends. But I did watch an episode or two of Cougar Town and I remember thinking she looked…well, bizarre.
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I remember liking Seinfeld a lot, but Friends has a lot easier to get into jokes, aside from the drama. I don’t think Seinfeld has enough drama/emotion. So, my favorite show would be the Simpsons. 😛 It has easier and difficult jokes and it has emotion (not counting later seasons). 🙂
I used to watch Cheers a lot, but the relationship stuff wasn’t as great for me. I was younger at one point… who knows how it would read today but I haven’t seen it in ages. Woody brought us the great song “Kelly, Kelly, Kelly” (whatever it’s name was). 😀 Frasier was interesting enough but I never got much into it. Kelsey has a great voice, though, so it’s worth it to barely watch it just to listen.
On dumb people….well, all I can say is: I guess you haven’t met the kind of people that I have or you might not be so incredulous. lol But also, when you look at what their “dumbness” was used for…was sometimes to make smart jokes that weren’t being made. When Joey says, “If you know what I mean” as an almost tired cliche the response is “Joey, we always know what you mean”. I won’t explain why that’s smart because it will ruin the joke (read: I’m not smart enough to explain it).
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I guess it’s more than just “dumb.” It’s also how they behave. Michael Scott is, also, dumb. (In one scene he doesn’t know birds fly south for winter.) I really can’t see any ONE person doing all the things he does. But I could see A person doing many of them. I find him to be a more believable character than either Joey or Phoebe. Or, maybe, I just like him/that show more. I loved the first 5, or so, seasons of The Office. But even the last couple years with Michael weren’t as good and after he left the only reason I kept watching was because I had for so long and wanted to see what was going to happen.
The Simpsons, seasons 2 (maybe more like 3) through about 8, are some of the most hilarious and re-watchable epidsodes of any show (Seinfeld, seasons 2 to the end are neck and neck). Some of them I’ve seen 10-15 times. But 7 seasons out of 27? I just can’t say it’s my overall fave. I think Wookiee (or was it Bunny?) had a couple episode reviews awhile ago. I remember one was particularly scathing and I thought, are you talking about this episode or the last ten years?
Friends, the first couple seasons I wouldn’t want to watch/rewatch nor the last couple. The middle years, yes some very funny stuff. But who wants emotions? I thought we were emotionless robots. 😛
So, Seinfeld wins. Right there with the humor, plus the consistency puts it at the top, for me. 🙂
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I came back too late to the party 😭 soooo much I wanna say that I’m lost and my head aches for having to think in English… Can I just write everything in Portuguese and then you (Davidbo and Simp) translate it using goggle translator? 😛
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If a capuchin monkey can do it, you can too. 😉 😛
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Oh no. I can’t. Or I just don’t want to… You pick. Probably both are true/valid, anyway.
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Being late to one party just means you’re early to the next…
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I’ve never seen someone dedicate so much time towards jokes they don’t understand before ><
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I don’t see why I shouldn’t approve your comment, but please try for a more gentle approach to your ribbing or digging before you have created a rapport here.
I think it is okay for me to attempt to decipher things that I don’t understand with perfection. If I did the ones that I fully understood, well, the same would probably be true for my readers. Where’s the enjoyment in reading that?
If there’s an explanation that I totally missed the mark on, please oh please give your take on it. That’s part of the deal here. I look forward to it…if you were being more genuine than that comment alludes.
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While I applaud the research and the background to some of the information (I actually didn’t know that about stagecoaches), at times you completely miss the jokes by being overly didactic. Plus you’re missing a slew of cultural references.
Gummy Joe – was named BEFORE he got ol’ chomper. That was kind of the whole joke from his appearance in that episode (great episode btw. If you haven’t seen it recently, go back and watch it).
Get To A Choppa – make reference to the movie it came from, that’s all that’s needed. Don’t look so deep. A famous line of the actor the character is based on.
Triple Eagle – of course it didn’t exist. That’s the whole joke. What’s better and more rare than a double eagle? A TRIPLE eagle.
