Difference between revisions of "Scroll origins"

From NetHackWiki
Jump to navigation Jump to search
(README and HORRE="or"?)
Line 3: Line 3:
 
The various labels through [[NetHack 3.6.0]], and their meanings, are:
 
The various labels through [[NetHack 3.6.0]], and their meanings, are:
  
−
; ANDOVA BEGARIN : Unknown meaning. In [[Hack]], this scroll was originally always the [[scroll of fire]]. Possibly "End Of A Beginning"
+
; ANDOVA BEGARIN : Unknown meaning. In [[Hack]], this scroll is initially used for the [[scroll of fire]]. Possibly "End Of A Beginning"
 
; DAIYEN FOOELS : "Dying fools".  Originally [[scroll of enchant weapon]].
 
; DAIYEN FOOELS : "Dying fools".  Originally [[scroll of enchant weapon]].
 
; DUAM XNAHT : "Thanx Maud" spelled backwards. Originally [[scroll of amnesia]].
 
; DUAM XNAHT : "Thanx Maud" spelled backwards. Originally [[scroll of amnesia]].
 
; ELAM EBOW : Unknown meaning. Originally [[scroll of magic mapping]]. When looked at backwards, it sounds close to "woe be male"; this could be a reference to men not liking to ask for directions.
 
; ELAM EBOW : Unknown meaning. Originally [[scroll of magic mapping]]. When looked at backwards, it sounds close to "woe be male"; this could be a reference to men not liking to ask for directions.
 
; ELBIB YLOH : "Holy Bible" spelled backwards. Originally [[scroll of genocide]].
 
; ELBIB YLOH : "Holy Bible" spelled backwards. Originally [[scroll of genocide]].
−
; FOOBIE BLETCH: Unknown meaning. Possibly Jargon 'foo', ('bar'?), 'bletch'. In Hack 1.0, this is initially a spare label.
+
; FOOBIE BLETCH: Unknown meaning; possibly related to hacker jargon 'foobar', 'bletch'. In Hack 1.0, this is initially a spare label.
 
; GARVEN DEH: Unknown meaning. In Hack 1.0, this is initially a spare label.
 
; GARVEN DEH: Unknown meaning. In Hack 1.0, this is initially a spare label.
 
; HACKEM MUCHE : "Hack 'em much". Originally [[defunct features|scroll of damage weapon]]; the [[scroll of charging]] now occupies this slot.
 
; HACKEM MUCHE : "Hack 'em much". Originally [[defunct features|scroll of damage weapon]]; the [[scroll of charging]] now occupies this slot.
Line 17: Line 17:
 
; NR 9 : Possible reference to The Beatles' confusing Revolution No. 9. Originally [[scroll of confuse monster]].
 
; NR 9 : Possible reference to The Beatles' confusing Revolution No. 9. Originally [[scroll of confuse monster]].
 
; PRATYAVAYAH : "Reverse annoyance" in Sanskrit. Originally [[scroll of remove curse]].
 
; PRATYAVAYAH : "Reverse annoyance" in Sanskrit. Originally [[scroll of remove curse]].
−
; PRIRUTSENIE : "Taming" in Russian (slightly misspelled or mistranscribed but still easily identifiable by Russian players, PRIRUCHENIE would be more correct). Originally [[scroll of taming]].
+
; PRIRUTSENIE : "Taming" in Russian. The romanization is slightly irregular; the character transcribed as "TS" is conventionally rendered in "CH". Originally [[scroll of taming]].
−
; READ ME : "Read me". Originally [[scroll of blank paper]]. Older software often shipped with a "README" document.  May also be a reference to Alice in Wonderland.
+
; READ ME : "Read me". Originally [[scroll of blank paper]]. A README is a rudimentary form of end-user documentation.  May also be a reference to Alice in Wonderland, where Alice finds small cakes labeled "EAT ME" and small bottles labeled "DRINK ME".
 
; TEMOV : Unknown meaning. Possibly "Vomit" backwards and misspelled. Also, Temov is a common Eastern European surname. In Hack 1.0, this is initially a spare label.
 
; TEMOV : Unknown meaning. Possibly "Vomit" backwards and misspelled. Also, Temov is a common Eastern European surname. In Hack 1.0, this is initially a spare label.
 
; THARR : "There's gold in them thar hills!". Originally [[scroll of gold detection]].
 
