In the 1940s it came to mean to give an unwanted gift to someone. The word regift is much older, originating in the early 19th century to refer to giving an additional gift. This Seinfeld-coined word was added to the Oxford English Dictionary in 2009 as a derivative of regift. The label-maker Jerry gets from Tim Whatley looks familiar to Elaine-that’s because it’s the same one she gave Tim. While sometimes, such as on a crowded subway, there’s no way to avoid this invasion, a close talker might make such situations even creepier. Instead of staying in the much more comfortable friend-, acquaintance-, and stranger-zones, they impinge upon your intimate space.
The close talker joins a litany of annoying speaking styles (see low talker and high talker) by getting way too close and personal.Ĭlose talkers lack awareness about personal space. Here are 15 more magnificent terms coined by Jerry and company. ( B.B.O.), to the sneak who takes undeserved credit (the sidler), to various relationship maneuvers (the leave-behind, the preemptive breakup, sexual perjury). The show about nothing had a name for everything-from really bad B.O. With his apartment overlooking that of a female nudist, it’s hard to resist temptation.Jerry and the gang hated a lot of things: the dreaded pop-in, incessantly barking dogs, and, of course, Newman. The phrase is used throughout the episode to determine which characters are still in the running. It’s a delicately judged balancing act, and one that saw David awarded the Primetime Emmy for Outstanding Individual Achievement in Writing in a Comedy Series.īut it’s the phrase “master of my domain” that really entrenched itself in the popular culture lexicon after the episode’s broadcast a figure of speech that perfectly encapsulates zen-like abstention from a guilty pleasure. Through deft use of euphemism, innuendo and double entrendres, David managed to keep the suggestive episode clear from the ire of the censors.Īnd somehow it worked: The Contest somehow retains an endearing innocence, while being focused almost entirely on the act of self-pleasure. “But are you still ‘Master of your Domain?'” It is co-creator Larry David’s pin-sharp writing that makes the episode one of the funniest in Seinfeld history (though admittedly the subject matter can elicit a few childish giggles in itself). He believed finding creative, alternative words and phrases throughout would improve the episode.
Which is when Seinfeld quickly realised that complying with the censors would make the episode infinitely funnier. Julia Louis-Dreyfus – who played Elaine – didn’t think the episode would ever get made, given the subject matter.Ī note from the censors politely encouraged the removal of the word “masturbate”. It wasn’t until the night before the cast read-through that the actors got their hands on the original script, a version that was not quite as clean as the one that made it to air. Years later, David would draw on these events for inspiration, though he was reluctant to share his idea with Seinfeld, fearing the episode would be impossible to sum-up in an inoffensive pitch. L-R: George, Elaine, Kramer and Jerry ‘enjoy’ a subway ride in classic episode, ‘The Subway’ (Photo: NBC) Larry David allegedly took part after being convinced by his friends to do so (he didn’t think he had a chance of winning).
Kenny Kramer – the inspiration behind the Kramer character – claimed that a real life Contest once took place.