Saturday, April 30, 2011

Can You Give Me A Hand?

You have to hand it to “hand”: It’s a handy word — it handles multiple tasks, both literal and figurative.

“She has firsthand experience with that.”

“We’ve experienced that firsthand.”

Perhaps you are raling about a card game, for example — “I won the first hand and lost all the rest” — or a clock part — “The second hand isn’t moving”. By the way - have you ever noticed that the third hand on a clock or watch is the second hand?

A handyman usually uses tools to get the job done. The word “hand” is handy with tools, too — prepositions, for example.

Baseball pitchers throw “overhand” or, interestingly, “sidearm.” Softball pitchers throw “underhand.” But either kind of pitcher — or anyone else, for that matter — can be “underhanded” — “secret, sly, deceitful, etc.”

Baseball and softball players can be “right-handed” or “left-handed.” They actually use both hands, but these terms indicate which hand they throw with. Batters are left-handed or right-handed, too, except for “switch-hitters,” who can hit either way. In rare instances, batters can be “cross-handed” — usually when starting to learn the game.

Seemingly reflecting a cultural prejudice against left-handers that’s worth further examination (eventually), the adjective “right-hand” also can mean “most helpful or reliable,” as in, “He’s my right-hand man.”

But whether you’re “right-handed” or “left-handed,” you’re using the right hand for you.

“Backhand” and “forehand” are the two basic strokes in tennis. “Backhand” is also a way to catch a baseball, and it’s the term for handwriting “that slants backward, up to the left.”

And “backhanded” also means “expressing or expressed in an indirect or sarcastic way; not sincere; equivocal,” as in “a backhanded compliment.”

Less common is “forehanded,” which has two principal uses other than as a synonym for “forehand”:

“Looking ahead to, or making provision for, the future; thrifty; prudent” and “well-to-do; well-off; prosperous.”

In “forehanded,” thriftiness and prosperity go hand in hand.

Appropriately enough, things got out of hand for a while there, but I’m ready to return to the task at hand.

“Handwriting” generally refers to “longhand,” whereas “shorthand” is “any system of speed writing using quickly made symbols to represent letters, words and phrases.”

But to be “shorthanded” is to be light on workers or helpers needed for a particular chore.

And that’s not the same as “light-handed,” which means either “having a light, delicate touch” or “having little to carry.”

On the other hand, “heavy-handed” not only means not having a light touch; it’s also “clumsy or tactless” or, even heavier, “cruel, oppressive or tyrannical.”

In the former sense — “graceless, inept” — “heavy-handed” sounds a lot like “ham-handed.” Apparently, “ham-handed” originally referred to unusually large hands, resembling hams.

The British prefer to call it “ham-fisted.”

A person having a problem says to another person, “Hey, can you give me a hand?” And instead of offering to help, the other person applauds.

To avoid this misunderstanding, try asking, “Can you lend me a hand?” Either is idiomatically OK, but the latter has a more limited application. Plus there’s the added benefit of indicating temporary assistance (lending) rather than permanent (giving).

In either case, of course, no actual hand will change hands. That’s the charm of idiom: It’s not literal, it’s figurative.

Fortunately, most people in the above situation are willing to lend a hand. But there are some who won’t lift a hand or even lift a finger — except maybe the middle finger.

The adjective “handy” has four principal meanings: “easily reached,” “easily used,” “easily managed or handled” (in reference to a ship, for example) and “clever with the hands.” For a synonym, Webster’s offers “dexterous.”

“Dexterous” and the noun “dexterity” can be applied not only to hands but also the whole body and even the mind. The words are descended from the Latin “dexter,” meaning “right, to the right.”

Interestingly, the Latin word for the other side or direction, “left-hand,” is “sinister.” Nowadays, “sinister” is the “bad side.” It can mean “threatening harm, evil or misfortune,” “wicked, evil or dishonest, especially in some dark, mysterious way” and “disastrous.”