; THARR : "There's gold in them thar hills!". Originally [[scroll of gold detection]].
Line 32: Line 32:
 
; [[wikipedia:Etaoin shrdlu|ETAOIN SHRDLU]] : A rough list of the most common letters in English; often erroneously printed in newspapers.
 
; [[wikipedia:Etaoin shrdlu|ETAOIN SHRDLU]] : A rough list of the most common letters in English; often erroneously printed in newspapers.
 
; LOREM IPSUM : [[wikipedia:Lorem ipsum|Latin-derived filler text]].
 
; LOREM IPSUM : [[wikipedia:Lorem ipsum|Latin-derived filler text]].
−
; [[wikipedia:Fnord|FNORD]] : Nonsense word central to the ''Principia Discordia''.
+
; [[wikipedia:Fnord|FNORD]] : Nonsense word central to the ''Principia Discordia'', made popular by the ''Illuminatus!'' trilogy.
 
; KO BATE : Line from Kurd Lasswitz's book ''Auf zwei Planeten''.
 
; KO BATE : Line from Kurd Lasswitz's book ''Auf zwei Planeten''.
−
; ABRA KA DABRA : Traditional incantation.
+
; ABRA KA DABRA : Traditional incantation, as engraved on amulets and as stereotypically used by stage magicians.
 
; ASHPD SODALG : From ''Portal'': ASHPD is the acronym for a portal gun; SODALG is [[wikipedia:GLaDOS|GLaDOS]] spelled backwards.
 
; ASHPD SODALG : From ''Portal'': ASHPD is the acronym for a portal gun; SODALG is [[wikipedia:GLaDOS|GLaDOS]] spelled backwards.
 
; ZLORFIK : Alien swearword from the computer game ''Zak McKracken''.
 
; ZLORFIK : Alien swearword from the computer game ''Zak McKracken''.
Line 42: Line 42:
 
; PHOL ENDE WODAN : First lines of the two [[wikipedia:Merseburg_Incantations|Merseburg incantations]].
 
; PHOL ENDE WODAN : First lines of the two [[wikipedia:Merseburg_Incantations|Merseburg incantations]].
 
; [[wikipedia:Ghoti|GHOTI]] : A phonological respelling of "fish".
 
; [[wikipedia:Ghoti|GHOTI]] : A phonological respelling of "fish".
−
; MAPIRO MAHAMA DIROMAT : Message from a scene in the computer game ''Wizardry''.
+
; MAPIRO MAHAMA DIROMAT : Incantation featured a scene in the computer game ''Wizardry''.
 
; VAS CORP BET MANI : One variant of the Armageddon spell in the ''Ultima'' game series; translated as "Great death, small healing."
 
; VAS CORP BET MANI : One variant of the Armageddon spell in the ''Ultima'' game series; translated as "Great death, small healing."
 
; XOR OTA : "Atorox" spelled backwards. Atorox is a robot from the works of [[wikipedia:Aarne Haapakoski|Aarne Haapakoski]].
 
; XOR OTA : "Atorox" spelled backwards. Atorox is a robot from the works of [[wikipedia:Aarne Haapakoski|Aarne Haapakoski]].

Revision as of 07:43, 10 March 2020

Unidentified scrolls can have any one of many labels. In Hack 1.0, these labels are initially paired with the scroll types in a way that seems to be meaningful.[1] It is often claimed that Hack 1.0 uses a fixed label for each scroll type, but in fact it does shuffle the labels.[2]

The various labels through NetHack 3.6.0, and their meanings, are:

