December 2007 Archives
Bodily Conditions: borborygm;
eructation;
suppurate (bubo, bubonic); bruxism; somnolent;
blain (chilblain)
Kinds of People: janissary; voluble; endomorphic; younker;
fashionista; reactionary; misoneism; naïf
Professions from Chaucer's Canterbury Tales: summoner; reeve; canon (yeoman); manciple; haberdasher;
franklin; pardoner
What's new?: neophyte; neoteric; neophobia; apophoret;
neoteny; Hogmanay; qualtagh
Bodily Conditions
Last
week’s theme tended to degrade into just fancy medical synonyms for body-parts
which have a familiar, everyday name. I’ll try to avoid that trap as we spend a
week on the workings of the body. Here’s an embarrassing but familiar concept
for which we have no familiar word.
borborygm; borborygmus – a rumbling noise in the guts (due to
moving gas)
[from
Greek for ‘to rumble’]
OED’s
quotes are too delicious for me to look further, particularly if, as I presume,
the last one is figurative, referring to Carlyle’s writing.
Literal:
The borborygmic note of the
Arabian camel.
– Times [
Figurative:
The room was very quiet, except for its borborygmic
old radiator.
– Elizabeth Fenwick, A Long Way Down
The stertorous [loud] borborygms
of the dyspeptic Carlyle!
– Aldous Huxley, Point Counter Point
eructation – a belch (by a person, or by a volcano)
Not
a pretty word, but we have two pretty quotes, one literal and one figurative.
The sounds of life rose about them: trilling
cicadas, humming dragonflies, even the occasional eructation of a
frog.
– Douglas Preston and
At intervals
– John Steinbeck, East of
suppurate – to form or discharge pus
Suitable
for figurative use as an insult, as in the second quote.
[Oddly, during the Black Plague,
I don’t know about you, but if I lived in an
age when God was zinging every third person in my town with suppurating
bubos, I don't think I'd look on Him as being on my side.
– Bill Bryson, Neither Here nor There:
Travels in
Hush, you suppurating old boil
of a peasant.
– Gregory Maguire, Mirror Mirror
Bonus word:
bubo (adj. bubonic) – a swollen inflamed lymph node in
the armpit or groin
bruxism – habitual, involuntary gritting or grinding the teeth, esp.
when in stress or during sleep, as from anger, tension, fear, or frustration
I
smiled at the titles of the two works that provide our quotes.
The doctor jumped up from his seat and shouted, “… Are you gritting
those teeth? We never ever grit our teeth. That’s a condition called bruxism
and you’re in luck, dear lady. We have recently purchased a line of products
called the Grindzappers … . When you sleep, if you start gnashing those teeth
the headgear shoots out a current and you’ll awaken enough to stop
immediately.”
Get thee out of here, sweet Jesus, Mama thought, trapped under this
freak’s bright lights and hovering face.
– Susan Reinhardt, Not Tonight Honey,
Wait 'Til I'm a Size Six
There are two types of bruxism:
good old-fashioned grinding, and clenching. "There tends to be a
male/female divide. “[M]en tend to grind," explains Higson. "[W]omen
tend to clench rather than grind, and get sore muscles. Females get more
headaches, temporal ones especially."
– The Guardian, While you were sleeping,
July 5, 2005 (ellipses omitted)
somnolent – sleepy; drowsy
We
all know the feeling of oversleeping, which this quote describes so well!
I woke when it was almost tolling the hour
for the evening meal. I felt dull and somnolent, for
daytime sleep is like the sin of the flesh: the more you have the more you
want, and yet you feel unhappy, sated and unsated at the same time.
– Umberto Eco, The Name of the Rose
also: somnolent – inducing
drowsiness
From everywhere came the somnolent
buzz of bees.
– Stephen King, Wizard and Glass
After
all these fancy Latinate words, it’s nice to have a pair from plain Old
English.
blain – a blister; an inflammatory skin swelling or sore
chilblain – painful, itching swelling, on hand or foot, caused by
poor skin circulation when exposed to cold
A
bit of inspired nonsense from Edward Lear:
Said the Table to the Chair,
"You can hardly be aware
How I suffer from the heat
And from chilblains on my
feet.
