syf (noun) m. [Polish]
1. dirt, filth, grime
2. (colloquial) pimple, spot
3. (colloquial, vulgar) syphilis
Vocative plural? Syfy.
Yup, the SciFi Channel has selected a new branding that perfectly describes what I have come to think of when watching that network. It obviously never occurred to their stellar marketing department to check what their new brand meant in languages other than Stupid Marketing Moronese. Truly, truly humorous.
Don’t know what I am on about? This post will fill you in.
I wish I’d noticed this before. One of my bosses is Polish…
He tells me that syfy would be used to refer to acne. Now what were they trying to distance themselves from?
So … it’s true! I trust my multi-language dictionary, but know nothing at all about Polish. I couldn’t believe SciFi would pick a word that had a meaning other than something positive in any other language, but it looks like they did.
Mwha ha ha ha ha! It’s too perfect. :bounce:
My first rule, when doing a logo for for someone or coming up with a name for something is to check to make sure it doesn’t mean something stupid somewhere on the planet. Apparently, I am smarter than the SciFi marketing team.
These things happen all the time. I remember one company just translated their product name into another language and then used the acronym without checking whether it meant anything…
Still, from being nerdy to being acne. A nerd with acne perhaps?