Words That End in Toto

To use the verb toto in an argument is to assert that there is some sort of connection between you and the other person you are speaking to. It usually refers to the act of asserting something that is not there. For example, I always say to my wife, “You never know when you’ll hit a really big jackpot, honey!” This sentence has to be stated with utmost clearness, without any reference to anything in particular.

In Latin, from the verb toto, “whole.” So toto means whole, but it is commonly used in movies to mean “so and so.” The phrase, “So and so was here before us,” is used to indicate that an event happened before the narrator, usually in the Tin Man sequence, and thus part of the plot. I think the most famous example is the line from the Charles Dickens novel, A Midsummer Night’s Dream. The girl’s dream is of a man named Willy.

In later years, toto appeared as the suffix on words beginning with the letter T, like the word trolley (troit) or truck (trucks). In movies, toto appeared as the suffix on words beginning with the letter V, such as vix (vices). Vixen is a movie character who is played by Barbara Hershey. In some cases, toto can be written as a vixen in the subtitles. I’m not sure why this happens.

In some Spanish language books I read, toto is written as usted or a usted. This means the same thing as in the English word uncle. However, in the series featuring the adventures of a Spanish nobleman, a usted is used. I believe that toto appears this way in American television shows also. It would be interesting to see how that occurs.

I have noticed that in a few Spanish films that I have watched, toto appears before words beginning with the letter R. For instance, in JoJo’s b&b, there is a boy named Pedro (Pedro de la Renta) who lives with his grandmother. The grandmother tells him, “You have a guest room. Come take a look.”

Then, after seeing his grandmother, he goes out to the balcony to look at the view. When he comes back, his friend Hector is there and asks him, “What you doing?” to which Pedro responds, “I’m just looking at the view. Have a good day, hon.” In the Spanish series, Hector says to him, “Todo estas jugar a ser” which means, “It’s nice to see you everyday.”