ETYMOLOGY—FILIBUSTER PART 2
YESTERDAY, WE BEGAN a review of “filibuster,” its etymology, and its use as a delaying tactic in the U.S. Senate. Here in Part 2, we discuss its history, other filibuster … Continue reading
ETYMOLOGY—FILIBUSTER PART 1
THERE IS NOTHING good to say about “filibuster.” Even its etymology is embarrassing. As noted in Merriman-Webster, the word comes from the Spanish filibustero, literally “freebooter.” “Filibuster” made its first … Continue reading
CELEBRATING MAGAZINES
STEVEN LOMAZOW, M.D., collects magazine, some 83,000 of them. And New York City’s Grolier Club has assembled an exhibition selected from his collection. Jennifer Schuessler writes “Are Magazines Dead? Not … Continue reading
OBAMA’S MEMOIRS
I HAVEN’T READ Barack Obama’s A Promised Land, and considering the number of books already on my “to-read” stack, I’m not likely to attempt this 768-page challenge. On the other … Continue reading
ETYMOLOGY: VACCINE
MUCH ON OUR minds these days, the word “vaccine” has interesting etymology and important current usage. Here are tidbits gleaned from my usual Internet sleuthing. Dictionary Definition. Merriam-Webster says a … Continue reading
BARD STATS
WHEN WIFE DOTTIE was a kid, she and her friend Gracie Watts would perform plays for their parents. When she asked her dad which part he liked best, he’d invariably … Continue reading
PUSILLANIMOUS, CRAVEN, DASTARDLY: ETYMOLOGIES, WITH EXAMPLES PART 2
THIS ALL STARTED with my seeking descriptions of certain U.S. Senators participating in the Trump sequel to his first impeachment. The nickel word “pusillanimous” came to mind in Part 1; … Continue reading
PUSILLANIMOUS, CRAVEN, DASTARDLY: ETYMOLOGIES, WITH EXAMPLES PART 1
I WAS AT a loss for words while I listened to Senator Mitch McConnell and other Republicans during this past week’s impeachment hearings. But then three words came to mind: … Continue reading
THE FIRST HUMANIST PLAYWRIGHT
SHAKESPEARE: THE INVENTION of the Human, 1998, is a classic book by Harold Bloom, 1930–2019, who is oft cited as “the most influential English-language critic of the late 20th century.” … Continue reading
ON REMARKABLE DIARIES
I’VE NEVER KEPT a diary. As one of Wife Dottie’s relatives said (while flipping the car’s rearview mirror out of the way), “What’s past is past….” On the other hand, … Continue reading
Simanaitis Says 