April 2009
34 posts
3 tags
a tautonymous pseudonym
back in the 16th century, when it was all the rage for german and dutch authors to classicisize their names, the young upstart gheraerd gheraerd decided to style himself after both the latin and greek renderings of his dutch name. he called himself desiderius erasmus and went on to win two nobel prizes in both alchemy and seige warfare. his alchemy nobel was later stripped away after it was...
3 tags
the old english word for sneeze is
fnéosan
regrettably the o.e.d. does not venture a pronunciation. also, the much more stuffy (ie. latin) word for the same act is: sternutation.
5 tags
4 tags
some more f-words
previously, i presented some choice f-words from a naughty dictionary. i think it only fair that i feng shui the durtyness of those words with some far cleaner f-words from another dictionary. from a handlist of rhetorical terms (1991)° [paraphrased]:
far fet: a figure of speech where the present effect is attributed to a remote cause: “the ship is sinking, damn the forest where the mast...
2 tags
the british is classy
The appeal of Anglophilia to even the middle class should never be underestimated. I say this on the evidence of a correspondence I once had with a friend of mine, a developer…who built whole new towns at once.
Having run out of names for his streets, he solicited my help. He asked me to supply him with an alphabetical list of classy—that is, British—street names that would attract the...
1 tag
and where does raynor ganan keep his mobile phone... →
5 tags
somebody has a case of the mondays
today happens to be one of the three most unlucky days in the egyptian calendar. the other days are the second monday in august and the third monday in december.
but to cheer you up, here is an etymological factoid: the word dismal literally means evil day.
1 tag
3 tags
1 tag
wigging out on art
stendhal syndrome »
is a psychosomatic illness that causes rapid heartbeat, dizziness, confusion and even hallucinations when an individual is exposed to art, usually when the art is particularly ‘beautiful’ or a large amount of art is in a single place. The term can also be used to describe a similar reaction to a surfeit of choice in other circumstances, e.g. when confronted with...
2 tags
2 tags
on offenbach
the composer jacques offenbach dismissed his valet, but gave the man such an excellent reference that a friend wondered why he should have let him go. “oh, he’s a good fellow,” said offenbach, “but he won’t do for a composer. he beats my clothes outside my door every morning and his tempo is nonexistent.
3 tags
and while we are on the subject of belgium...
drinking in belgium:
The Belgian labourer spends one quarter of his wages on dram-drinking. On ordinary days he requires six drams a day, and on festal ones more. The first, called a Worm-killer, is taken at 5.30 a.m.; the second, called an Eye-opener, at 8 a.m.; the third, called a Whip, at 11 a.m.; the fourth, called a Digester, at 2 p.m.; the fifth, called a Soldier, at 5 p.m.; and the sixth,...
4 tags
4 tags
some choice f-words
one of the other things that i collect is niche dictionaries. so when i came across the sexicon at a used book store, i knew that she would be mine. here is a sampling of some of the f-words [ACHTUNG: sexy language° alert]:
faunadestia (fa-nuh-DES-tee-uh): the tendency to feel embarrassment from seeing animals either have sex or scratch their genitals.
flaccilation (flak-si-LAY-shun): the waning...
5 tags
1 tag
3 tags
a dedication worth noting
the dedication in mrs. frances simpson’s, cats for pleasure and profit (1905) reads:
To the many kind friends, known and unknown, that i have made in Pussydom
2 tags
faulkner in hollywood
when william faulkner’s office at the hollywood warner brothers studio was cleaned out after his departure, the only items found were an empty bottle and a sheet of yellow paper on which he had written, five hundred times, “boy meets girl.”
4 tags
what my russian friend (who is learning english)...
“look,” he said pointing to two calves, “those veals look very sleepy.”
5 tags
5 tags
5 tags
4 tags
a peculiar easter tradition
easter dinner at the raynor ganan household consists of braised rabbit. when i tell this to people, i usually receive a stern verbal belabouring but you guys are my good friends and because we are good friends, i would like to share with you my very old° family recipe for cooking lagomorphs.
oma’s braised rabbit (4 servings)
3 tablespoons olive oil
1 whole skinned rabbit, cut into small...
1 tag
by owning this book, you agree that you are a...
i own 2 books in the for dummies series:
boston
chess (actually this is in the complete idiots series, a chief imitator)
which for dummies books do you own?
3 tags
12 pseudonyms of jonathan swift
the great dean
a shoeboy
gregory miso-sarum
simon wagstaff
lemuel gulliver
dr. andrew tripe
t. fribble
t.n. philomath
jack frenchman
m.b. drapier
m’flor o’squarr
isaac bickerstaff
from stranger than fiction by aubrey malone (1999).
2 tags
l'esprit de l'escalier
(stairway wit) is the sense of thinking of a clever comeback when it is too late»
The phrase can be used to describe a riposte to an insult, or any witty, clever remark that comes to mind too late to be useful—when one is on the “staircase” leaving the scene. The German word treppenwitz is used to express the same idea.
The phenomenon is usually accompanied by a feeling of regret at having not...
3 tags
4 tags
1 tag
overheard at the gym
“she’s just poured into those size extra large sweatpants.”
5 tags
4 tags
3 tags
1 tag
there's a spider in your mouth
april fools!