“Catchphrase (noun): A common or appealing phrase in popular, often unthinking,, usage; watchword or slogan. ‘…American style…overworks its catchphrases until the become not merely meaningless playtalk, like English catchphrases, but sickening, like overworked popular song.’ Raymond Chandler, Raymond Chandler Speaking”
Excerpted from: Grambs, David. The Random House Dictionary for Writers and Readers. New York: Random House, 1990.
“Miss Ferber, who was fond of wearing tailored suits, showed up at the Round Table one afternoon sporting a new suit similar to the one Noel Coward was wearing. ‘You look almost like a man,’ Coward said as he greeted her.
‘So,’ Miss Ferber replied, ‘do you.’”
Excerpted from: Drennan, Robert E., ed. The Algonquin Wits. New York: Kensington, 1985.
“Amerigo Vespucci: (1454-1512 Italian-Spanish navigator and explorer of the New World. Born in Florence, he entered the Medici family business and in 1419 was sent to Seville, where he helped outfit the ships for Christopher Columbus’s expeditions. By 1496 he was manager of the Seville agency. He took part in (or four—the number is disputed) voyages to the New World; he was navigator on a Spanish expedition (1499-1500) that probably discovered the mouth of the Amazon River, and he led a Portuguese expedition (1501-2) that discovered Guanabara Bay (Rio de Janeiro) and the Rio de la Plata. In the accounts of they voyages (published 1507), the terms America and New World were used to describe the lands visited by Amerigo Vespucci (in Latin, Americus Vespucius). As chief navigator for the Seville-based Commercial House for the West Indies (from 1508), he prepared maps of newly discovered lands from data supplied by ships’ captains.”
Excerpted/Adapted from: Stevens, Mark A., Ed. Merriam-Webster’s Collegiate Encyclopedia. Springfield, Massachusetts: Merriam-Webster, 2000.
Posted in English Language Arts, Quotes, Reference, Social Sciences
“The more fonts a document has, the less content it has.”
Excerpted from: Winokur, Jon, ed. The Big Curmudgeon. New York: Black Dog & Leventhal, 2007.
“spatial judgment: The ability to judge spatial relationships, as between fixed objects or between a moving object and a fixed point. Spatial judgment is involved in activities such as driving a car or playing a sport. Individuals with learning disabilities may have problems with spatial judgment as part of an overall pattern of difficulty with visual-spatial abilities.”
Excerpted from: Turkington, Carol, and Joseph R. Harris, PhD. The Encyclopedia of Learning Disabilities. New York: Facts on File, 2006.
“Isocephaly: A method of composing groups of figures in such a way that all are shown at the same height, regardless of posture and purpose. Characteristic of classical Greek art.”
Excerpted from: Diamond, David G. The Bulfinch Pocket Dictionary of Art Terms. Boston: Little Brown, 1992.
“24 Angulas Make a Forearm…
“Twenty-four angulas make one hasta, which is one of the universal measurement units of mankind—the length of forearm measured out to the extended middle finger. The hasta is a unit of measurement devised by the Harappan (the most ancient of India’s urban civilizations along the Indus) and akin to the cubit used in Sumeria (the most ancient urban culture of Iraq) and ancient Egypt.
It seems that the basic Harappan unit was formed from the width of eight barley grains placed side by side, which was found to be equal to a finger’s width (roughly 1.76cm). Twelve of these finger-widths/barley rows made an angula, while a dhanus (the length of a bow) was assessed as 108 of these finger-width/barley rows. Anything with ‘108’ in it was deemed to be very propitious in India and the East and so it was a favorite unit in which to design a citadel or a wall.
The use of barley as the ultimate foundation stone of measurement appears to be another universal element (alongside the forearm, the foot, and the breadth of a finger), so that, for instance, you will find it underwriting the system of measurements used by the Vikings. But there has always been room for financial manipulation and speculation, especially from the great rival of barley, the slightly lighter wheat seed. Four wheat seeds equal three of barley, which are themselves considered to be on par with the seed from a carob tree.”
…And 24 Palms Make a Man
Four fingers make a palm, and six palms make a cubit, and four cubits make a man who should therefore be twenty-four palms in height. The other rule of male proportion is that, like the Emperor Charlemagne and King Edward I of England, we should stand six times the length of our foot. Half the length of the foot is also the extent of the average erect penis—which comes in at an average of just under six inches. A much greater mystery is whether the navel or the base of the penis is the center of a man.”
Excerpted from: Rogerson, Barnaby. Rogerson’s Book of Numbers: The Culture of Numbers–from 1,001 Nights to the Seven Wonders of the World. New York: Picador, 2013.
“Cant (noun): Language that is hypocritical or wearisomely hollow and predictable, such as stereotypical political jargon, repetitious promotional claims, or pious religious clichés, transparent, rote idiom or stock phrases; whining, singsong speech, such as that used by importuning beggars; argot of a group or lower social class. Adj. canting; v. cant.
‘But the official language of the United States is now cant. As I said at the beginning, the condition of the real language is critical.’ Jean Stafford, Saturday Review”
Excerpted from: Grambs, David. The Random House Dictionary for Writers and Readers. New York: Random House, 1990.
“I have nothing against Brecht in his place, which is East Germany.”
Excerpted from: Winokur, Jon, ed. The Big Curmudgeon. New York: Black Dog & Leventhal, 2007.
“teacher-centered instruction: A pedagogical approach in which the teacher decides what and how to teach. See also teacher-directed classroom. Contrast child-centered education; learner-centered classroom.”
Excerpted from: Ravitch, Diane. EdSpeak: A Glossary of Education Terms, Phrases, Buzzwords, and Jargon. Alexandria, VA: ASCD, 2007.
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