However, the left side was originally the good side. Here’s what happened, according to Webster’s:

Early Roman fortunetellers would face south, putting the lucky side (east) to the left. Then the Greeks came along, and their prophets faced north, putting the lucky side on the right. The later Romans adopted the Greek point of view.

With apologies to Einstein, this is a very special theory of relativity.

Wednesday, April 27, 2011

Envelop The Envelope

I wondered about the spelling of a word recently. Here is the answer I found.


The phrase “push the envelope” means to exceed, or try to exceed, established boundaries, limits, rules, etc.

The “envelope” is spelled and pronounced the same as that thing a letter arrives in.

However, if you omit the last “e,” you change the pronunciation and the word becomes a verb instead of a noun.

To “envelop” is to “wrap up,” “surround” or “conceal.”

There’s no such thing as “push the envelop.” That’s pushing too far.

The phrase was popularized by Tom Wolfe’s “The Right Stuff,” published in 1979. Before that it was rarely encountered outside aviation circles, where the “flight envelope” referred to capabilities and limits of aircraft. The job of test pilots was to push the envelope, sometimes was disastrous results.

A similar use of “envelope” also can be found in mathematics, but I stink at math, so we’ll leave it at that. I was an English major. I let others do the math.

Saturday, April 23, 2011

All Is Well

Back in January I promised Judy that I would blog about “good” and “well.” Well. here it is.

As for her specific example of “you done good,” I have been known to say that myself, but only for comic effect — because it’s dreadfully wrong. (If you hope to be funny when saying things like that, be sure of your audience.)

However, if you use the right verb tense, it can be correct to say “you did good,” if the praise is for a deed that benefits others. This is where the informal “do-gooder” comes from.

“You did well” means something else: The praise is then directed at the performance, not a result of it.

Our grandsons do well in school. As Boy Scouts, they also get to do good.

Most problems with “good” (an adjective) and “well” (usually an adverb) arise with the use of “linking verbs” (also called “copulative”), principally “be,” “become,” “appear,” “seem,” “feel,” “sound,” “taste,” and sometimes “get” and “grow.”

The usual examples involve “feel”:

“I feel good” and “I feel bad” can be comments on my mood or my health.

By contrast, some argue, “feel badly” and “feel well” refer to the sense of touch, although such usage would have to be rare.

Actually, using “feel well” in reference to a person’s health is acceptable idiom.

I like to think of “feeling good” as a state of mind and “feeling well” as a state of health.

I would stay away from “feel badly” altogether.

A word of caution: just memorizing a list of linking verbs can still get you into trouble, because some them also can act as “action verbs.”

For example, “feel strong” refers to physical condition, while “feel strongly” is about emotions.

I hope this helps you feel better about “good” and “well.” If so, all’s well that ends well — unless it’s good.

Wednesday, April 20, 2011

Oh! The Irony!

Man irons on the M1

Extreme ironing fan makes the most of motorway closure.

* Monday 18 April 2011


The M1 being closed due to fire damage was inconvenient for many people, but for one fan of extreme ironing, it was clearly the perfect opportunity to indulge in his unusual hobby.

The video shows a man taking to the motorway to iron his shirt, bare-legged and wearing a dressing gown.

Extreme Irony


Extreme ironing was invented in the UK, and is described as 'the latest danger sport that combines the thrills of an extreme outdoor activity with the satisfaction of a well-pressed shirt'.

A seven-mile section of M1 has been closed since Friday after a blaze in North London. We can't help but think the ironing would've been even more extreme had it been open.

From "The Telegraph"...

1:12PM BST 18 Apr 2011

The extreme ironing stunt, which involves pressing clothing for fun in adventurous places, took place on the M1 motorway after a section was closed following a fire.

The mystery man, who was wearing a blue dressing gown and slippers, was captured on film by a news cameraman.

According to the activity's official website, extreme ironing is "the latest danger sport that combines the thrills of an extreme outdoor activity with the satisfaction of a well-pressed shirt."

The trend is believed to have started in Leicester in 1997 when rock climber Phil Shaw decided to mix his hobby with the mundane chore.

