Bart King's Blog, page 219

The leprechauns made it the best summer ever.

And it's all true!

Why so sardonic, Sardinians?

I like to think I have a pretty good handle on the origins
of common phrases. I like to think wrong, as I learned from The Etymologicon: A Circular Stroll through the Hidden Connections of the English Language by Mark Forsyth.
To wit:

Sardonic– Referred to people from Sardinia who, in ancient
times, were thought of as unfriendly.
Bite the dust– A direct translation of a quote from The Iliad in which a character talks of
the death of Hector, who was dragged around behind a chariot.
Humble pie– A meal made using the "umbles" (guts) of deer
and eaten by the lowly servants.
Nazi– An insult in use long before the rise of Adolf
Hitler's party. It was a derogatory term for a backwards peasant, being a
shortened version of Ignatius, a common name in Bavaria, the area from which
the Nazis emerged. Opponents seized on this and shortened the party's title
Nationalsozialistische Deutsche Arbeiterpartei, to the dismissive
"Nazi".
In the doghouse– From J.M. Barrie's 1911 novel Peter Pan, in
which Mr. Darling forces the dog to sleep in the kennel, and as a result the children
disappear. As penance, Mr. Darling takes to sleeping in the doghouse himself.
Hoax– From "hocus-pocus", which was used by Protestants to
ridicule the rite of consecration carried out in the course of Catholic mass,
which includes the phrase "Hoc est
corpus meum" ("This is my body").
Bigot– Old English for "by god", to describe
someone who asserts their own saintliness, while being a hypocrite.

Via. 

Shooting arrows at each other is stupid.

But the way the Traders of History do it, it sure looks like fun!

Looking for a book?

In 1941, that mean using a card catalog, like this one at the Congressional Library in Washington, D.C.



From LIFE.

What the what?

Try to guess what product this 1947 ad is selling.


For the answer, go here!

This is cool. The end.

I have a question!

There's a new Barbie out that puts a gritty spin on the famous doll. To wit:

The tokidoki® Barbie® doll is always ready for cutting-edge
fashion! She pops on a pink miniskirt, logo leggings and black top with
signature skull heart and bones, carries a large bag from the brand, then adds
bracelets, a belt, and sky-high sparkly silvery shoes! This funky fashionista
features trendy tattoos and a pink bob. With cactus friend, Bastardino, by her
side, she's ready for fun in fashion-forward form!

So here's my question: What the heck is a cactus friend?

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The Youtube Insult Generator adds injury.

From here.


"She has more fights about stuff that doesn't matter than a
YouTube comments section." 

—Jeff Winger, Community


Yes, YouTube commenters are often insulting meanies. (That's why I use this add-on for my YouTube visits!) For kicks, a guy made something called the YouTube Insult Generator . You enter a term and it finds insults on YouTube related to that. (WARNING: That means all of the insults that come up are stupid, and some can be inappropriate.)



Okay, let's get this Insult Generator warmed up. How about starting with something off the wall, like Mexican food:








Okay, that was a little weird, although I like "You have been burned by cheese". Okay, let's try "books":



"You trust people with no nose hair"? That's gold. Writers are next...



"You used to work at Borders" is just COLD. Okay, I've got to do it...








You call those INSULTS? Heheh. Let's see what you have to say about writer Dale Basye. He should get some fiery epithets!

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Huh? "No insults found"?! Oh $@#!&!

Cool Autumn Weather

Man, when the leaves start falling, I just want to curl up with an exciting book.

Why is this chipmunk dressed up for murder?

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Ah, you have to read the book. 




It's still in print, right? 




From here.