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November 10
One of the enduring questions of November 10 is “Can you tell me how to get to Sesame Street?” Today is the anniversary of the show. In 1969 it was a big departure from the children’s TV shows of the time, but by now it’s the gold standard, having won 189 Emmy Awards. One of Continue reading
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A succedaneum for satisfying the nympholepsy of nullifidians
Pick up a copy of the 2002 “New York Times Everyday Reader’s Dictionary of Misunderstood, Misused, and Mispronounced Words” and you’ll find that the author described it thusly: “This is not a succedaneum for satisfying the nympholepsy of nullifidians.” A “succedaneum” can be a substitute for “substitute.” It’s derived from the Latin “succedaneus,” which is Continue reading
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Vigorish
In quite a few movies about 20th century US mobsters, the term “vigorish” pops up. It’s the interest you have to pay weekly if you owe money to a loan shark or mobster. It’s never all that clear what the interest rate might be, but it’s always absurdly high. If you borrow $1000 — which Continue reading
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November 9
November 9, 1801 was an important day in the history of dairy products and fictional corporate representatives. Gail Borden II was born. He was named after his father, but somewhat unusual names seemed to run in the family; his mother’s given name was Philadelphia. The family moved to Kentucky when young Gail was about 13, Continue reading
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Hiatus
The word “hiatus”, which is borrowed directly from Latin, originally meant a gap or opening. That is, a physical gap, like a hole or even a chasm or canyon. That’s how Richard Burthogge used it in 1675: “He saw two Openings or Hiatus in the Earth.” Even Ben Franklin used it, in the December 15th edition of Continue reading
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Migrating
When you “migrate,” you’re moving from one place to another. If you do that, you might be called a “migrant.” On the other hand, geese migrate annually, but I’ve never heard of “migrant geese.” If you migrate in order to go where a particular kind of job is to be found, you might be called Continue reading
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Born today: Edmond Halley
Most historical figures are known for things you can assume they were personally familiar with. Authors scribbled their books and poems, inventors whacked together their thingamajigs, and painters were intimately involved with smearing their smears. Astronomers nowadays, of course, are different — they rely on imaging from radio, x-ray, and even gravitational detectors to chart Continue reading
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November 8
It was a mere 401 years ago today, in 1602, that the Bodleian Library at Oxford University was opened to the public. It wasn’t a step the librarians took lightly. The library had been founded as far in its past as 1602 is in our past, in the 1300s, and for its first three centuries Continue reading
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Bludgeon the curmudgeon with a dudgeon
There are three words that seem like they might be somewhat related, at least because they’re somewhat unusual and they rhyme: bludgeon, dudgeon, and curmudgeon. “Bludgeon” is both a noun, meaning a heavy club, and a verb, meaning to hit someone or something with the club. It’s sometimes used figuratively to mean to force or Continue reading
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Barometer
In the 1300s, only a minority of English-speaking people could read. Nevertheless there were still what we would call “bestsellers.” One of these was “The Travels of Sir John Mandeville,” published around 1357. The author, Sir John Mandeville himself, explains that he was born in St. Albans, England, became a knight, sailed the seas, and Continue reading
About Me
I’m Pete Harbeson, a writer located near Boston, Massachusetts. In addition to writing my own content, I’ve learned to translate for my loquacious and opinionated pup Chocolate Bossypaws. I shouldn’t be surprised, but she mostly speaks in doggerel. You can find her contributions tagged with Chocolatiana.
Check out my other blog, Techlimitics, where I’m grappling with the nature of simplicity.
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