If we took a little walk,
We might have a little talk;
Pray let us take the air,"
Said the Table to the Chair.
Said the Chair unto the Table,
"Now, you know we are not able:
'How foolishly you talk,
'When you know we cannot walk!"
Said the Table with a sigh,
"It can do no harm to try.
I've as many legs as you;
Why can't we walk on two?"
See
here
for the rest of this delightful poem.
cicatrice; cicatrix – a scar
He knew where the cicatrice of
Caroline's vaccination stood out on her left thigh; but though he had seen
– John O'Hara, Appointment in
Kinds of People
What
words could be more fascinating than ones that pinpoint the personalities of
people in our world? Such will be our theme this week.
janissary – one of a group of a highly loyal supporters
So
say the dictionaries, but I think the term is more specific. It implies a
ruthlessness and near-religious zeal. As in our quote.
Lenin saw that a resolute and well-disciplined
group could by ruthless terror overthrow whatever other regime might attempt to
replace [the tsars]. [H]e was resolved to prepare the appropriate instrument.
He had little use for theories about the necessity of waiting for the workmen
to rise of their own initiative in order to accomplish the grand revolution.
What he needed was a well-trained bodyguard of revolutionist janissaries,
deaf to any argument but his own, free from all inhibitions, impervious to the
voices of reason or humanity.
– Joseph A. Schumpeter, Capitalism,
Socialism, and Democracy (ellipses omitted)
voluble – characterized by ready or rapid speech
Interesting
history: the word comes from Latin for 'to roll', as in a wheel that 'revolves'.
That should give you the hint that this is not an entirely complimentary term,
but rather has the sense of talking too much, of habitually rolling on and on
and on and on and …
Homer [my dog] stopped coming when I called,
which was unacceptable … I put a leash on him and yanked him to me, and was voluble
with praise and generous with treats when he complied …
– Jon Katz, A Dog Year: Twelve Months,
Four Dogs, and Me
– Aida D. Donald, Lion in the White
House: A Life of Theodore Roosevelt
I'm
surprised to find how rarely this word is used.
endomorphic – having a heavy rounded body build, with a marked
tendency to become fat
Alexander Woollcott grew up in
– Mardy Grothe, Viva la Repartee
younker – a young man
[My
sense is that it has the connotation of ‘a bit wet behind the ears’.]
When I was a younker a man
with two nickels could feed like a king. The bartender was a little suspicious
if you dug into the grub on the strength of one beer, but when you bellied up
and ordered the second, you were a guest of the house and could eat your head
off.
– Robert Ruark, The Old Man and the Boy
Then he said, 'It's not respectful, sir, of
you younkers to be imitating of your relations.'
– William Makepeace Thackeray, Vanity
Fair
fashionista – an enthusiast for the trends of fashion
(A
mildly disparaging term, not just for the wearer of the clothing, etc., but
also for the designers, models, fashion-writers, etc.)
Credit
Quinion for today’s quote.
Last week I finally realized that no matter
how hard I try, I’ll never be a true fashionista — one of those
guys and gals who can stumble out of a swamp covered with leeches and still
look like a million bucks.
– Rocky Mountain News (
reactionary – an extreme conservative; one opposed of progress or
liberalism (also as an adjective)
I
butted into the argument "This is a reactionary group.
Correct? Right-wing loony lodge."
He nodded.
"So, considering that, and the
high-level political and financial membership of this so-called hunting and
fishing club, maybe we’re talking about a conspiracy to take over the
government.”
He smiled and replied, “I think they already did that on Election Day.”
– Nelson DeMille, Wild Fire
'Reactionary'
is a common word. The word I’d hoped to present is stronger but ridiculously
obscure, so obscure that you can insult someone with it without fear that he’ll
understand! Just call him a misoeist, suffering from misoneism,
the fear of anything new. (OED defines it as merely “dislike of novelty,” but I
think of it as far stronger, as in its very first usage.)