It’s not a bar, Moe. It’s a wild west SALOON – ‘It’s not an X person I’m talking to, it’s an X.’ Pulp fiction formula joke, no different than ‘I’m going to get (insert funniest date for present setting here) on their asses.’
Feel Superior to Gamblers – Lisa being Lisa. Doing the right thing isn’t enough for Lisa, she has to make sure everyone KNOWS she’s doing the right thing.
Take Ganesha Gambling – this one you nailed right on the head. They have to come up with dozens of tasks for each event, usually for the lower level characters so the lower level players can participate. Some times it’s easy to come up with a joke, other times you stretch and go for alteration.
Casino Nessie – actually exists in the show, it’s an episode reference.
La Belle Frottage – here’s where I feel it took you the longest to actually catch the joke. It’s no different than the Maison Derriere joke. It quickly and easily translates to ‘the women rub against you.’ What happens at the La Belle Frottage? Women rub against you. Why should you go? Because the women rub against you. (Belle isn’t just beautiful, it’s specifically a beautiful woman).
I’d concentrate more on this definition to help people who didn’t catch the joke ‘the practice of touching or rubbing against the clothed body of another person in a crowd as a means of obtaining sexual gratification.’
Making Hippies Even Poorer – the episode it came from was released over 20 years ago. Any hippies left over at that point were pretty much poor. Showing a modern contrast is one thing, anything else is kind of muddling the waters of a simple joke.
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Thank you for coming back with an earnest reply. I’m going to come back with a reply/review of the older analyses. I didn’t know, when you said “dedicate so much time”, that you were referring to all of my posts of this variety. (This is part of why I do explanations like this, because we’re not all on the same page without being specific.)
For your reply on the content of this page: That’s great! I’ll reply to each one. But before I do I have to point out that I never intended to “explain the joke”. It’s moreso that I’m “exploring the joke” or the language or cultural references behind any and all content from the event. Some people think that explaining a joke ruins it. You sound like you’re against that. I’m not, but it’s also not exactly my goal.
Gummy Joe — I can see we have a disagreement on the interpretation of: “And Gummy Joe, where would you be without the dental plan?” “Well I wouldn’t have old chomper here, that’s for sure!” I’m pretty sure that the reading here should be that the dental plan helped save his tooth, not that they gave him a single-tooth set of dentures. Anyways, just exploring it, thought it was a bit amusing, so I wanted to note that incongruity.
Get To A Choppa — That’s the thing here, that I don’t remember that part of the movie or even having seen the movie. Blasphemy, if you prefer. So, it was noteworthy to me and when I finish the research on it, I share it. I know that kind of movie doesn’t have many layers of meaning, but that doesn’t mean I can’t enjoy myself while learning, for instance, why chopper means helicopter. I totally “miss the point” on this one, indeed, but like you say, there’s nothing else to really look at except for a line delivered with an Austrian accent. lol. And, lastly, most people seem to be of your opinion. I totally understand your criticism of this one….if you demand that it fit the mold of joke-explaining. 🙂
Triple Eagle — Well, I didn’t even know what a Double Eagle was. To me it’s worth about zero. You must know the math joke about getting 3 times the worth of zero…. So, I had to find out what value the real thing held before I could understand the value of the fictional, “more valuable” coin.
“Saloon” — Actually, you definitely win on that one. I really did miss the joke on that. I mean, I was just exploring the difference between bars and saloons, but I didn’t even realize it was a joke based on that meme template when I read the dialogue. You made me glad to get “schooled”. 😛
I’m glad some of what I wrote up helped your understanding of words (not necessarily the jokes).
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For the older post:
I like your take on Lisa.
Any take on frottage is probably a fine one. My only issue with your take is that I’ve heard (not being a French speaker myself) that, while belle is feminine, frottage is male or something. Therefore, to me, the conclusion is that since the grammar is wrong it must refer to the art process. Either way, any interpretation is fine until we ever got word from the show’s creators as to what they meant by it. I went with both.
You’re probably right about how this building action for the Woodstock would make the most sense by having it refer to the past…nothing modern.
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