You name it!

The English language has a cast of characters, and you are using them

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Ever blurted out, "for Pete’s sake!" without knowing who Pete is? You’re not alone. Our language is full of expressions that borrow names to make a point, crack a joke, or politely curse. From daydreamers and show-offs to mystery women and psychological slip-ups, these idioms appear in everyday conversation, often without much thought. But once you notice them, they’re impossible to ignore. So, let’s meet the characters hiding in plain sight!

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Poor Pete really can’t catch a break, huh? We call on him whenever we’re frustrated, flustered, or just fed up—usually without knowing who he is.

Most likely, "for Pete’s sake" popped up as a polite alternative to "for God’s sake," allowing people to vent without taking God’s name in vain. It has been in use since at least the early 1900s and still serves its purpose when your keys go missing or your computer freezes mid-email.

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You’re halfway through folding laundry when you suddenly imagine accepting a Nobel Prize. Sound familiar? That’s a Walter Mitty moment.

The phrase comes from James Thurber’s 1939 short story The Secret Life of Walter Mitty, about a mild-mannered man who escapes his ordinary life through vivid daydreams. Today, it describes someone with big fantasies tucked inside a very ordinary life.

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If someone’s taking the Mickey out of you, there’s no need to get defensive—it just means they’re teasing. It’s British slang for good-natured ribbing, like when a friend jokes about your loud Hawaiian shirt. The phrase likely comes from Cockney rhyming slang: "Mickey Bliss." Confusing? Maybe. But the meaning is simple—it’s all in good fun.

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Ah, the Midas touch—something we all wish we had when investing or buying lottery tickets. King Midas, from Greek mythology, could turn anything he touched into gold. In modern talk, someone with the Midas touch just can’t seem to fail—business deals, side hustles, even daily tasks. Everything they touch flourishes. Of course, Midas’s gift was also a curse: imagine turning your dinner into solid gold. No, thank you!

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Ever known someone who’s lovely at brunch and a storm cloud by dinner? You might have a Jekyll and Hyde person nearby. Naturally, the phrase comes from Robert Louis Stevenson’s story about a man with two sides: one refined, one monstrous. It’s a catchy way to describe mood swings or wildly different personalities in a single person. Are you one of these?

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Larry must’ve had a good thing going, because being "as happy as Larry" means you’re in great spirits. No one knows exactly who Larry was, but many believe it refers to 19th-century Aussie boxer Larry Foley, who was wildly successful—and rich. The phrase took off in Australia and New Zealand, and it’s stuck around ever since. Whoever he was, we owe him a happy one.

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Ever been offered something with zero actual options? That’s a Hobson’s choice. It comes from Thomas Hobson, a 17th-century English stable owner who gave customers only one horse: take it or leave it. The term has come to mean any situation where you aren’t really given a choice—there’s only one road to take.

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Jack the Lad is the guy who saunters into a room like it’s his stage. He’s brash, bold, and often charming in that roguish, slightly over-the-top way. The term comes from British slang and tends to describe a young man full of swagger and mischief. Not everyone loves a Jack the Lad, but you always notice when he walks in—probably because he makes sure of it.

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When a woman’s name is unknown or needs to be kept private—like in a legal case—she’s often called Jane Doe. It’s the female counterpart to John Doe, a term used for centuries in legal documents. Though these names may sound generic, they serve an important purpose: providing privacy, maintaining anonymity, or identifying someone when no real name is available.

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Saying "I love you" instead of "I like you"? Calling your boss "Mom"? That’s a Freudian slip. Named after Sigmund Freud, the idea is that these verbal mishaps can reveal hidden thoughts or desires. We’ve all experienced moments like this, right? They often happen at the worst possible times—job interviews, awkward family dinners, you name it. Freud would probably raise an eyebrow and say, "Tell me more."

