Michael Gates's Blog, page 38
December 1, 2014
Random Sequence: such frippery
"Hum -- that means they call themselves 'aristocratic,' the younger folks -- for the old gentleman's always been too busy to care about your frippery called 'social distinctions!'"
--Mary W. Janvrin, "Only a Mechanic", in Godey's Lady Book and Magazine, July 1864
(I found a bound copy of several issues of Godey's in my basement and have been flipping through the dusty pages.)
frippery (noun) = showy or unnecessary ornamentation, including in language; overly affected elegance
There's a store in my neighborhood that specializes in frippery:
--Mary W. Janvrin, "Only a Mechanic", in Godey's Lady Book and Magazine, July 1864
(I found a bound copy of several issues of Godey's in my basement and have been flipping through the dusty pages.)
frippery (noun) = showy or unnecessary ornamentation, including in language; overly affected elegance
There's a store in my neighborhood that specializes in frippery:
November 30, 2014
Word of the Day: oikofugic
What's "the word I'm thinking of"? Today, it's...
oikofugic (adjective) [TWITO, page 101]
Marked by the urge to wander or travel away from home
"Genevieve's employment as an flight attendant for Oceanic Airlines enabled her to indulge her most oikofugic fantasies, but an emergency landing in Uzbekistan was not one of them."
oikofugic (adjective) [TWITO, page 101]
Marked by the urge to wander or travel away from home
"Genevieve's employment as an flight attendant for Oceanic Airlines enabled her to indulge her most oikofugic fantasies, but an emergency landing in Uzbekistan was not one of them."
November 28, 2014
Link Mania: Email in the 16th Century?
Ten 'Modern' Words With Literary Origins
The word "email" first appeared in print in 1594. Believe it!
~~~
10 Words Every Writer Needs to Know
Including "scripturient" (TWITO, page 133, which calls it an adjective). Apparently you can also be one. Sounds better than "scribbler"?
~~~
21 Rhetorical Devices Explained
When I was a kid, my favorite fictional character was Encyclopedia Brown. Those that called him that were engaging in "antiprosopopoeia", which is the opposite of "prosopopoeia" (TWITO, page 116).
The word "email" first appeared in print in 1594. Believe it!
~~~
10 Words Every Writer Needs to Know
Including "scripturient" (TWITO, page 133, which calls it an adjective). Apparently you can also be one. Sounds better than "scribbler"?
~~~
21 Rhetorical Devices Explained
When I was a kid, my favorite fictional character was Encyclopedia Brown. Those that called him that were engaging in "antiprosopopoeia", which is the opposite of "prosopopoeia" (TWITO, page 116).
November 26, 2014
Photo of the Week (by me): Ring Thing
Beautiful is boring. Click the pic for a closer view -- because that's what we do on the Web.
November 25, 2014
Much Ado about NOTHING
My wife collects antique bottles, including soda-pop bottles from bygone eras. Some of the names of defunct bottlers are evocative of summers past:
Minck's Better Beverages -- "A Sparkling Carbonated Beverage -- Triple Filtered Through Ultra-Violet Rays" (Brooklyn, NY)M.H. Myers -- "For three generations, beverages of quality" (New York, NY)Cheer Up (brand) -- "A Delightful Drink -- A Real Super-Charged Beverage -- For Hospital, Home, and General Use" (Morristown, NJ)Hoffman Pale Dry Ginger Ale -- "Extra Dry" (Newark, NJ)Skipper (brand) Beverages -- "Soda-Licious -- It's Fun to Drink" (Pittsburgh, PA)Manhattan Beverages -- "The Sign of Quality" (Woonsocket, R.I.)Names like "Coke" and "Pepsi" just don't have the same ring.
Ultra-violet rays?
Minck's Better Beverages -- "A Sparkling Carbonated Beverage -- Triple Filtered Through Ultra-Violet Rays" (Brooklyn, NY)M.H. Myers -- "For three generations, beverages of quality" (New York, NY)Cheer Up (brand) -- "A Delightful Drink -- A Real Super-Charged Beverage -- For Hospital, Home, and General Use" (Morristown, NJ)Hoffman Pale Dry Ginger Ale -- "Extra Dry" (Newark, NJ)Skipper (brand) Beverages -- "Soda-Licious -- It's Fun to Drink" (Pittsburgh, PA)Manhattan Beverages -- "The Sign of Quality" (Woonsocket, R.I.)Names like "Coke" and "Pepsi" just don't have the same ring.
