MAD Magazine has a rich history of inside jokes which can often confuse new readers. In an effort to help clarify some of these obscure references one might encounter, here is a list of the most common, and their meanings.
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Potzrebie - Pronounce it as "po TREBZ yeh". This word is peppered throughout Mad Magazine, and is used to replace any random word or brand. This usage is similar to programmer usage of foo. Most fans have assumed this to be a made up word. It is actually Polish in origin, and roughly means desire, or wanted. "w potzrebie" would mean "in need"
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aeolopile - A greek invention which demonstrates steam power at work. Basically, a sphere which contains water and is mounted at the center on a dowel around which it can freely rotate. Perpendicular to the points which hold it up are two nozzles from which steam can escape. When the assembly is placed over a fire, the steam shooting from the nozzles causes the device to rotate. This is also referenced often in MAD Magazine.
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Melvin Coznowski (Malvin Koznowski) - The original name of the infamous "Alfred E. Neuman". This monicker was only used for one or two issues before the switch to the current name was made.
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Hans Brickface - Recurring character name in the early days of Mad Magazine.
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Max Korn - Name used for any random character's name. Maximum Corniness, get it? See also Biggus Dikkus.
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the MAD Zeppelin - The classic, bizarre Zeppelin, with the letters MAD along the sides. Steampunk never got it this right.
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the bird Flip - The random bird that looks like two connected fuzz balls with eyes, a beak, and stork legs. The bird's name is Flip. So he's Flip, the bird. Get it?
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Roger Kaputnik - Dave Berg's alter-ego. Dave Berg frequently inserted various members of the MAD Magazine staff into his comics, and Roger Kaputnik was the hypochondriac who represented Dave Berg. Frequently.
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Axolotl - A Mexican salamander with an interesting growth cycle. This animal's name was frequently used in the 60's era of MAD Magazine.
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borscht - The famous Russian beet soup is another repeatedly used word in MAD Magazine. The usage in MAD Magazine probably originates from the "borscht belt", a region where many of the original MAD Magazine artists and writers were from.
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farshimmelt - MAD Magazine once again takes a foreign word, (Jewish this time,) and uses it with wild abandon. Often used to represent something "messed-up", it in reality means "moldy".
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furshlugginer - MAD term used as both noun and adjective, always as an expletive. Can usually be replaced with either a naughty adjective or a naughty noun.
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ganef - Yiddish for "thief," or can refer to any generic bad person. Apparently, it was one of Harvey Kurtzman's favorite Yiddish words, so it showed up on occasion back in the days when he was almost singlehandedly writing "Mad" the comic book. (Thanks trainman!)
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halavah - Also known as halvah, this sweet dish is Turkish in origin. It has been adopted all throughout the Mediterranean, with slight (and sometimes complete) differences. Halvah you get from Libya might be completely different from halvah from Greece. Once again, a foreign food product misused often by MAD Magazine. (Thanks Chris-0!)
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Moxie - Before Coke or Pepsi, there was Moxie. This soft drink, used as a health tonic originally, is unusual in that the brand name has entered common english usage as a term meaning "spunk". This was referenced frequently in MAD Magazine.
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poiuyt - The name of an optical illusion, involving a three-pronged impossible object. It's referenced often in MAD Magazine. Also, a string of continuous characters on a QWERTY keyboard.
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veeblefetzer - The Jargon file describes veeblefetzer as such: 'probably originally from "Mad" Magazine's "Veeblefeetzer" parodies ca. 1960) Any obnoxious person engaged in the (alleged) professions of marketing or management.'
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Arthur the Avacado Plant - Occasionally MAD artists put a drawing of Arthur the Avacado Plant in the background. Arthur is actually an avacado tree that was a real plant at the MAD offices at one time. It is unknown whether or not Arthur still lives there. (Thanks PSlugworth!)
Other inside jokes I've been unable to track down any useful information on
frammistan. If you have any info on any of this one or know of any I've missed, please let me know!