Scrabble’s Two Letter Words – Me & Mm

by jmgariepy · June 2, 2015

An advertisement for ‘Charlie’, a perfume intended for the ‘Me’ Generation valuing feminism and self-reliance.

Myself. I. My biggest fan and my greatest detractor. Out of all the words in the dictionary, none will concern you more than me.

Perhaps there are exceptions to that rule. Religious mystics, helicopter parents and wacked out drug addicts tend to lose focus on the concept of self. But if you could tear yourself away from your obsession long enough to read this article, I think it’s safe to assume you default to regular human when it comes to your own needs (What should I eat for lunch? How do I make more money? Should I show this growth to a doctor? Does my doctor like me? Would he like me less if I showed him this growth? What if I put a smiley face on it? etc.)

Historically speaking, narcissism may not be humanity’s defining trait. It’s hard to imagine Medieval peasants building massive cathedrals for multiple generations without a greater sense of spirituality, community, and a diminished sense of self. In our modern times, however, the industrialized planetary majority either belong to the Baby Boom/’Me Generation’, Gen X or the Millennials. And from what I’ve been told, all three generations are apparently more interested in naval gazing than their progenitors. In fact, when I Googled the ‘Me Generation’ to research this article, I was tasked with shoveling aside a great volume of material on Millennials, thanks to Jean Twenge’s book Generation Me. It’s not a flattering image Twenge paints. In fact, almost every time the media talks about Millennials, the conversation is framed around how lazy and unmotivated they are. That seems hypocritical considering it’s the exact view the Greatest/Silent Generation applied to Baby Boomers. Is it possible that somewhere beyond the disco and the rock ‘n roll hoochie coo, beyond the drugs and self-help gurus, that the two generations who came after the hedonistic libertines were somehow more hedonistic?

It’s unlikely. Oh, there’s been a number of otherwise good reporters abusing surveys to extract the wrong information on the subject. This NIH study, for example, interviewed 34,000 adults and determined the percentage of narcissists was almost three times as high among Millennials compared to Baby Boomers, a fact that was cited in multiple news sources (including a prominent Time Magazine article) as ‘proof’ that the selfie generation was out of touch and out of control. What that survey did not take into consideration, however, is that humans become other-centered as they grow older. The survey didn’t compare Millennials to Boomers of the same age, it compared young people to old people. Or, to quote another NIH survey: “When new data on narcissism are folded into preexisting meta-analytic data, there is no increase in narcissism in college students over the last few decades.” This generation isn’t lazier than the previous generation, Boomers are failing to remember their youth correctly.

Here’s another way to X-ray the painting to see the original work behind it. Some media sources claim our lack luster economy is due in part to the Millennial lack of drive in the workplace. According to stateofworkingamerica.org, that assumption is patently false. While the floundering economy caused wages to flag in the past fifteen years, productivity continues to march ever upward despite the fact that workers are not being paid for that excess work. Does this look like a generation of Vanity Smurfs to you?

An expression of approval, and one of the rare words you can say without opening your mouth. According to Oxford, the word can be written a number of ways: m’m, mm-m, mmm, and mmmm all mean the same thing. Spell it anyway you like, as long as the word only contains punctuation and the letter ‘m’.

Mm can also be used as a fill for when you know the tune, but don’t know the lyrics. That’s how the chorus to the Crash Test Dummies 1993 hit ‘Mmm Mmm Mmm Mmm’ came about. Brad Roberts pulled together the patchwork lyrics—three quick goofy/sad vignettes about children dealing with individual crises—but didn’t know how to connect them. He ran out of time when he was putting together a demo, so he hummed the chorus of his newest song intending to fill it in later. A common feedback, however, was that listeners to the demo were drawn in by the Brad’s baritone humming. So Roberts left the song alone and let the three stories stand unconnected.

But why mm? Why hum? Why not sing any number of random words when you’re scooby doobie dooing? Maybe it’s evolution at play? As it turns out, humming is good for the body. The vibration causes the muscles in the throat and mouth to relax, as well as loosens mucus in the nasal cavity, thus promoting healthy breathing. And since humming relaxes the body, mm may be a word passed down to us from before language existed to signal there are no nearby threats and that the community can relax. The concept is called a ‘contact call‘ and many animals, like chickens, softly cluck away. However, when members of the group stop humming and look intent, the group snaps to attention looking for the potential threat without the need for an alarm call. It also explains why humans are adverse to silence, tend to hum or talk to themselves when no other noises are available, and turn the radio or television on when mumbling becomes tiresome.

Are you a logophile eager to learn more? Why don’t you head on over to the Scrabble’s Two Letter Words Page?