The Naughty Names

A research into the names in the names of characters and places regarding A Series of Unfortunate Events.

(All definitions from www.dictionary.com.)

 

The Bad Beginning:

Count Olaf: Named after the Norwegian Giant Clifford Thompson, who was known as 'Count Olaf' and stood eight foot, six inches tall.

Violet, Klaus, Sunny: Names taken from the murder case of Sunny and Claus von Bulow; Martha 'Sunny' and Claus were married, and Claus murdered Sunny. Violet was either a jury member or an attorney.

Baudelaire: Named after the French poet Charles Baudelaire.

Justice Strauss: ?

 

The Reptile Room:

Montgomery Montgomery: Possible a nod to Monty Python--he studies snakes and likes to be called Monty.

Stephano: Possibly named after the drunken butler in Shakespeare's The Tempest.

 

The Wide Window:

Josephine Answhistle: ?

Captain Sham: A 'sham' means 'fake'.

Lachrymose: lachrymose LAK-ruh-mohs, adjective:
1. Given to shedding tears; suffused with tears; tearful.
2. Causing or tending to cause tears.

Damocles Dock: The 'Sword of Damocles' is a term used to describe a feeling of impending doom or power being suddenly snatched away. (See here for more info.)

 

The Miserbale Mill:

Shirley: ?

Dr. Orwell: Probably named for the writer, George Orwell, who was know for his dark dystopias.

Phil: Possibly named after the encourageing Dr. Phil that sometimes appears on Oprah.

Paltryville: pal·try (pôltr)
adj. pal·tri·er, pal·tri·est

1. Lacking in importance or worth. See Synonyms at trivial.
2. Wretched or contemptible.

 

The Austere Academy:

Nero: Named for Emperor Nero of Rome, who enjoyed playing the violin and is believed to have done so during the Great Fire of Rome.

Mrs. Bass: A common fish.

Mr. Remora: A remora is a type of fish that attaches itself to larger fishes and uses it for transport.

Duncan and Isadora: Named after the dancer Isadora Duncan, a dancer who was killed when her long scarf got caught in the wheel of her car and was strangled.

Carmelita Spats: Spat is the past tense of spit.

Quagmire: quag·mire   (kwgmr, kwg-)
n.

1. Land with a soft muddy surface.
2. A difficult or precarious situation; a predicament.

 

The Ersatz Elevator:

Esme: From the short story, For Esme, With Love and Squalor by J. D. Salinger.

Jerome: J. D. Salinger's first name was Jerome.

Gunther: Possibly from the character from Friends--the Friends character could speak Dutch. The name mostly likely is derived from the king of the Burgundians, Gunther.  

667 Dark Avenue: A refrence to the Biblical 'Mark of the Beast'--666.

Squalor: squal·or  (skwlr)
n.

A filthy and wretched condition or quality.

 

The Vile Village:

Hector: hec·tor (hktr)
n.

A bully.

v. hec·tored, hec·tor·ing, hec·tors
v. tr.

To intimidate or dominate in a blustering way.

v. intr.

To behave like a bully; swagger.

 

The Hostile Hospital:

Heimlich Hospital: Named after Henry Jay Heimlich, who invented the Heimlich Maneuver.

Mattathias: Named after the Jewish priest depicted in the book of Maccabees

Babs: ?

 

The Carnivourous Carnival:

Caligari Carnival: Named after the first true horror film, Das Kabinett des Doktor Caligari .

Madame Lulu: Many psychics use this name.

 

The Slippery Slope:

NO NEW NAMES

 

The Grim Grotto:

Fiona:

Captain Widdershins:

Gorgone Grotto:

Fernald:

 

The Penultimate Peril:

Frank & Ernest: Both words mean 'honest'. ('Ernest, though, is actually spelled 'Earnest'.)

Dewey: Named after the Dewey Decimal System, used to organize libraries.

Denoument: de·noue·ment also dé·noue·ment  (dn-mä)
n.

1. 1. The final resolution or clarification of a dramatic or narrative plot.
   2. The events following the climax of a drama or novel in which such a resolution or clarification takes place.
2. The outcome of a sequence of events; the end result.

Odious Lusting after Finance: Not only is this a base definition of greed, it is also a backronym of Olaf.   

 

THE REPULSIVE REFRENCES

http://dictionary.reference.com/

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0010323/ (Das Kabinett des Doktor Caligari IMDB page)

http://www.crimelibrary.com/notorious_murders/family/bulow/1.html (von Bulow murder trail page)

http://members.shaw.ca/harbord/CountOlaf.jpg (A scan of a news article about the giant Count Olaf)

www.wikipedia.com