The fear of the unknown has been named misoneism,
… It is best exemplified in children and savages. (1886; credit OED)
naif – a naïve person
(in
either of two senses: 1. natural and unaffected; and 2. lacking the
judgement to be aware of dangers)
No one except a a naif or a
political propagandist could believe that Israelis and Palestinians could live
together in one state without civil war. Proponents of one state are mainly
extremists like Hamas who want one state without Jews, or ultranationalist
Israelis who would like to expel the Palestinians.
– Trudy Rubin,
Professions from Chaucer's
I’ve
been enjoying a browse through The Canterbury Tales, where Geoffrey
Chaucer tells of a motley group who, finding that each is on his way to
summoner – a petty officer who cites persons to appear in court
Can’t
you just see this fellow, from Chaucer’s description?
A summoner
was with us in that place,
Who had a fiery-red,
cherubic face,
For eczema he had;
his eyes were narrow
As hot he was, and
lecherous, as a sparrow;
With black and scabby
brows and scanty beard;
He had a face that
little children feared.
…
Well loved he garlic,
onions, aye and leeks,
And drinking of
strong wine as red as blood.
Then would he talk
and shout as madman would.
And when a deal of
wine he'd poured within,
Then would he utter
no word save Latin.
No wonder, for he'd
heard it all the day;
And all you know
right well that even a jay
Can call out Wat as
well as can the pope.
But when, for aught
else, into him you'd grope,
'Twas found he'd
spent his whole philosophy;
…
He was a noble
rascal, and a kind;
A better comrade
'twould be hard to find.
Why, he would suffer,
for a quart of wine,
Some good fellow to
have his concubine …
The
summoner was a petty government officer. A reeve was originally a
high government officer – the chief magistrate of a town or district – but by
Chaucer’s time had become sort of the “business manager” for a private person.
Chaucer shows the reeve as a respected and well-rewarded professional.
We
can practically see Chaucer's reeve: his physique, grooming, work,
character and clothing. There are even homely details: his name, his horse, and
his habit of riding at the back of the group.
reeve – a steward appointed by a landowner to superintend his estates,
tenants, or workmen
|
The reeve he was a slender, choleric man His beard was shaved as close as ever can. His hair was closely cropped around his ears; His top was tonsured like a pulpiteer's. Long were his legs, and they were very lean, And like a staff, with no calf to be seen. Well could he manage granary and bin; No auditor could ever on him win. He could foretell, by drought and by the rain, The yielding of his seed and of his grain. His lord's sheep and his oxen and his dairy, His swine and horses, all his stores, his poultry, Were wholly in this steward's managing; … |
Yet no man ever found him in arrears. There was no agent, hind, or herd who'd cheat; He knew too well their cunning and deceit; They were afraid of him as of the death. His cottage was a good one, on a heath; By green trees shaded was his dwelling-place. Much better than his lord could he purchase. … In youth he'd learned a good trade, and had been A carpenter, as fine as could be seen. This steward sat a horse that well could trot, And was all dapple-grey, and was named Scot. A long surcoat of blue did he parade, And at his side he bore a rusty blade. Of From near a town that men call Badeswell. Bundled he was like friar from chin to croup, And ever he rode hindmost of our troop. |
canon – a clergyman living with others in a clergy-house, living per
church rules
yeoman (older meaning:) – an attendant/assistant to an
official, etc. (and more specifically: a servant in a royal or noble
household (usually above the lowest level, a groom or page)
(current
meaning: 1. a diligent, dependable worker 2. a farmer who cultivates his
own land)
Along
the way the travelers meet a canon and his talkative yeoman. The latter
(regular type below), under the host’s artful questions (blue italics), reveals
that his master is an alchemist seeking to create gold – and is a miserable
failure. This indiscreet chatter of course infuriates the canon (“… suspicion
always woke / In him, indeed, when anybody spoke. / For Cato says suspicion's
ever fed / In any guilty man when aught is said.”). He leaves in a huff, and
the yeoman then speaks even more bitterly.