Saturday, April 16, 2011

Re-ally. Really?

Really?

Have you ever noticed that a trend in English is the loss of hyphens when forming words with prefixes. It wasn’t too long ago, for example, that words like “today” and “tomorrow” were written “to-day” and “to-morrow.” I can remember doing that in grammar school.

I got thinking the other day about "re-" words. I was very surprised to see how, sometimes, a hyphen alters the meaning. For instance, the verb “resign” means “to quit,” but “re-sign” means “to sign again.” That All-Star pitcher who “resigns” is off the team, but if he “re-signs” he is back on the team.

Webster’s notes a number of these pairs, although some of them can be a bit of a stretch. Among the better ones are:

“re-coil,” to coil anew; “recoil,” to pull or kick back (recoil in horror, the recoil of a rifle).

“re-cover,” to put a new cover on: “recover,” to regain possession of or get better.

“re-collect,” to gather together again; “recollect,” to remember,

“re-creation,” a new version; “recreation,” play, amusement, relaxation.

“re-dress,” to put clothes on again; “redress,” to make right.

“re-form,” to form again; “reform,” to make better.

“re-pose,” to watch the birdie again or rephrase a question; “repose,” to lie at rest.

“re-strain,” to put back through a strainer or pull a muscle again; “restrain,” to check, suppress, restrict.

And I'll close with an example of really pushing it a bit:

“re-ally,” to re-form an alliance; “really” — yes, really.

Wednesday, April 13, 2011

Say Cheese!

Have you ever had your picture taken?

Then you may have heard, "Say cheese!"

Why?

Well, I wondered that too. This is what I found.

Say cheese

Meaning

A photographer's instruction just before taking a picture, in order to make people smile.

Origin

'Say cheese!' must have been said to people posing for photographs as often as 'watch the birdie!'. Articulating a long 'e' sound requires us to draw back our lips and bare our teeth in a grimace, which is the obvious reason for photographers using it. The question is though - why cheese and not some other word? (and, come to that, why birdie? - but more on that later).

Despite exhaustive etymological delving, no one has found any literal link between 'say cheese' and meaning of the word cheese. Some have suggested that it relates to the now rather archaic term 'cheese it', meaning 'run away'. That's pure speculation and in any case; why would a photographer just about to take someone's picture encourage them to run away? However, looking up this phrase did uncover a nice punning definition of 'cheese it' in the Indiana Weekly Messenger, October 1910:

"What do boys mean when they say 'cheese it?'"

"It means that something mischievous has a curd and they want to get a whey."

Nor is 'say cheese' anything to do with the American expression 'cutting the cheese' about which, if you haven't come across it before, I'll happily leave you in ignorance.

We may not know why 'cheese' was chosen over alternatives like 'breeze' or 'please', but I can give a pointer to who first used the word when having a photograph taken. The earliest printed records of the expression are from the 1940s, in particular, this piece from the Texas newspaper The Big Spring Daily Herald, October 1943, titled Need To Put On A Smile?

Here's How: Say 'Cheese':

Now here's something worth knowing. It's a formula for smiling when you have your picture taken. It comes from former Ambassador Joseph E. Davies and is guaranteed to make you look pleasant no matter what you're thinking. Mr. Davies disclosed the formula while having his own picture taken on the set of his "Mission to Moscow." It's simple. Just say "Cheese," It's an automatic smile. "I learned that from a politician," Mr. Davies chuckled. "An astute politician, a very great politician. But, of course, I cannot tell you who he was..."
Ambassador Davies looked every inch the politician who took his own advice. His coy 'I cannot tell you who it was' was no doubt delivered with a wink, as Davies served under President Franklin D. Roosevelt, who fits his description perfectly well, as listeners in 1940s America would have been well aware.

The fact that the newspaper report presented Davies' recipe as a novelty that its readers would previously be unfamiliar with does suggest that the phrase can't be much earlier than 1943 in origin. It's also reasonable to speculate that Roosevelt was the original source.

