I was watching an old Law & Order SVU and heard the most horrifying statistic ever aired on that show: "no matter where you are on Earth, you're never more than 6 feet from a spider."
I Love that etymology seems to kinda be a "thing" lately. I've been a word nerd for many, many years and it's cool to see other people picking up a niche interest like this.
I'd never heard this before and I thought he was saying atta-cop like some kinda police officer. Since illusions to old English stuff like trains had already been made (or in lotr) I thought it was old slang for a cop. I really didn't know why the spiders would get so angry about being called that tho.
Vernor Vinge's Deepness in the Sky the translators translate the spider aliens references to someone calling an one "the old cobber" and babies as "cobblies"
For those who don’t know the distinction, they are basically the same thing—both are toxins, which are just poisons made by living organisms—it just comes down to the delivery method. As the old saying goes: “If you bite it and die, it's poisonous. If it bites* you and you die, it's venomous.”
Spindel is in "spindelvev"="cobweb", but i have never heard anyone ever saying spindel for spider. Closest i can get is "spinnekjerring" as a nickname for spider, which translates to spinning old lady
whoatherebigfella
#themoreyouknow
MorkandGork
Can we have more of this please instead of a thousand posts about Trump and mitch ?
locksmith9
Etymology about entomology.
copingcabana
I was watching an old Law & Order SVU and heard the most horrifying statistic ever aired on that show: "no matter where you are on Earth, you're never more than 6 feet from a spider."
Makro57
Now that's the sort of stuff I'm here for
arewenotkingsandqueenstogether
Oh he's lovely. Explain more please.
LateNightBunnyParty
I Love that etymology seems to kinda be a "thing" lately. I've been a word nerd for many, many years and it's cool to see other people picking up a niche interest like this.
magus200342
Always thought it became a cobweb once the spider abandoned it/died.
Mozzy4Ever
Attercops you say? Perhaps Aht Urhgan Attercops? Neat to know the language behind a 23 y/o video PS2 MMO lol
Alistairetheblu
WebMaka
Just don't try to nuke the colibris as a BLM...
reallyyouguys
And now I know why the Ettercap or "spider herder" is in D&D.
MBTerrorKitten
I was thinking the same thing.
MisterYukon
*Venomous round things
Orionsdick
Police officers are called cops because they are fat round pieces of shit
lezgetfukkinreal
I had a friend growing up who believed cobwebs were just miraculous dust figurines and refused to believe they were left behind webs
RonnieSoak
Depending on which part of England you're in / arguing with, a cob is a bread roll.
GravyEducation
Makes sense as kopf means head in German
threepotatoesinatrenchcoat
Even better, in Dutch it's kop (albeit kind of slang-y)
lappelduvideonfullblast
It's Kopp in certain german dialects as well
smhippy
In Dungeons and Dragons you have Ettercaps, spider-like humanoid monsters that use webs and traps to snare travelers and fey creatures.
crashmat
Scheiße Kopf (shit head) one the few bits of German I picked up in a school cultural exchange 40+ years ago
Alistairetheblu
All coppes are bastards.
theredjuggler
https://media3.giphy.com/media/v1.Y2lkPWE1NzM3M2U1czhuZDJtenFlandwemh5czVkNWNmZ29ma3RsdHl3bHJ3cG5ibGtwcyZlcD12MV9naWZzX3NlYXJjaCZjdD1n/MONxGTefyQQiKbXWKr/200w.webp
ElvisParsly
dragoonwraith
It’s true, spiders reject the institution of marriage.
ForeveraKritik
Not jumping coppes! They eat the other coppes.
anerdwithaknife
sweetrufus
Kudos
MorkandGork
=( hurt in spider....
somethingstupidandclever
::::(
Whatdoyousaytoanicecupoftea
Cob is still used to describe a round loaf or bun.
Feralkyn
Huh, I've never heard that one
Whatdoyousaytoanicecupoftea
Midlands uk
IIikethecutofyourjib
Corn...on the cob 🫨
PantsOfGlory
Hey, Bilbo called the spiders in Mirkwood Atercoppes when he had the ring on and was trying to save the dwarves! Yay and thank you!
ElvisParsly
EverNotRelevant
Immediately where my mind jumped too
joematango
Same! And I heard it in his jeering voice -- at least the voice I assigned to him in my mind when I read the book as a teenager.
wylkyn
Attercop, attercop, down you drop! You won't catch me hanging in your tree! (Or something like that. Its been a while.)
SalmonTheWise
Damnit Bilbo, it's the third age , you can't call spiders atercoppes anymore.
syoebiusprime
Underrated comment. This is amazing.
FireSolvesProblems
I just finished The Hobbit last week.
TinaEveFox
I'd never heard this before and I thought he was saying atta-cop like some kinda police officer. Since illusions to old English stuff like trains had already been made (or in lotr) I thought it was old slang for a cop. I really didn't know why the spiders would get so angry about being called that tho.
SparrowTail3
Speaking of language - could be autocorrect, but FYI, it's allusions, not illusions :)
TinaEveFox
No it was totally supposed to be allusions it wasn't like, a ghost or a mirage.
Neurisko
And he also sang something like, "lazy lob and crazy cob"
Evenmoreuselessname
Vernor Vinge's Deepness in the Sky the translators translate the spider aliens references to someone calling an one "the old cobber" and babies as "cobblies"
aryzseyr
For the dnd kids
Ettercap | Forgotten Realms Wiki | Fandom https://share.google/a9DAU0jiYBPdcNwBP
Quixus
And D&D has a monster that throws webs and delivers poison called Ettercap. It has only four appendages though.
Quixus
Technically it is venom but D&D does not make that distinction.
Imalwaysready
Yep.
For those who don’t know the distinction, they are basically the same thing—both are toxins, which are just poisons made by living organisms—it just comes down to the delivery method. As the old saying goes: “If you bite it and die, it's poisonous. If it bites* you and you die, it's venomous.”
*Injected, really, so bite, but also sting, etc.
justheretocommentonce
Edderkop is spider in danish... hmmm
InitHello
And Norwegian. Strong cognates there.
CptRobotNinja
My first thought as well. I always thought "I wonder what that word means...prolly some archaic linguistic shit knowing my boy J.R." and I was CORRECT
SmergBlaerghl
They're called "edderkopp" in Norwegian.
Hrafna55
I guess that word was the source for https://www.dndbeyond.com/monsters/16859-ettercap
ArchaeoEejit
I was told it was 'spindel' in Norwegian.
streaklyfe
Spindel is in "spindelvev"="cobweb", but i have never heard anyone ever saying spindel for spider. Closest i can get is "spinnekjerring" as a nickname for spider, which translates to spinning old lady
nihihi
I think they say spindel in Swedish?
MulleH
They do :)
HardcoreMango
Actually most seem to just say "Aaaah!"