|
… I warn you well, he's a surpassing man. Well, said our host, then pray tell, if you can, Is he a clerk, or not? Tell what he is. Nay, he is greater than a clerk, ywis, … From here right into Why, he could turn it all clean upside-down And pave it all with silver and with gold. … Since your lord is a man of such science, For which men should hold him in reverence, That of his dignity his care's so slight; His over-garment is not worth a mite For such a man as he, so may I go! It is all dirty and it's torn also. Why is your lord so slovenly, pray I, And yet has power better clothes to buy… ? … Why? asked this yeoman, Why ask this of me? God help me, wealthy he will never be! … For when a man has overmuch of wit, It often happens he misuses it; No matter then, good yeoman, said our host; Since of the learning of your lord you boast, Tell how he works, I pray you heartily … … We stir and mix and stare into the fire, But for all that we fail of our desire, … |
And never do we
come to our conclusion. To many folk we bring
about illusion, And make them
think, aye, at the least, it's plain, That from a pound
of gold we can make twain! … But that science is
so far us before, We never can, in
spite of all we swore, Come up with it, it
slides away so fast; And it will make us
beggars at the last. ... [The canon leaves] Seven years I've
served this canon, but no more I know about his
science than before. All that I had I
have quite lost thereby; And, God knows, so
have many more than I. Where I was wont to
be right fresh and gay Of clothing and of
other good array, Now may I wear my
old hose on my head; And where my colour
was both fresh and red, Now it is wan and
of a leaden hue; Whoso this science
follows, he shall rue. … And I am still
indebted so thereby For gold that I
have borrowed, truthfully, That while I live I
shall repay it never. Let every man be
warned by me for ever! |
manciple – a person responsible for provisioning a group of
people (more specifically, one who purchases provisions for a college,
monastery, Inn of Court, etc.)
There was a manciple from an
inn of court,
To whom all buyers might quite well resort
To learn the art of buying food and drink;
For whether he paid cash or not, I think
That he so knew the markets, when to buy,
He never found himself left high and dry.
The
reeve’s tale is set off by the illness of the manciple of a
Large tolls this miller took, beyond a
doubt,
With wheat and malt from all the lands
about;
Of which I'd specify among them all
A
He ground their wheat and all their malt he
ground.
And on a day it happened, as they found,
The manciple got such a malady
That all men surely thought that he should
die.
Whereon this miller stole both flour and
wheat
A hundredfold more than he used to cheat;
For theretofore he stole but cautiously,
But now he was a thief outrageously,
Solar
Hall was real; a century and a half later it merged with another college to become
Trinity. (It should be noted that the famous limerick which rhymes ‘Trinity’
with ‘virginity’ refers to the 
)
Chaucer
did not complete his Canterbury Tales, and several of his pilgrims never tell a
story and are barely described. Among them is a “haberdasher”. Today, this is
one of those words that has different meanings “on opposite sides of the pond,”
in the
haberdasher – (formerly, a dealer in odds and ends)
1.
Since
Chaucer gives only a passing mention of his haberdasher, we’ll turn elsewhere
for illustrative quotes. Humorous ones!
– Telegraph, May 3, 2002
US [re a future use of computers]: … want some
new threads? Your haberdasher will scan your body – and keep it
confidential, we hope – then transmit the information to a factory. Your
custom-made duds could then be delivered the next day.
– Business Week, Aug. 10, 2000
older sense of ‘odds and ends’:
In the film's funniest scene, Bond's gadget haberdasher,
Q (John Cleese), outfits James with his requisite toys: a glass-shattering
ring, a supercharged watch ("Your 20th, I believe") and a car whose
dashboard includes buttons for grenade, mortar and adaptive camouflage.
–
franklin – a landowner of free but not noble birth (14th and
15th cent.
Chaucer’s
franklin enjoys his eating and drinking.
There was a franklin in his
company;
White was his beard as is the white daisy. …
Delightful living was the goal he'd won,
For he was Epicurus' own son,
Who held the view that plain and pure
delight
Was true felicity, perfect and right. …
His bread, his ale were always good and
fine;
No man had cellars better stocked with wine.
Baked meat was never wanting in his house,
Of fish and flesh, and that so plenteous
It seemed to snow therein both food and
drink,
Of all the dainties that a man could think.
After the sundry seasons of the year
He changed his diet and his means of cheer.
Full many a fattened partridge did he mew,
And many a bream and pike in fish-pond too.
Woe to his cook, except the sauces were
Poignant and sharp, and ready all his gear.
His table, waiting in his hall alway,
Stood ready covered through the livelong
day.