Photographers these days often prefer to use 'Say, one, two, three', as it produces the same grins and makes sure that all the sitters smile at the same time. While it appears that virtually any 'long e' word could have been chosen instead, 'cheese' has stood the test of time and has resulted in a new adjective - 'cheesy'. People began to speak of 'cheesy grins' or 'cheesy smiles', as demonstrated by Ambassador Davies, in the 1960s. The word 'cheesy', meaning 'vulgar'/'tasteless', derives from the perceived insincerity of cheesy grins.

As for 'watch the birdie', this now outdated instruction, usually given to children to get them to face in the right direction for a photographic portrait, unlike 'say cheese', did refer to an actual object. The 'birdies' were animated props that could be made to squawk or warble and so attract a child's attention.

Saturday, April 9, 2011

Gad Seuss!

From reports by Kristina Lee FOX 5 San Diego and NPR

3:45 p.m. EDT, April 7, 2011


SAN DIEGO -- A book containing previously unpublished stories by the whimsical San Diego author known as Dr. Seuss will be on store shelves later this year.

"The Bippolo Seed and other Lost Stories" contains seven new stories written by Theodor Seuss Geisel.

"In these stories, we'll meet new characters. So you're going to meet the twins Todd and Tadd, you'll meet Gustav the Goldfish and a small boy name Henry McBride, as well as the other characters Dr. Seuss is known for," said Susan Brandt, president of Dr. Seuss Enterprises in La Jolla.

The stories were discovered in old magazine pages offered for sale by a Massachusetts dentist and collector of the beloved children's author's work, NPR reports. A Random House exec traveled to his home, signed him up to write a book about Seuss, and jumped at the chance to publish the lost stories he had compiled.

Before Dr. Seuss became Dr. Seuss, He made a living in advertising. On the side, he wrote for Redbook Magazine where his first story was published in 1950.

"This is exciting for those of who grew up reading Dr. Seuss," Brandt said. "But also, how neat to share with our children new stories that we can discover the together."

While he was alive, Geisel published 44 books, including Green Eggs and Ham" and the "Cat in the Hat." The new book is due out Sept. 27, nearly 20 years after the author died.

"The stories will resonate with Seuss Fans because the personalities of these characters are very similar and recognizable," said Brandt. "In one of the stories we see a precursor to the 'Cat in the Hat Comes Back,' where that ring is in the bathtub."

Brandt said the author's widow, San Diego philanthropist Audrey Geisel, is excited about the new book and the renewed attention it is bringing to Dr. Seuss.

Random House plans to publish The Bippolo Seed and other Lost Stories. An exec describes it as "the literary equivalent of buried treasure," dating from the doc's most fertile creative period, when he wrote The Cat In the Hat, The Grinch Who Stole Christmas, and other favorites. "The stories are as good as anything in the already-published canon and readers of all ages are in for a treat," she says.

The Bippolo Seed is lined up for publication in September. "These stories were published during what could arguably be called Dr Seuss's most fertile creative period, a time that would yield both Cat in the Hat and Grinch, a time when his theories about how to reach children through rhyme, rhythm, and a resonant combination of nonsense and sagacity, were coming into full bloom," said Random House vice-president and publisher Kate Klimo. "The stories are as good as anything in the already-published canon and readers of all ages are in for a treat."

The new book includes stories like "Gustav the Goldfish, an early, rhymed version of A Fish Out of Water and The Strange Shirt Spot, which is similar to the bathtub-ring scene in The Cat in the Hat Comes Back. The title story features a cat who leads an innocent duck to make a bad decision."

Wednesday, April 6, 2011

The Best I Could Find

Over the past week I have looked for news articles on April Fools pranks and jokes that were done this year. I was looking for the best one and here is my choice. It comes from Evanston, Illinois.


I found this great article in the Evanston RoundTable.

Great job Dirk!


