“GOIN’ FOR A RIDE” AND OTHER OBSCURE PHRASES
MOTORING WAS SOMETHING OF a cult activity. We usta go for a ride, just for fun. Like any good cult, we had a lot of cant, the linguistic term for … Continue reading
JOHN R. BOND’S SPORTS CAR
IN RECOUNTING 48,000 MILES in his 1949 Ford Custom V-8, Road and Track, March 1951, John R. Bond said the car was “a ‘sort-of’ test car during construction of a … Continue reading
OUR LANGUAGE’S THEY/THEIR SQUABBLE
I SEEM TO HAVE sidestepped our English language’s non-gender hassle. Indeed, I have LBGT family and friends, though assigning any of them “he/she” or “his/her” never seems to be a … Continue reading
GLAMOUR
I’VE BEEN ENJOYING lots of Turner Classic Movies lately and have become something of a connoisseur of glamor, or as our Brit friends spell it glamour. It probably comes as … Continue reading
PROKOFIEV, THE SOVIETS, AND PLAYBILL
THE WORD “PLAYBILL” is both a generic, an information-filled giveaway to theatergoers, and also Playbill, the monthly magazine, most copies of which are theater- and production-specific. Background. As described in … Continue reading
BOND’S ’49 FORD AT 48,000
YOUNGER READERS: BE AWARE that this particular Bond car wasn’t 007’s. Rather, it belonged to John R. Bond, Technical Editor, when his article appeared in Road and Track, March, 1951. … Continue reading
CONFITTED DUCKS I HAVE KNOWN
CONFIT DE CANARD, duck that’s salt-cured and then poached in its own fat, is a French culinary delight. There are several confitted ducks I have known, and here are tidbits … Continue reading
A META REVIEW—THE WOMEN PART 2
YESTERDAY, WE BEGAN our meta study of a movie review, followed today in Part 2 by a review of a book citing the movie, plus a review of that review. … Continue reading
A META REVIEW—THE WOMEN PART 1
THE FOLLOWING IS A META REVIEW: a multilevel review of a movie, a book reviewing the movie, and a particular review in the book. Talk about a varied focus. On … Continue reading
KITSUNE TALES
THE JAPANESE LANGUAGE IS RICH in puns. Indeed, entire narratives are written with nested multiple meanings. And today’s title, Kitsune Tales, fits this idea: Kitsune, 狐, is the Japanese word … Continue reading
Simanaitis Says 