Post #60724 by CruzinTiki on Tue, Nov 18, 2003 7:39 PM

Apparently WE are not the ONLY ones interested in this topic:

(From another message board)
Eloquently Speaking from the Stomach
Every now and then, I thumb through John Ayto's Dictionary of Word Origins and surprise myself. Tonight I looked up the word eloquent and was surprised to read:

eloquent see VENTRILOQUIST

Hm. I would never have guessed that eloquence had anything to do with ventriloquism. First of all, I find ventriloquists and their wooden friends just a tad bit disturbing, thanks to shows like The Twilight Zone and Tales from the Crypt.

I mean, it's bad enough that ventriloquists like to stick their hand up a wooden doll's butt and talk without moving their lips; let's not make them science-fiction scary as well! Face it, there's an eerie air about them. Hollywood makes them out to be evil, and we easily accept that. Why?

Well... I did as the entry for eloquent bid me. I looked up ventriloquist:

ventriloquist [17] A ventriloquist is etymologically a 'stomach-speaker.' The word is an anglicization of late Latin ventriloquus, a compound formed from Latin venter 'stomach' (source also of English ventral [18] and ventricle [14]) and loqui 'speak' (source of English colloquial [18], elocution [15], eloquent [14], loquacious [17], etc). The ultimate model for this was Greek eggastrímuthos 'speaking in the stomach.' The term was originally a literal one; it referred to the supposed phenomenon of speaking from the stomach or abdomen, particularly as a sign of possession by an evil spirit. It was not used for the trick of throwing one's voice until the end of the 18th century.
» colloquial, elocution, eloquent, locution, loquatious, ventral, ventricle

Most notable in this entry is the following set of words: a sign of possession by an evil spirit.

Aha. So there we have it. I will, of course, have nightmares tonight.

posted by April at 09:27 pm Pacific

4 comments added...
I am right there with you. There's something horribly creepy about ventriloquists. And their wooden puppets scare me just as much.

posted by Minnie at 12:21 am Pacific 09/17/2002

Here's a bit of trivia:

Candice Bergen, daughter of famous ventriloquist, Edgar Bergen, never liked her wooden "brother" Charlie McCarthy. In fact, Charlie had a bigger bedroom and more clothes than she did as a child.

Now that's a traumatic childhood.

posted by April at 10:19 pm Pacific 09/17/2002

That reminds me of puppets. The whole thought is very disturbing. Think of where the person puts their hand to operate the puppet. That's all I'm saying.

posted by Kami at 09:46 pm Pacific 09/20/2002

I have a very old Charlie McCarthy doll that is definately possessed. I have had him for fifteen years, prior to that he was my grandfathers who was a ceremonial magician.

grandfather was given him by a ranting fellow in morocco and he actually chased my grandfather to get rid of him saying that he was evil. this fascinated my grandfather and i had him from the age of 11.

he does sometimes cause problems, as in possession through dreams, nightmares and has been known to move of his own account. when i was 16, my parents would not enter my bedroom for fear, saying that things would fly across the room etc., right now he is bound and hibernating as at halloween he always plays up, celtic new year, samhain, he just cant help himself.

posted by h0ly_grail at 01:52 pm Pacific 10/30/2003