Re. Orange Cocoa Cake- check out Anne Hills’ version. Almost everything she sings is wonderful. I also love the Berrymans. Very clever, and oh so Wisconsin!
Maybe "nonplussed" will continue an uneasy co-existence of original/carelessly-manufactured usage the same way "out of pocket" has. Some time around 1988 I was riding the L home from part-time law school night class with a younger student who said he couldn't participate in a study group becuase he was "out of pocket" that weekend. Being a small business owner at the time, I silently wondered how an otherwise intelligent guy could so misuse an aptly-named expense account phrase to indicate unavailability. But since then I've heard the phrase increasingly pop up in conversations to connote the same meaning as my classmate intended. I still cringe, but have come to accept the evoving fluidity of English words to mean whatever one wants them to as long as there is an audience willing to accept it. I still fantasize how my polite reluctance to laugh out load at my first hearing of the mis-applied phrase somehow contributed to its now-ubiquitous bastardization.
It's nice to see that Kass is now paraphrasing "Maximus" from "Gladiator in his recent colums...
"One of the most famous lines by Maximus (Crowe) was when he said to Commodus shortly before his death, “Time for honoring yourself will soon be at an end.”
Infamous miscalculation by Kass shortly before the red ripple, "That Red Wave gathers force. And the time of the jesters honoring themselves will soon be at an end."
re nonplussed. I have always thought it meant what it looks like it means. For example, the facts I have just recieved from you do not change my mind, or change the existing situation..like a life preserver thrown to a beachgoer, the life preserver is not needed and will not change the beachgoer's situation except perhaps his annoyance level....the beachgoer is nonplussed by the thrown life preserver...
The only good thing about the skeletal Tribune of today is that they no longer feature the vulgar oaf Kass. I think it was Carville who described Indiana as a middle finger given by the South to the Midwest--i.e., an apt place for him to land.
I’m not sure I totally understood the humor of the gyros tweet. I mean pronouncing it wrong…to me ….reeks of a lack of worldliness. And don’t get me started on places where they have it on the menu and the staff still mispronounces it. But I assume this is a play on “ heroes. But I don’t see much humor in the way this is stated. “People who stop themselves from correcting others mispronunciations are the real gyros” would have worked better for me….but likely only me.
I can’t imagine why some people may assume that reform means a positive change without actually educating themselves by looking at the details. Remember Reform schools? That didn’t turn out very well for adolescence.
I think you won that debate, yelling match, whatever with Joravsky by a mile. Hard to listen to. I'm tempted to say that the Hideout meltdown is unbelievable, but it's all too believable these days. See Victory Gardens. Progressives can't have nice things anymore. They're too busy eating their own. I want to go back to when "allies" meant the good guys in WWII.
So, the sky didn't fall, democracy didn't die, and sensible people did sensible things in the voting booth. Hmm, who knew? And we didn't have pervasive electoral violence, disruption of voting, attacks on polling places and workers, etc etc. Hmm, again, who knew that the vast majority of Americans value, respect, and appreciate the foundation of our democracy and go about their lives peacefully? But I am sure that the media will be able to quickly reset and provide a revised stream of fearmongering, shabby polling, and end-times handwringing.
Sorry, Eric. I did a lot of searching but can't find that one by Anne. BTW- I assume you're familiar with Anne Hill's remarkable voice and stage presence?
Wow, I should have done my own research before complaining about how "out of pocket" is used. Apparently there is also a journalism origin for the "not available" usage:
"In the fast-waning newspaper office, the copy chief sits in the crook of a horseshoe-shaped desk, surrounded by … copy editors. This is the “pocket.” To keep the flow of proofread copy going, the chief must be “in pocket.” If he goes away for any length of time, he’s “out of the pocket,” unavailable, and things grind to a halt. This became shortened to “out of pocket” on Telexes and faxes."
