Nannies and the miracles they perform are getting more and more recognition. With shows like Super Nanny and Nanny 911, and re-runs of The Nanny, problem solving care giver are getting the recognition they deserve. Let’s take a close look at the Nanny that started it all, for me at least, Mary Poppins. Specifically her cure all magic phrase, Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious. Now even though the sound of it is really quite atrocious, it has a very significant meaning.

To study this meaning, like any word in the English language you have to break it down into its parts and lstudy each.

Super: Prefix, Exceeding a norm

cali: The tenth avatar or incarnation of the god Vishnu where Vishnu is regarded as a major god in Hinduism and Indian mythology. He is thought as the preserver of the universe.

fragil(e): Easily broken, damaged, or destroyed

istic: The suffix -ism is a noun suffix. That is, when added to words or word roots, -ism forms nouns. It comes from the Greek noun suffix -ismos and means roughly “the act, state, or theory of.” Nouns that end in -ism often have related verbs that end in -ize (criticism/criticize), related agent nouns that end in -ist (optimism/optimist), and related adjectives that end in -istic (optimistic).

ex: Prefix ex-, Former

piali: Piali Sengupta, Ph.D., Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Associate Professor of Biology Development and function of chemosensory neurons in C. elegans

doc: A physician, dentist, or veterinarian

ious: suffix -ious, Having; having the qualities of; full of

Which would conclude that Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious means; Piali Sengupta, Ph.D., a doctor, was formerly in the fragile state of having the extra-normal, higher qualities of the Indian God Cali.

What was Mary Poppins trying to tell us? Was Dr. Sengupta once a demi-god with powers to preserve the universe? Were we listening? Was it something else, was she using Dr. Sengupta as an example to tell us that there is a little Cali in all of us? Will we hear only to find that is too late? As usual the answer yields more questions.

Next we will dig deep into the lives of the Seven Dwarves and their Pimp Coalition. Uncovering their illicit sex and drug connections in Hi Hoe, Hi Hoe Snow White is Code for Blow.