The signature voice of The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel
Sound like 1950s New York: the 25 words the show uses to praise, judge and put people down far more than the average popular TV show, each with a line where it's said.
The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel is about people who grade each other's stand-up for a living, so its adjectives are mostly verdicts: hysterical, amusing, observational and stale are how an act gets reviewed at the table afterwards. Around that sits the once-over a 1950s New York family gives each other's clothes and figures, trim and understated and proportional, and the insults that follow it are so mild that the worst word on the whole list is snobby. Then there is the drink and the day after, stiff and festive and tipsy and hungover, four words for a subject most shows spend one on. The list is not one character's voice: the put-downs sit with the parents, the professional verdicts with the comics, and the superlatives with Rose.
The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel has 60 words like these, words it uses far more often than TV in general. These are the 25 strongest.
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1
terrific
Extremely good; excellent.
That's a terrific story. - I made it up myself.
Season 5, episode 9. Said 42 times in 22 episodes, 10x the average show.
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2
hysterical
Extremely funny; causing uncontrollable laughter.
She's hysterical. She's timeless. She's the best in the biz.
Season 1, episode 7. Said 20 times in 16 episodes, 20x the average show.
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3
fabulous
Wonderful, excellent, or amazing.
Do you cook? - Oh, yes, I do cook, I'm a fabulous cook, I cook every day.
Season 5, episode 8. Said 18 times in 15 episodes, 8.4x the average show.
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4
sensational
Extremely good or impressive.
Lilacs in water. It's not only seasonal. It's sensational.
Season 3, episode 4. Said 10 times in 9 episodes, 29x the average show.
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5
trim
Neat, slim, and in good physical shape.
Oh, you look trim, Freddie. What's your secret? - Grapefruit, George.
Season 5, episode 6. Said 11 times in 6 episodes, 8.9x the average show.
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6
stiff
Strong or potent, especially a drink.
I need a stiff drink. I need a drink so stiff I could blow it.
Season 1, episode 2. Said 12 times in 8 episodes, 6.6x the average show.
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7
unattractive
Not appealing or interesting.
But you know what's really unattractive? Waiting around for something to happen.
Season 5, episode 9. Said 7 times in 4 episodes, 22x the average show.
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8
sticky
Slightly wet or gluey to the touch, so it clings to whatever it touches.
Why is his hand sticky? Where has his hand been that it is now currently very sticky?
Season 1, episode 2. Said 11 times in 7 episodes, 5.5x the average show.
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9
understated
Restrained rather than showy, offered as a compliment on taste and not always taken as one.
Lovely, understated. - Understated? - Next.
Season 1, episode 6. Said 5 times in 3 episodes, 38x the average show.
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10
snobby
Looking down on people you think are beneath you, and choosy about who counts as good enough.
Well, look whose hobby is being snobby.
Season 4, episode 2. Said 4 times in 4 episodes, 33x the average show.
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11
amusing
Mildly funny, and mild is the point, because in a comedy club it is faint praise.
I see you acting ridiculous all day long. Very amusing. Can I use that?
Season 1, episode 1. Said 9 times in 6 episodes, 4.4x the average show.
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12
observational
Based on or relating to careful watching or study.
Observational humor. - I have no idea what observational humor is.
Season 2, episode 7. Said 4 times in 3 episodes, 28x the average show.
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13
spectacular
Amazing or highly impressive.
It is pretty spectacular. Though 'spectacular' takes on a much different meaning once a person's met you.
Season 2, episode 7. Said 8 times in 6 episodes, 4.5x the average show.
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14
idiotic
Extremely foolish or stupid.
Let's stop dealing with idiots. - Everyone in this idiotic business is an idiot.
Season 2, episode 8. Said 6 times in 5 episodes, 6.8x the average show.
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15
picky
Overly fussy and hard to please.
He's a picky one, that son of mine.
Season 1, episode 4. Said 5 times in 4 episodes, 7.9x the average show.
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16
eclectic
Drawing from many different sources, styles, or traditions.
Mmm, this looks... charmingly eclectic. Is this dinner, Rose?
Season 1, episode 7. Said 3 times in 3 episodes, 29x the average show.
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17
stale
Overused, outdated, and no longer interesting.
You want to run it by me? A little, uh, practice run? - Oh, no. I don't want to get stale.
Season 1, episode 5. Said 5 times in 3 episodes, 6.3x the average show.
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18
harrowing
Distressing, hard to sit through, and here said sarcastically about a very easy thing.
Lenny, I'm dying here. - Yes, sitting in the cab must be harrowing.
Season 1, episode 2. Said 4 times in 4 episodes, 9.8x the average show.
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19
kaput
Broken; no longer working.
I decided to expand. And now we're kaput. - How's the turkey? Need salt?
Season 5, episode 1. Said 3 times in 3 episodes, 21x the average show.
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20
proportional
Sized to match the rest, so nothing looks too big or too small beside it.
I do have a home. - It's tall. - I'm tall. - So you kept it proportional.
Season 2, episode 7. Said 3 times in 3 episodes, 21x the average show.
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21
nude
Not wearing any clothes; naked.
I've never drawn a nude man before. I've never seen a nude man before.
Season 2, episode 3. Said 6 times in 4 episodes, 4.5x the average show.
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22
festive
Full of or suited to joyful celebration.
A garnish can be festive but deadly.
Season 1, episode 1. Said 4 times in 4 episodes, 8.8x the average show.
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23
tipsy
Slightly drunk.
I never drink and skate. - Yeah, I was a little tipsy last night.
Season 5, episode 4. Said 3 times in 3 episodes, 7.9x the average show.
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24
hungover
Feeling ill from drinking too much alcohol the night before.
I made an extra tray. I should never cook while hungover.
Season 1, episode 8. Said 4 times in 3 episodes, 4.4x the average show.
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25
pushy
Overly assertive or aggressively determined to get what one wants.
You know Herman the dry cleaner? Practically begged me to raise my tab. He was a little pushy.
Season 4, episode 2. Said 3 times in 3 episodes, 6.5x the average show.
How we counted
We count how often each English word is said across every line of dialogue in The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel, then compare that against the same count over thousands of episodes of other popular TV shows.
An adjective is signature when The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel says it far more often than TV in general, across several different episodes, so a word shouted through one scene doesn't count. The list is ordered by how much of the show's dialogue each word carries.
Names, sound descriptions from subtitle files and song lyrics are removed by hand. The same counts give every show its words-needed figure on our ranking of popular TV shows.
Watch it with the words you don't know marked
Add The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel in Wordspotting and, before each episode, it shows you the words in it you haven't met yet, each with the line it's said in. These 25 are where the show's voice starts. It has 35 more adjectives that clear the same bar.