I hope Word Court becomes a regular feature in PS. Misuse and mispronunciation of various words and phrases are one of my pet peeves, and exposure of such ghastly abominations out into the sunlight provides for a kind of catharsis. Ever notice how many journalists (and others) misunderstand the meaning of the expression “gaslight” in verb tense. Most seem to think that it means to provoke or outrage (in an incendiary way, as it were), as if it refers to taking a lighter or a match to a can of gas; I remember frequently reading about how Trump used to like “gaslighting “ members of the press. Considering it’s actual meaning, that would have to mean that the press consisted of a lot of psychologically malleable people who could be easily manipulated by the Conniver in Chief, but I doubt that they were, or that that’s what was meant.
As a two time winner of the Songs of Good Cheer essay contest, I miss the opportunity to tell a good tale. We have moved to Bloomington Indiana, but I would still write a story if I had the chance!
I am curious, Eric. If the Dems funding of Trumpian candidates was good politics in this election, then do you think they should also support Trump's primary run? I think that it is reprehensible for anyone to have donated to election deniers but doubly so for those that would also claim that they feared the end of democracy. The 'do/say anything to win' philosophy undermines the integrity of politicians and feeds the impression that they are all lying weasels. And in this case, it also undermines the democratic process by reducing the opportunity for the voters to have reasonable electoral alternatives.
I liked your comment on the election and I listened to Mincing Rascals. I think one of the issues in the analysis of the 'wrong track' polls was the simplistic assumption that it favored the GOP. As can be seen in the link you provided, the 'wrong track' people included Dem and Ind people and may have reflected the Dobbs decision and concerns about election deniers as examples of the 'wrong track' but would not favor the GOP. I also liked your 'Eeyore' view but would expand it to say that the first step in broadening its appeal is to stop assuming that everyone on the other side is lunatic, racist, or too stupid to understand their own interests. Biden is on the right track in trying to segregate 'extremists' from mainstream GOP.
Re. Orange Cocoa Cake- check out Anne Hills’ version. Almost everything she sings is wonderful. I also love the Berrymans. Very clever, and oh so Wisconsin!
Maybe "nonplussed" will continue an uneasy co-existence of original/carelessly-manufactured usage the same way "out of pocket" has. Some time around 1988 I was riding the L home from part-time law school night class with a younger student who said he couldn't participate in a study group becuase he was "out of pocket" that weekend. Being a small business owner at the time, I silently wondered how an otherwise intelligent guy could so misuse an aptly-named expense account phrase to indicate unavailability. But since then I've heard the phrase increasingly pop up in conversations to connote the same meaning as my classmate intended. I still cringe, but have come to accept the evoving fluidity of English words to mean whatever one wants them to as long as there is an audience willing to accept it. I still fantasize how my polite reluctance to laugh out load at my first hearing of the mis-applied phrase somehow contributed to its now-ubiquitous bastardization.
It's nice to see that Kass is now paraphrasing "Maximus" from "Gladiator in his recent colums...
"One of the most famous lines by Maximus (Crowe) was when he said to Commodus shortly before his death, “Time for honoring yourself will soon be at an end.”
Infamous miscalculation by Kass shortly before the red ripple, "That Red Wave gathers force. And the time of the jesters honoring themselves will soon be at an end."
re nonplussed. I have always thought it meant what it looks like it means. For example, the facts I have just recieved from you do not change my mind, or change the existing situation..like a life preserver thrown to a beachgoer, the life preserver is not needed and will not change the beachgoer's situation except perhaps his annoyance level....the beachgoer is nonplussed by the thrown life preserver...
The only good thing about the skeletal Tribune of today is that they no longer feature the vulgar oaf Kass. I think it was Carville who described Indiana as a middle finger given by the South to the Midwest--i.e., an apt place for him to land.
I’m not sure I totally understood the humor of the gyros tweet. I mean pronouncing it wrong…to me ….reeks of a lack of worldliness. And don’t get me started on places where they have it on the menu and the staff still mispronounces it. But I assume this is a play on “ heroes. But I don’t see much humor in the way this is stated. “People who stop themselves from correcting others mispronunciations are the real gyros” would have worked better for me….but likely only me.