In
this season we’re reminded what a conflicted holiday Christmas has become.
Sublime holiness mixes uneasily with frantic flamboyant commercialism. Prophet
and profit, if you will!
Chaucer
embodies that conflict in two characters, both men of religion, so it seems
only appropriate to present each of them here (though only one gives us a
typical, unfamiliar word). Today we display the pardoner, who sells religion
for money. Tomorrow, as our Christmas present, we will present to you the
honest country parson, “poor [in goods], but rich in holy thought and work.”
pardoner – one licensed to sell papal pardons (theoretically to
raise funds for the church)
|
With him there rode
a gentle pardoner Of Rouncival, his
friend and his compeer; … This pardoner had
hair as yellow as wax, But lank it hung as
does a strike of flax; In wisps hung down
such locks as he'd on head, And with them he
his shoulders overspread; But thin they
dropped, and stringy, one by one. … It seemed to him he
went in latest style, Dishevelled, save
for cap, his head all bare. As shiny eyes he
had as has a hare. He had a fine
veronica sewed to cap. His wallet lay
before him in his lap, Stuffed full of
pardons brought from A voice he had that
bleated like a goat. No beard had he,
nor ever should he have, For smooth his face
as he'd just had a shave; I think he was a gelding
or a mare. … In his bag he had a
pillowcase The which, he said,
was Our True Lady's veil: He said he had a
piece of the very sail That good Saint
Peter had, what time he went Upon the sea, till
Jesus changed his bent. He had a latten
cross set full of stones, And in a bottle had
he some pig's bones. |
But with these
relics, when he came upon Some simple parson,
then this paragon In that one day
more money stood to gain Than the poor dupe
in two months could attain. And thus, with
flattery and suchlike japes, He made the parson
and the rest his apes. In his bag he had a
pillowcase The which, he said,
was Our True Lady's veil: He said he had a
piece of the very sail That good Saint
Peter had, what time he went Upon the sea, till
Jesus changed his bent. He had a latten
cross set full of stones, And in a bottle had
he some pig's bones. But with these
relics, when he came upon Some simple parson,
then this paragon In that one day
more money stood to gain Than the poor dupe in
two months could attain. And thus, with
flattery and suchlike japes, He made the parson
and the rest his apes. |
But Cristes loore, and Hise apostles twelve
He taughte, but first he folwed it hym-selve.
I
can tell you that the word “shitty” below is in the original. Beyond that,
nothing need be added to Chaucer’s portrait of the parson.
|
There was a good
man of religion, too, A country parson,
poor, I warrant you; … Who Christ's own
gospel truly sought to preach; Devoutly his parishioners
would he teach. Benign he was and
wondrous diligent, Patient in adverse
times and well content, As he was ofttimes
proven; always blithe, He was right loath
to curse to get a tithe, But rather would he
give, in case of doubt, Unto those poor
parishioners about, Part of his income,
even of his goods. Enough with little,
coloured all his moods. Wide was his
parish, houses far asunder, But never did he
fail, for rain or thunder, In sickness, or in
sin, or any state, To visit to the farthest,
small and great, Going afoot, and in
his hand, a stave. This fine example
to his flock he gave, That first he
wrought and afterwards he taught; Out of the gospel
then that text he caught, And this figure he
added thereunto- That, if gold rust,
what shall poor iron do? For if the priest
be foul, in whom we trust, What wonder if a
layman yield to lust? And shame it is, if
priest take thought for keep, A shitty shepherd,
shepherding clean sheep. Well ought a priest
example good to give, By his own
cleanness, how his flock should live. |
He never let his
benefice for hire, Leaving his flock
to flounder in the mire, … Nor in some
brotherhood did he withhold; But dwelt at home
and kept so well the fold That never wolf could
make his plans miscarry; He was a shepherd
and not mercenary. And holy though he
was, and virtuous, To sinners he was
not impiteous, Nor haughty in his
speech, nor too divine, But in all teaching
prudent and benign. To lead folk into
Heaven but by stress Of good example was
his busyness. But if some sinful
one proved obstinate, Be who it might, of
high or low estate, Him he reproved,
and sharply, as I know. There is nowhere a
better priest, I trow. He had no thirst
for pomp or reverence, Nor made himself a
special, spiced conscience, But Christ's own
lore, and His apostles' twelve He taught, but first he followed it himself. |
May we so live.
