This is probably another stupid question, but in the song Sad Professor what does it mean when it says "This may be a lit invention"? In the dictionary it says "lit" is short for literature, or the past tense form of light. But that doesn't make any sense! Does the word have another meaning in the states or something? Not that I usually notice this sort of thing or anything, I just want to know what it means!

-- Rob Fraser (robfjp@hotmail.com), June 25, 2000

Answers

I have a very old and tattered Collins English Dictionary here, and it says, quote:

"Lit(lit)past tense & past participle of verb Light - lit up. (Slang) intoxicated."

I think the latter part of that quote fits in well with the character in the song Sad Professor - about waking up stone drunk, face down on the floor, and all... Though it kinda makes you wonder where Michael gets the inspiration from to write his lyrics - he's used some pretty strange words in the past. The best example of which I can think of off hand is the use of the word "Agit" in Man on the Moon.

I guess he reads a lot...

Bye,Bye

-- phons (phonzerelli@yahoo.com), June 26, 2000.

Please tell me what agit means,I've been trying to find that out for ages. THanks.

-- Lucy (LucyGeary@hotmail.com), July 09, 2000.

Thanks for the answers about "lit", there's also an american punk band with this word for a name, so I wanted to know what it meant! By the way, I think "agit" means something which causes you agitation (This means it bothers you, for anyone too dumb to know what agitation means!).

-- Rob Fraser (robfjp@hotmail.com), July 20, 2000.

I think agit is short for agit prop, one of those phrases that would be quite at home in 1984. It's negative propaganda commissioned by one political party to Agrivate another one

So "here's a little agit for the never believers" means here's something that's gonna piss off the people who don't belive.

-- Jon Kinsey (eeg@btinternet.com), July 21, 2000.