ANDOVA BEGARIN 
Unknown meaning. In Hack, this scroll is initially used for the scroll of fire. Possibly "End Of A Beginning"
DAIYEN FOOELS 
"Dying fools". Originally scroll of enchant weapon.
DUAM XNAHT 
"Thanx Maud" spelled backwards. Originally scroll of amnesia.
ELAM EBOW 
Unknown meaning. Originally scroll of magic mapping. When looked at backwards, it sounds close to "woe be male"; this could be a reference to men not liking to ask for directions.
ELBIB YLOH 
"Holy Bible" spelled backwards. Originally scroll of genocide.
FOOBIE BLETCH
Unknown meaning; possibly related to hacker jargon 'foobar', 'bletch'. In Hack 1.0, this is initially a spare label.
GARVEN DEH
Unknown meaning. In Hack 1.0, this is initially a spare label.
HACKEM MUCHE 
"Hack 'em much". Originally scroll of damage weapon; the scroll of charging now occupies this slot.
JUYED AWK YACC 
Tenuous reference to Unix tools ed(1), awk(1), yacc(1). Originally scroll of destroy armor.
KERNOD WEL 
"Kenned well" in Scots. Originally scroll of identify.
KIRJE 
Finnish for "a letter" (as in a letter sent by mail). The scroll of mail was added in Hack 1.0.2, and the choice of initial label suggests that the labels are indeed meaningful.
LEP GEX VEN ZEA 
Unknown meaning. Originally scroll of create monster, and "LEP GEX" is the rather monsterous leopard gecko.
NR 9 
Possible reference to The Beatles' confusing Revolution No. 9. Originally scroll of confuse monster.
PRATYAVAYAH 
"Reverse annoyance" in Sanskrit. Originally scroll of remove curse.
PRIRUTSENIE 
"Taming" in Russian. The romanization is slightly irregular; the character transcribed as "TS" is conventionally rendered in "CH". Originally scroll of taming.
READ ME 
"Read me". Originally scroll of blank paper. A README is a rudimentary form of end-user documentation. May also be a reference to Alice in Wonderland, where Alice finds small cakes labeled "EAT ME" and small bottles labeled "DRINK ME".
TEMOV 
Unknown meaning. Possibly "Vomit" backwards and misspelled. Also, Temov is a common Eastern European surname. In Hack 1.0, this is initially a spare label.
THARR 
"There's gold in them thar hills!". Originally scroll of gold detection.
VE FORBRYDERNE 
"Woe to the criminals!" in Danish. Originally scroll of punishment.
VELOX NEB 
Unknown meaning (but velox is Latin for "fast", maybe "fast any be"?). In Hack 1.0, this is initially a spare label.
VENZAR BORGAVVE 
Unknown meaning. Originally scroll of teleportation.
VERR YED HORRE 
Unknown meaning; maybe referencing "or" - light in Hebrew? Originally scroll of light.
XIXAXA XOXAXA XUXAXA 
Spanish (archaic spelling) for "mwahahahaha", a stereotypical evil laugh. Originally scroll of scare monster.
YUM YUM 
"Yum yum!" Originally scroll of food detection.
ZELGO MER 
Unknown meaning. Originally scroll of enchant armor.

Some variants add extra scroll names, to accommodate additional scrolls. NetHack 3.6.0 adds no new scrolls, but does add some new names that originally appeared in one or more variants:

ETAOIN SHRDLU 
A rough list of the most common letters in English; often erroneously printed in newspapers.
LOREM IPSUM 
Latin-derived filler text.
FNORD 
Nonsense word central to the Principia Discordia, made popular by the Illuminatus! trilogy.
KO BATE 
Line from Kurd Lasswitz's book Auf zwei Planeten.
ABRA KA DABRA 
Traditional incantation, as engraved on amulets and as stereotypically used by stage magicians.
ASHPD SODALG 
From Portal: ASHPD is the acronym for a portal gun; SODALG is GLaDOS spelled backwards.
ZLORFIK 
Alien swearword from the computer game Zak McKracken.
GNIK SISI VLE 
"Elvis is King" spelled backwards. Used as words of power in Zak McKracken.
HAPAX LEGOMENON 
"A thing said once," that is, a word or phrase occurring once in a written corpus.
EIRIS SAZUN IDISI
PHOL ENDE WODAN 
First lines of the two Merseburg incantations.
GHOTI 
A phonological respelling of "fish".
MAPIRO MAHAMA DIROMAT 
Incantation featured a scene in the computer game Wizardry.
VAS CORP BET MANI 
One variant of the Armageddon spell in the Ultima game series; translated as "Great death, small healing."
XOR OTA 
"Atorox" spelled backwards. Atorox is a robot from the works of Aarne Haapakoski.
STRC PRST SKRZ KRK 
"Stick your finger through your throat". Czech and Slovak tongue-twister.

Because there are many more scroll labels than types of scrolls, not all of these are used each game.

References

  1. ↑ def.objects.h in Hack 1.0, line 175: list of Hack 1.0 scrolls and their initial labels
  2. ↑ hack.o_init.c in Hack 1.0, line 60: this section of code executes once per object type, and shuffles the descriptions of all object types that have descriptions except tools

Further reading


Retrieved from "https://nethackwiki.com/index.php?title=Scroll_origins&oldid=132769"