Nobby is the diminutive form of the name Norbert. It is also a nickname most commonly used in English for those with the surname Clark or Clarke.

The explanation given for the use of this nickname is that clerks (pronounced "clarks" in British English) in the City of London used to wear Nobby hats, a type of bowler hat. Alternative spellings include "Knobby" and "Clarke".

An alternative explanation for the name Nobby attached to the surname Clarke is thus: 16th century monks wrote letters for the illiterate. These monks were referred to as "Clerks". The outcome of so much writing causes calluses on the fingers "nobs" and therefore "Nobby Clerks" was born.

In England the term "nob" is used to refer to a member of the aristocracy and by extension a posh person. A clerk would deal with the common people but would be better educated, better paid and in a position of relative power. To the uneducated, clerks were posh and therefore considered to be "nobs". Hence, nobby Clark. Clerks were also required to maintain a high standard of dress, and were paid a clothing allowance. The result was that they always appeared smart. Both the Oxford English and the English Dialect Dictionaries list nobby as being of a rich man, a nob or toff, or “smart”, and gives it a wide distribution, so smart persons were "nobby".

Matthew Todd "Matt" Lauer (born December 30, 1957) is an American television journalist best known as the host of NBC's The Today Show since 1997. He was previously a news anchor in New York City and a local talk-show host in Boston, Philadelphia, Providence and Richmond. He was also host of PM Magazine (or "Evening Magazine" 1980-1986) and worked for ESPN in the 1980s as a sideline reporter. In the early 1990s, Lauer hosted segments of HBO Entertainment News.

He was born in New York City, the son of Marilyn Kolmer, a boutique owner, and Jay Robert Lauer, a bicycle-company executive. Lauer is of Romanian descent on his father's side, as seen on the Today Show's Finding Our Roots. His parents divorced during his youth, and his father died in 1997. Lauer had become co-host of The Today Show replacing longtime host Bryant Gumbel in early 1997, not long before his father's death. In 1999, both Lauer and his co-host Katie Couric initially resisted participation in Today's proposed series about their family roots. The series turned out to be a hit, and Lauer was moved by what he learned about his immigrant ancestors. "My dad was Jewish. My mom is not. So I was not raised anything. I do feel a desire now to find something spiritual. Getting married and wanting to have kids has something to do with that."

Ali G (born Alistair Leslie Graham) is a satirical fictional character created and performed by English comedian Sacha Baron Cohen. Originally appearing on Channel 4's Eleven O'Clock show, as the title character of Channel 4's Da Ali G Show in 2000 and on HBO in 2003–2004, he is also the title character of the film Ali G Indahouse. Cohen's character Ali G, along with Borat and Brüno, has been retired.

The character of Ali G is a stereotype of a white suburban male from Staines (now Staines-upon-Thames) who imitates rap culture as well as urban British and Jamaican culture, particularly through hip hop, reggae, drum and bass and jungle music. Ali G was part of a group called Berkshire Massif, and he ran and grew up in an area of Slough called Langley (both actual locations in the UK). He also lived part of his life in Staines. Baron Cohen has stated that BBC Radio 1 DJ Tim Westwood was an influence on the development of the Ali G character – Westwood hosts Radio 1's Rap Show and speaks in a faux Multicultural London English and Hip-Hop dialect. Ali G's middle class credentials mirror Westwood's: the latter was brought up in Lowestoft, Suffolk as a bishop's son.