Get the popcorn

Why are they called "Spaghetti Westerns"? Etymology of film genres

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Some film genres have straightforward names, like Romance, Adventure, or Action. But when you delve deeper into the catalogs offered by film libraries or streaming services, you’ll encounter tags such as "Kitchen Sink Drama," "Sword and Sandal," or "Mumblecore." Some of these names are fairly descriptive, others require more context or explanation, and a few are almost comically specific. Let’s explore the etymology of less trendy movie genres!

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We’ll start off with one we all know: The nickname of "Spaghetti Westerns" arose in the 1960s when low-budget Westerns were produced in Italy by directors like Sergio Leone. Easy: linking the genre to Italy’s most famous export (pasta).

Most were shot in the arid landscapes of Spain and Italy, but dressed up as the American frontier. They gave us those unforgettable Ennio Morricone soundtracks and Clint Eastwood squinting under the sun in The Good, the Bad and the Ugly.

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After WWII, an outpouring of dark, shadowy, morally bleak American crime films flooded the world. They resembled hardboiled detective novels in both tone and style. French critics coined the term _film noir_—literally "black film"—to describe them.

Dark alleys, femme fatales, pervasive cynicism, and the constant sense of danger lurking just out of sight all help define the noir atmosphere.

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This campy label—sometimes used mockingly—was applied to Italian-made historical epics packed with gladiators, togas, mythological heroes, sprawling battle scenes and, of course, sandals. The genre is also known as Peplum, from the Greek word peplos (a type of tunic).


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Okay, this one’s a slightly mocking label for earnest but low-budget indie films. These movies often feature a naturalistic style, with awkward or even unintelligible, "mumbled" dialogue—especially in early directorial debuts.

Some critics call this style "mumblecore," though others prefer the more respectful catchall of indie film.

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In Japanese, kaiju literally means "strange beast," but Western audiences quickly translated it to one word: monsters. The most iconic example is Godzilla, which first appeared in the 1950s.

Over time, the term came to describe films in which colossal creatures battle humanity—or each other—while wreaking havoc on cities.

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Slapstick is comedy at its loudest and clumsiest. We usually associate it with the great silent-era stars Charlie Chaplin, Buster Keaton, and Harold Lloyd.

But what does the name mean? These banana-peel-humor films are named after a real theatrical prop: the "slap stick," a pair of wooden boards hinged together and used on stage to produce a loud smacking sound.

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It’s a very popular genre nowadays, and the name is pretty self-explanatory. "Biopic" is a portmanteau of "biographical" and "picture."

Though many of us can think of great hit movies like Ray or Bohemian Rhapsody, the term itself is anything but new. It was first recorded in the 1940s and later popularized by studios as a marketing shorthand for dramatized life stories.

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In Britain during the late 1950s and 1960s, critics began referring to a wave of gritty plays and films as "kitchen sink dramas."

These works focused not on glamour or escapism, but on the tough, often claustrophobic realities of working-class life. The label came from the way the action frequently unfolded in the most unromantic of settings: the kitchen sink.

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The 1930s and ’40s gave us a unique brand of American romantic comedy: fast-talking, chaotic, absurd, and charming. Critics borrowed a baseball metaphor to name it: screwball, a pitch that veers unpredictably.

These comedies thrived on unexpected twists, rapid-fire dialogue, and mismatched couples who sparred their way into love. Think It Happened One Night and Bringing Up Baby as textbook examples.

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A portmanteau of "mock" and "documentary," the word itself is as cheeky as the genre it describes. Coined in the 1960s and popularized with the rise of films like This Is Spinal Tap (1984), the term signals a fake documentary made for comic or satirical effect.

The format has since become a staple of modern comedy, shaping series like The Office and Parks and Recreation.

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The word simply means "yellow" in Italian. The color became associated with crime and mystery because of the widespread, inexpensive paperback novels with yellow covers published in Italy in the 1920s. As these novels were adapted into films, the color extended to stylized Italian thrillers.