CHAT: Murgatroyd (was somehow Re: Lenition)

Ray Brown wrote:
>I remember many years ago in some cartoon series - I don't recall which it
>was now - there was a catch phrase and I was never sure whether it was
>"Heavens to Murgatroid" or "Heavens to Murkatroid" (the spelling of
>murgatroid ~ murkatroid is probably wrong - one must be).
>
>I eagerly await enlightenment on the correct phrase, the cartoon & the
>character who habitually said it   :-)
>
If I'm not mistaken, that's Sylvester Pussycat, whose speech is decidedly
idiosyncratic and unrepresentative of anything American.  As I recall he is
highly excitable, somewhat breathy, and tends to spray a bit when speaking
(since he is usually salivating in anticipation of a Tweety-Bird snack). The
cartoons "Loonie Tunes and Merrie Melodies" were produced by Warner Bros.,
featuring Bugs Bunny, Daffy Duck (another sprayer), Elmer Fudd and Porky Pig
et al.,  and probably used Mel Blanc's voice. These were all brilliant
pieces of work, IMO much funnier than Disney cartoons.  Also, I think it's
"Murgatroyd", a (possibly invented) surname with pretentious/posh overtones;
it may or may not occur in reality, but it's considered funny, like
McGillicuddy, which does occur.

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