What's new?
With
the new year nearing, let’s talk about words of newness.
neophyte – a person who is new to a subject or activity; a
beginner, a novice (also, a novice in a religious order, or a newly
ordained priest)
The
etymology is rather sweet, once you realize that the word originally meant “a
new convert to a religion”. It literally means ‘newly planted’ (Greek neo-
new + phytos planted).
Last spring, 12 climbers died and 84 reached
the summit … Truth be told, climbing Everest has always been an extraordinarily
dangerous undertaking and doubtless always will be, whether the people involved
are Himalayan neophytes being guided up the peak or world-class
mountaineers climbing with their peers
– Jon Krakauer, Into Thin Air: A Personal
Account of the
neoteric –
(of an author or other person): of recent
times; modern; also, having a modern outlook
(of beliefs, practices, or other things):
modern, recent, new
Also
used as a noun.
Please note that this is not necessarily complimentary. “Freq. with
disparaging connotations,” says OED; “objectionably novel, ‘newfangled’.
One of the remarkable things about the
modern age is the number of sensitive men who march forward determined to
resynthesize all human experience and give to us a wholly new worldview. Such
people sometimes have difficulty being heard, in which case they do not do too
much mischief; sometimes they are heard, like Karl Marx, and there is hell to
pay. These neoterics begin on the flat assumption that the
philosophical patrimony of the Western world is useless, and square. God is
dead! Nietzsche announced. God is dying! Mailer corrects him.
– Samuel
neophobia – fear or dislike of anything new or unfamiliar
[The
term is often used for a condition familiar to parents: a child’s refusal to try
a new food, particularly vegetables!]
Caution
for the New-Year season: did you know that neophobia is hazardous to
your health?
Scientists find that neophobia, or fear of novelty,
shortens lifespan, at least in lab rats. After testing the animals for neophobia
(when plunked down in an "exploration arena" filled with a bowl,
brick and other novel amusements, the scaredy-rats moved less than neophilic
ones), [they] waited for the bodies to pile up.
Neophobes
were 60% more likely to die at any time than their novelty-loving brothers. The
causes of death were tumors, primarily. But while neophiles
survived their tumors for a while, neophobes quickly succumbed,
apparently because neophobia keeps their cells awash in stress
hormones. In people, too, neophobia seems to be marked by
unhealthy levels of stress hormones.
– Wall Street Journal, Dec. 26, 2003
(ellipses omitted)
In a less enlightened time, kids who refused to eat their veggies were
branded picky eaters. We now know that many of those youngsters suffer from
something psychologists call neophobia, or the fear of new
things. So instead of thrusting carrots at them or banishing them to bed
without dinner, we turn the kitchen into a diner and cook separate meals for
parents and kids. Or get takeout.
This may keep peace at the table, but it doesn't solve the problem of
getting the necessary nutrients into those growing neophobes –
many of whom are still feasting on sugary holiday treats.
– Chicago Tribune, Dec. 27, 2007 (ellipses
omitted; thanks go out to Kalleh for the quote)
apophoret
Today’s
term is very rare: under 20 “hits” as an English word, Google and Googlebooks.
And every hit is a dictionary or the similar word-list. The term has never been
spotted in actual usage, ‘in the wild’ as it were. (Hmmmmmmm: if it's never
been used, is it truly a word, or just a case of dictionary-writers copying
from each other?)
Nonetheless,
even just the in-print sources manage to come up with be three different
definitions. One of them pertains to New Year’s Day, so we’ll put the term
under this theme. The three are:¹
1623: “a new yeeres gift”
1676: a gift presented at some solemn time; as
New-years or the like.
1955: “a smiling word for a present a hostess
gives her guest (as at a wedding or a party , or for knowing when to take
leave).” [in other words, a goodie bag. – Wordcrafter]
Which
is right? You pays your money, you takes your choice. OED ducks the matter, and
just quotes the two definitions that predated OED. Personally, I go with the
1955 ‘goodie bag’ version, because it seems more consistent with the Greek
roots of the term: apo- away + pherein to carry.