I can’t imagine why some people may assume that reform means a positive change without actually educating themselves by looking at the details. Remember Reform schools? That didn’t turn out very well for adolescence.
I think you won that debate, yelling match, whatever with Joravsky by a mile. Hard to listen to. I'm tempted to say that the Hideout meltdown is unbelievable, but it's all too believable these days. See Victory Gardens. Progressives can't have nice things anymore. They're too busy eating their own. I want to go back to when "allies" meant the good guys in WWII.
So, the sky didn't fall, democracy didn't die, and sensible people did sensible things in the voting booth. Hmm, who knew? And we didn't have pervasive electoral violence, disruption of voting, attacks on polling places and workers, etc etc. Hmm, again, who knew that the vast majority of Americans value, respect, and appreciate the foundation of our democracy and go about their lives peacefully? But I am sure that the media will be able to quickly reset and provide a revised stream of fearmongering, shabby polling, and end-times handwringing.
Sorry, Eric. I did a lot of searching but can't find that one by Anne. BTW- I assume you're familiar with Anne Hill's remarkable voice and stage presence?
Chuck
Happy Veterans Day 🇺🇲 to my fellow sisters and brothers at arms in service to our country! Hooah!
Wow, I should have done my own research before complaining about how "out of pocket" is used. Apparently there is also a journalism origin for the "not available" usage:
"In the fast-waning newspaper office, the copy chief sits in the crook of a horseshoe-shaped desk, surrounded by … copy editors. This is the “pocket.” To keep the flow of proofread copy going, the chief must be “in pocket.” If he goes away for any length of time, he’s “out of the pocket,” unavailable, and things grind to a halt. This became shortened to “out of pocket” on Telexes and faxes."
https://www.quickanddirtytips.com/articles/3-meanings-of-out-of-pocket/#:~:text=In%20the%20fast,Telexes%20and%20faxes.
I hope Word Court becomes a regular feature in PS. Misuse and mispronunciation of various words and phrases are one of my pet peeves, and exposure of such ghastly abominations out into the sunlight provides for a kind of catharsis. Ever notice how many journalists (and others) misunderstand the meaning of the expression “gaslight” in verb tense. Most seem to think that it means to provoke or outrage (in an incendiary way, as it were), as if it refers to taking a lighter or a match to a can of gas; I remember frequently reading about how Trump used to like “gaslighting “ members of the press. Considering it’s actual meaning, that would have to mean that the press consisted of a lot of psychologically malleable people who could be easily manipulated by the Conniver in Chief, but I doubt that they were, or that that’s what was meant.
As a two time winner of the Songs of Good Cheer essay contest, I miss the opportunity to tell a good tale. We have moved to Bloomington Indiana, but I would still write a story if I had the chance!
I am curious, Eric. If the Dems funding of Trumpian candidates was good politics in this election, then do you think they should also support Trump's primary run? I think that it is reprehensible for anyone to have donated to election deniers but doubly so for those that would also claim that they feared the end of democracy. The 'do/say anything to win' philosophy undermines the integrity of politicians and feeds the impression that they are all lying weasels. And in this case, it also undermines the democratic process by reducing the opportunity for the voters to have reasonable electoral alternatives.
I liked your comment on the election and I listened to Mincing Rascals. I think one of the issues in the analysis of the 'wrong track' polls was the simplistic assumption that it favored the GOP. As can be seen in the link you provided, the 'wrong track' people included Dem and Ind people and may have reflected the Dobbs decision and concerns about election deniers as examples of the 'wrong track' but would not favor the GOP. I also liked your 'Eeyore' view but would expand it to say that the first step in broadening its appeal is to stop assuming that everyone on the other side is lunatic, racist, or too stupid to understand their own interests. Biden is on the right track in trying to segregate 'extremists' from mainstream GOP.