Ultra-violet rays?
November 24, 2014
Random Sequence: animadvert on this
"Once I remember animaadverting severely upon the conduct of one who had spoken meanly malicious words of June herself -- words that I felt must wound her in a vital point."
--Marion Harland, "Seven Years", in Godey's Lady Book and Magazine, December 1864
(I found a bound copy of several issues of Godey's in my basement and have been flipping through the dusty pages.)
animadverting (verb, also "animadvert") = to comment or remark critically, usually with intense disapproval
Hmm, to say "animadverting severely" seems pleonastic.
The weird thing about this bound copy of Godey's (an American magazine) is that the issues are all from the 1860s, and there is not a single unambiguous mention anywhere of the American Civil War.
--Marion Harland, "Seven Years", in Godey's Lady Book and Magazine, December 1864
(I found a bound copy of several issues of Godey's in my basement and have been flipping through the dusty pages.)
animadverting (verb, also "animadvert") = to comment or remark critically, usually with intense disapproval
Hmm, to say "animadverting severely" seems pleonastic.
The weird thing about this bound copy of Godey's (an American magazine) is that the issues are all from the 1860s, and there is not a single unambiguous mention anywhere of the American Civil War.
November 21, 2014
Word of the Day: oojah
What's "the word I'm thinking of"? Today, it's....
oojah [OO-zsah] noun (TWITO, page 102)
a whatchamacallit; a thingumabob
"Portia had been ruminating for a week over what to name her 'junk shop,' as she referred to her second-hand gift store. Then it came to her. 'Oojah,' she whispered, as she fondled a lamp made from a moose antler."
oojah [OO-zsah] noun (TWITO, page 102)
a whatchamacallit; a thingumabob
"Portia had been ruminating for a week over what to name her 'junk shop,' as she referred to her second-hand gift store. Then it came to her. 'Oojah,' she whispered, as she fondled a lamp made from a moose antler."
November 19, 2014
Photo of the Week (by me)
They don't make 'em like they used to. (Click the pic for a closer view -- because you have nothing better to do.)
November 17, 2014
Link Mania: Wear Bloomers in Your Snuggery!
"I Love the Snuggery of Old Words"
Those who indulge in godwottery (the use of archaic language) will enjoy this.
~~~
10 Words Every Book Lover Should Know
Including "incunabula" (TWITO, page 72 -- in its singular form "incunabulum") and "ultracrepidarian" (TWITO, page 153). Perhaps we are guilty of epeolatry.
~~~
How would you like to be immortalized by the dunce cap? Or underpants?
Those who indulge in godwottery (the use of archaic language) will enjoy this.
~~~
10 Words Every Book Lover Should Know
Including "incunabula" (TWITO, page 72 -- in its singular form "incunabulum") and "ultracrepidarian" (TWITO, page 153). Perhaps we are guilty of epeolatry.
~~~
How would you like to be immortalized by the dunce cap? Or underpants?
November 16, 2014
Much Ado about NOTHING: The 'F' Word
I am amazed at the number of ways there are to deliberately misspell the "F" word.
F--K
F**K
F*ck
Fcuk
Fuk
Phuck
etc.
And then there's "friggin". No one ever says "what the frig" or "frig you!" however.
I'm not sure why society is so afraid of the word "fuck", which is in every comprehensive dictionary, though usually flagged as "vulgar slang". It's a very handy and versatile word, serving as it does as a verb, noun, expletive, and even, in some contexts, as an adjective: you fuck face, you fucking asshole, etc. Maybe if it was also used in situations that did not imply anger or frustration it would lose its power to shock. Unfortunately, the only context in which it is used to indicate a positive emotion is apparently in bedroom talk or pornography. And that won't help.
F--K
F**K
F*ck
Fcuk
Fuk
Phuck
etc.
And then there's "friggin". No one ever says "what the frig" or "frig you!" however.
I'm not sure why society is so afraid of the word "fuck", which is in every comprehensive dictionary, though usually flagged as "vulgar slang". It's a very handy and versatile word, serving as it does as a verb, noun, expletive, and even, in some contexts, as an adjective: you fuck face, you fucking asshole, etc. Maybe if it was also used in situations that did not imply anger or frustration it would lose its power to shock. Unfortunately, the only context in which it is used to indicate a positive emotion is apparently in bedroom talk or pornography. And that won't help.
