MOE'S EXAMPLE
One of my favorite living authors was first introduced to me by "kudra" almost 20 years ago. Kudra is the world's most fanatically devoted Tom Robbins fan and a very special person. She plucked her pseudonym from the heroine in Robbins' Jitterbug Perfume. Tom Robbins, who lives in Washington state, recently released his long-awaited seventh novel, bearing the typically odd Robbinsian title [please forgive my indulgent coinage],Fierce Invalids Home From Hot Climates. One might be accused of stretching semantics to say that Tom Robbins defines the ZEITGEIST, "part deux", of the twentieth century and slightly beyond, up until tomorrow at four pm, yet his whacky extended metaphors serve as a translucent blanket covering some profound philosophical messages. Perhaps that is one good reason for my enjoyment of Robbins' style: he makes me laugh out loud while concomitantly triggering thoughts about our troubled world, our jumbled selves, the information-overloading cyber-or-reality global village and what it all might "mean", or what "meaning" means. The frivolous tone of his prose belies a king's ransom of acute perceptions of all shades and stripes.
It has been said that the artistic communities of each generation [as opposed to, say, the pompous pronouncements of pudgy politicians or statespersons] generate the true pundits and philosophers whose words define decades, eras, generations, centuries, or even millennia, thereby capsulizing the ZEITGEIST of a particular parcel of time and space. I believe this claim to be so, in a necessarily limited postmodern sense [more on this later]. Some in the academic literary community would no doubt take issue with my dialogue but I'll not bore the average reader with my defense, since this is, after all, merely an extended example of word usage. Of Robbins and his novels, one could say that his playful style and colorful characters act out the uniquely American moral, intellectual, and cultural "story" and the spirit of the period from the 1960's to the present day. So, we have a story within the story proper. Hence, Robbins' ZEITGEIST can be found in the sub-text of his novels, just below the surface, in between the lines, peaking out here and there, willy-nilly, from under the warm blanket, so to speak. For we cannot possibly sum up the multiple complexities of any period of time, let alone a whole century, neither in a tidy blurb nor a longwinded treatise. In that sense, ZEITGEIST is a bit of an inflated concept. We can, however, make insightful observations and Robbins does this better than the average bear performing in a roadside attraction [fans may appreciate the allusion].
His contradictions provide the best example of just how slippery a slope one must climb when taking on the impossibly absurd task of defining anything at all. Put it this way: multiple personality disorder is not a disorder in a Robbins novel. To re-phrase, in Tom's universe, all is chaos yet chaos is the "norm" and need not necessarily be the enemy. Rather, we all have multiple personalities, each engaging the other in a spar-and-thrust scenario of opposing world views. We are plunked down in the arena of self-doubt, as helpless as unarmed gladiators encircled by ravenous lions, at once mawkish, mocking and mocked, and bipolar, anti-pc outcasts. The duality or multiplicity struggle, of course, is never resolved. Perhaps the struggle itself holds answers or meaning, maybe not. All we know - or do we - is that we are much more than the sum of our oh-so-strange parts. This, then, is the world according to Tom. The following is an excerpt from the inside slipcover of Fierce Invalids:
"Switters [the protagonist] is a contradiction for all seasons: an anarchist who works for the government, a pacifist who carries a gun; a vegetarian who sops up ham gravy, a cyberwhiz who hates computers, a robust bon vivant who can be as squeamish as any fop....Yet there is nothing remotely wishy-washy about Switters. He doesn't just pack a pistol. He is a pistol."
My point is that Robbins provides us with another, rather curious and engaging, view of the world around us, then and now, here and there: the external environment and its relation[ship] with the internal landscape during a fixed period of time and space - in short, a ZEITGEIST. We are the crazy-go-lucky products of all that has preceeded us, a walking or, a la Fierce Invalids, wheeling contradiction in progress. Robbins heaves Everyperson - he would balk at the politically correct alteration of "Everyman" - into his huge literary techno-blender: add a dash of the current, the faddish, fetishistic and foolish, a soupcon of our many-faceted personalities, and a liberal splash of the spontaneous, impulsive and mystical elixir of human nature. Then shake, stir, pour into a tall, frosted glass and presto! - one cool human being, or, if you will, a ZEITGEIST personified. For my pesos, Tom serves a quality concoction. Waiter, another, if you please!
Webster's Example:
Glitz, materialism, and techno-speed reflect the zeitgeist of a nation that has become possessed with the Internet, media superstars, and easy living.
Etymology
Scholars have long maintained that each era has a unique spirit, a nature or climate that sets it apart from all other epochs. In German, such a spirit is known as "Zeitgeist," from the German words "Zeit," meaning "time," and "Geist," meaning "spirit" or "ghost." Some writers and artists assert that the true zeitgeist of an era cannot be known until it is over, and several have declared that only artists or philosophers can adequately explain it (at least one claims no one truly understood the zeitgeist of the post-World War I era until Ernest Hemingway wrote _The Sun Also Rises_). We don't know if that's true, but we do know that the approach of the new millennium provoked widespread use of
"zeitgeist" in English.
PUNDIT
Pronunciation - \PUN-diht\
Part of Speech - noun
Definition - 1 : a learned person : teacher
*2 : authority, critic
MOE'S Example
My favorite movie critic and a very eloquent gentleman is Roger Ebert, writer for the Chicago Sun-Times. This well-known film buff is a true PUNDIT in that his critiques are more than simple reviews, outlining movie plots and discussing characters. Rather, he brings together all the components of a film and broadens out, commenting on what is revealed about social issues and human nature. It may come as a surprise to some to hear that Mr. Ebert won a Pulitzer prize several years ago for his film critiques. It was the first Pulitzer ever awarded to a movie reviewer. I believe this recognition of the critique as a journalistic genre was long overdue. Pulitzers have been awarded to novelists, playwrights, and journalists, among the artistic categories, and it would seem that movie critiquing had been formerly looked down upon as some lesser form of writing, uworthy of the prestigious Pulitzer award.