April 04, 2011

3/29/2011 2:44:00 PM


Snow Removal Stickers Drifting into Town

By Dirk Cumulo


Grappling with an ominous budget crisis and a colossal snow removal bill following the early February blizzard, Evanston City Council approved a controversial new program that will require residents who wish to have snow removed from in front of their homes to purchase "Snow Removal Stickers." The program, modeled on the highly successful yard waste sticker program that came in roughly $1 million over budget last year, will go into effect when the first snows fall in late autumn or early winter 2011.

Council passed the measure during a contentious April 1 special City Council meeting on the budget. Concerns about budget shortfall dominated, causing newly appointed Snow Czar Pearl de Blanc to say, "This is an opportunity for the City to monetize a critical citizen safety service. With this program, we can climb ever closer to solvency."

Under the program as currently structured, citizens will rent orange traffic cones from the City and affix daily snow removal stickers to those cones by 6:45 a.m. the morning before, during or after a snowfall. Stickers will be $2.25 per day. City snow plows will then remove snow from in front of any address displaying a sticker. "Our plows can raise or lower blades easily, allowing us to skip homes without stickers," said Ms. de Blanc. "We can even narrow the blade to get only one side of the street."

Citizens may purchase, at an additional $2 fee, a driveway clearance sticker which will direct snow plows to avoid piling snow in front of a citizen’s driveway while clearing the rest of the street. "We are offering a wide range of snow removal services. Citizens are afforded the opportunity of selecting the service that best fits within their budget," said Ms. De Blanc.

Concerns over particularly heavy snowfall prompted an additional option crafted during Monday’s meeting. Alfred Montoya, during citizen comment, said, "What of this last blizzard? Two feet of snow will completely cover a 22-inch orange safety cone." Ms. De Blanc appeared not to have considered this possibility, but then inspiration struck.

"The City will also offer mylar balloons that can be affixed to the cones. Stickers can be displayed on the balloon surface, and an adjustable cord will allow citizens to change the height of the display," announced Ms. De Blanc. The balloons can be purchased with stickers already attached, she added, increasing the price of the sticker by a mere $1.75.

Asked about neighbor-to-neighbor squabbles that could result if everyone on a street purchased a sticker except one holdout on the corner, Ms. De Blanc asked for and received guidance from Council. Proposals included a possible "street sticker," a program under which an entire block could band together and insure that the whole street was plowed. The convenience afforded would of course allow the City to command a slightly higher fee than individual stickers. "We learned our lesson from the yard waste sticker vs. cart process," she said.

Council also recommended a campaign within elementary schools to design the stickers themselves. "This is another opportunity to bring the community together through citizen involvement as we are raising all important funds," said Ms. de Blanc. The campaign begins immediately – April 1, 2011.

EDITOR'S NOTE POSTED 3/31/11: THIS IS AN APRIL'S FOOLS STORY

Saturday, April 2, 2011

Where Does Your Team Play?

It used to be that sports venues had interesting and picturesque names. There is Yankee Stadium - The House that Ruth Built in New York, The Indianapolis Motor Speedway or The Brickyard, Wrigley Field known as The Friendly Confines to all baseball fans, Madison Square Garden is, of course, The World's Most Famous Arena in New York for basketball fans and, across the pond there is Old Trafford - The Theatre of Dreams.

But most new venues may look wonderful and interesting, their names leave a lot to be desired. Consider -

Progressive Field (formerly Jacobs Field) known as The Jake in Cleveland

Qualcomm Stadium - The Q in San Diego

Tropicana Field - The Trop in St. Petersburg

Safeco Field - The Safe in Seattle

and

Turner Field - The Ted in Atlanta.

How exciting! What mental images do those words bring to mind?

Even here in CT we have Rentschler Field where the UConn Huskies play football. It is now more commonly known as The Rent. That sure gives a whole new meaning to "paying the rent"!

I look forward to the day when a schiitake mushroom conglomerate takes ownership of a beautiful sports venue.


"Welcome fans! Today's game from the ..." well, you can figure it out. As my wife said when she read this, "No, no not The Mush and not The Shroom! Hey! I know my... well ,you know.