Marving Geneology

Posted by Sharon M. on October 10, 2005

In Reply to: Starving like Marvin posted by Bob on October 08, 2005

: : : Please tell me the origin of "starving like Marvin".

: : Starvin' Marvin was a character in the U.S. television program "South Park." But I don't know which came first -- the character or the phrase.

: : 109 Starving Marvin (Thanksgiving Special) The boys order a watch but instead get an Ethiopian boy; meanwhile, raging turkeys terrorize the town.

: : tvmegasite.net/prime/shows/southpark/guide.shtml

: There is a chain of service stations (gas/petrol retailers) called Starvin' Marvin which predate the South Park episode. There may be other earlier usages. (The South Park episode is hilarious, by the way. Right up there with Mr. Hanky, the Mormon episode, the Little League show, and other classic outrages.)

While browsing online, I found numerous "implications" of 'Marvin' personas online, according to the best of the Cockney Slang tradition currently in use.

"Lee Marvin: Adj. Starvin' (starving), hungry. Rhyming slang".
www.peevish.co.uk/ slang/l.htm

"Hank = Hank Marvin (singer with Hank Marvin and the Drifters) = starvin'".

A good article, found at Biography.ms, goes on further to explain the concept at work behind Cockney slang expressions and their evolvement.

~ Sharon M.