Whereas Europeans generally pronounce my name the right way (“Nick-louse Veert”), Americans invariably mangle it into “Nickel’s Worth”. This is to say that Europeans call me by name, but Americans call me by value.
~ Niklaus Wirth (born: 1934-02-15 age: 75)

This is play on words about the various ways languages can pass parameters, by name, by reference and by value. Java supports only pass by value.