nickname

(S02E07) SWARLEY!

Swarles... Swarles Barkley... Swarlos... man, every time I heard the gang give a variation on Barney's new nickname -- given to him because a cute barista could never write his name right on his drink order -- I laughed out loud. And the joke never got old, especially when Ted would place calls to the bartender at MacLaren's so he could call "Swarely" and annoy Barney.

That's good sitcom writing, boys and girls. I mean, it's a joke that's as old as sitcoms themselves... a nickname that a person hates but the rest of his friends love. But it's written so well that it's the funniest thing HIMYM has done all season, and that's saying a lot.

In an interview with the Associated Press about CBS' Jericho, Skeet Ulrich reveals what the deal is with his name. He says, when he started using it in showbiz he wanted to give a different explanation for his name in every interview. But, he couldn't keep that up so he just told the plain, old truth. Apparently 'Skeet' is a nickname the actor received when he was in little league. He was a super quick and super small, like a mosquito. His coach gave him the nickname and he liked it so much that he stopped responding when people called him by his given name, Bryan.

There's also a lot of biographical information in this article about the Jericho star, if you're interested.