¹ The three sources are, in order,
Cockeram’s Dictionary, Bullokar’s Dictionary, and Dictionary of Early
English by Joseph T. Shipley. Complicating this even more, another
published source has different definition for ‘apophoretum’: “a
consecrated vessel for holding the relics of the saints” (Orby Shipley, Glossary
of Ecclesiastical Terms (1872).
An
adult animal may retain features which closely-related species grow out of, in
juvenile stages or in embryo. (For example, while the big toe of most primates
begins as ours but later moves to become opposable like the thumb, our toe
retains the original form.) Or development may be completed at a much slower
pace than in kindred species. (For example, at birth the human brain has
achieved only 23% of its adult size, compared with 40.5% for a chimp and 65%
for a rhesus monkey.)
neoteny – 1. the retention of juvenile features in an adult
animal
2. sometimes used to mean: the characteristic of having a
relatively long period of development
[from
Greek for ‘holding the new’]
Among
mammals, primates are highly neotenic; among primates, apes are highly
neotenic; and among apes, humans are highly neotenic.
Man has absolutely the most protracted
period of infancy, childhood and juvenility of all forms of life, i.e., he is a
neotenous or long-growing animal. Nearly thirty percent of his
entire life-span is devoted to growing.
– W. M. Krogman, Child Growth
The theory of human neoteny is
.. I believe … an essential, if not dominant, theme in human evolution. …
Compared with other primates, we grow and develop at a snail’s pace …
– Stephen J. Gould, Ever Since
The beasts and birds their common charge
attend
The mothers nurse it, and the sires defend;
The young dismiss'd to wander earth and air,
There stops the instinct, and there ends the
care; …
A longer care man’s helpless kind demands,
That longer care contracts more lasting
bands …
– Alexander Pope
I’ll
take today’s definition from Jonathan Bernstein’s Dictionary of British
Slang, titled Knickers in a Twist.
Hogmanay –
‘Ay, but I’m ma strong teetotaler,’ he said
pugnaciously. `I took the pledge last Martinmas, and I havena touched a drop o'
whisky sinsyne. No even at Hogmanay, though I was sair temptit.’
– John Buchan, The Thirty-Nine Steps
Scottish
cities hold enthusiastic Hogamanay revels. (
We’ll
end the year with an rare term with two meanings for the season. It comes from Manx,
the Gaelic language of the Isle of Man. (For those unfamiliar, the Isle of Man
is a small self-governing island, population about 75,000, in the Irish Sea
between
1. qualtagh – the “first foot”; the first person to step into your
home (or the first person you meet) on New Year’s Day (sometimes, the first met
after leaving home on a special occasion)
The
qualtagh indicates one’s fortune: a dark-haired male qualtagh is good luck; a
red-head, a female, or a cat, bad luck; and a spaagagh (splay-footed)
qualtagh terrible luck. (In other words, you do not want a flat-foot
first-foot.) Some women would stay home until the qualtagh came, for fear of
going out and meeting the wrong sort of qualtagh. Other parts of the
Who will be your ‘first foot’ this year, I
wonder? It was John Storm last year, you remember, and being dark as a gipsy he
made a perfect qualtagh.
– Hall Caine, The Christian, ch. X,
as published in The Windsor Magazine Vol. V (1897)
OED quotes the following as late as 2000:
“Some traditions have been maintained almost in their entirety. Most households
would feel uneasy without a qualtagh, or ‘first-footer’.”
2. Qualtagh was also the name for a Christmas or New Year’s custom
of going caroling door to door, singing for food or gifts. One such song,
translated from Manx Gaelic, is our New Year’s wish to you.
A merry Christmas, and a happy new year,
Long life and health to all the household
here.
Food and mirth to you dwelling together,
Peace and love between men and women;
Wealth and distinction, stock and store,
Plenty of potatoes, and herring galore.
Bread and cheese, butter and beef.
May death, when it comes, find you at your
ease,
Happy as a mouse in a well-stocked barn,
Sleeping safely in bed at rest,
And by the flea’s tooth not distressed.
The
best of years to you and to yours.