Not so! It is not the subject that matters; it is the quality of the writing about that subject and the eloquence and learned discussion, and the social and philosophical commentary that arises from these critiques - these are the elements worthy of recognition at the highest level.
I enjoyed the intellectual banter between Roger and his tragically deceased cohort and fellow PUNDIT, Gene Siskel. It is said they actually disliked each other, but that their half-hour television discussion of recent movie releases was so popular that they tolerated one another. Whether or not this is true [and I have my doubts], one could clearly see the respect they shared and their genuine shared love of the movies. After a century, the film industry is finally regarded as more than entertainment, although the recreational aspect and "escape" factor are important and necessary in a troubled world and this is worthy in and of itself.
In addition, though, the film as an artistic genre is every bit as important as the novel, the poem, the play, the symphony, the short story, or the editorial. It has earned this status. In my career as a university English Instructor, I have been required and encouraged [certainly no arm-twisting was necessary!] to read and revere the great literary masterpieces, and indeed the pleasure was all mine, as it continues to be every day of my life. Yet, without equivocation, I firmly assert that film holds a place in the arts community right alongside these other treasures. Take it from a wannabe PUNDIT!
Webster's Example: As soon as the controversial story broke, political PUNDITS started discussing its implications on every news show and in every major newspaper in the country.
The original pundits were highly respected teachers and leaders in India. Their title was taken from the Hindi word "pandit," a term of respect for a wise person that itself derives from the Sanskrit "pandita," meaning "learned." English speakers began using the form "pundit" specifically to refer to those Hindu sages as long ago as the 1600s. By the 1800s, they had also extended the term to refer to other sagacious individuals, and
now "pundit" is often used with a hint of sarcasm to refer to informed opinion makers (such as political commentators, financial analysts, and newspaper columnists) who boldly share their views (sometimes at great length) about just about any subject that lies within their area of expertise.
COLLYWOBBLES
Pronunciation - \KAH-lee-wah-bulz\
Part of Speech - noun
Definition: bellyache
MOE'S Example:NOTE: I first wrote this
poem, entitled "Candy Conspiracy", for
Christmas several years ago. I have a "sweet
tooth" [surprise, surprise]. I altered the poem a little to accommodate the word of the day.
Take heed lest you get the
COLLYWOBBLES:-)
Oozing molasses blackstrapping my brain,
Sugar polluting, cerebral strain;
Chocolate conspiracy, jujube cabal,
Gummi bear everywhere, out to enthrall;
Licorice, toffee, gingery crunch,
Whipping and snapping and munching at
lunch;
Butternut cluster and maple delight,
Gooey confection, devilish spite;
But a smirk and a smudge on my face mask my
fear
That my tummyaches mean I'll not last the
year;
Past the candystore, please God, help me
hobble,
So that I can shake my - ouch! - COLLYWOBBLES!
We don't know who first clutched their tummy
and called the affliction "collywobbles"
(although we know its earliest print appearance
dates from around 1823), but we do know that
the word may demonstrate a process called "folk
etymology." In that process, unusual words are
transformed to make them look or sound like
other more familiar words. The theory goes that
"collywobbles" may have originated when
"cholera morbus" (the New Latin term for the
disease cholera) was influenced by words like
"colic" and "wobble" and transformed into a
term that sounded friendlier and more common to
English ears.
NOISOME
Pronunciation - \NOY-sum\
Part of Speech - adjective
1 : noxious, harmful
*2 a : offensive to the senses and especially
to the sense of smell b : highly obnoxious or
objectionable
MOE'S EXAMPLE: A curious
young man from
Portland, Maine was constantly asking
questions, some of them rather odd and obscure. One wondered what was going on between those
synapses, why certain neurons fired as they
did. "Anybody know where the word 'crapper'
came from," he posted, 'cause I know it sure
wasn't from my mama!" His query evoked poignant memories of
my younger days when the boys would go out on
Hallowe'en night in search of the rare
outhouses, those NOISOME shacks used by our
ancestors, often referred to as
crappers.
As
it turns
out, there has been a long-standing debate on
whether or not the word "crapper" can be
attributed to Thomas Crapper, an English
plumber who did, in fact, invent toilet-related
systems but not necessarily the flushable
toilet as we know it today.
To get the
"poop"
on the word's etymology and relieve Mikeo's
curiosity, I consulted my Oxford English
Dictionary [OED]. While doing so, I caught a
NOISOME whiff of cabbage wafting through the
open window of my study. My Polish neighour
must be making cabbage rolls again, I mused.
In any event, the OED was inconclusive about
the precise origin of the term, "crapper."
Apparently, there are several competing claims
to the word's origin, including Dutch
["krappe"] and German derivatives.
During
World
War II, British soldiers were known to have
uttered the phrase, "gotta go to the crapper,
mate, cover me," and they scribbled the word on
the portable potties in the battlefields,
crappers which were overwhelmingly NOISOME.
American graffiti, on the other hand, consisted
of the famous "Kilroy was here" statement.
Unfortunately, the dude from Maine would have to be satisfied
with a somewhat nebulous and indeterminate origin of his
"crapper."
A common phenomenon of linguistics,
etymologies sometimes simply cannot pinpoint a
single absolute origin of a word. In fact,
some lexicographers spend their whole lives in
pursuit of indisputable proof of such enigmas.
Of the loose ends, the young man exclaimed, "well, that just
stinks. How NOISOME!" Then he trotted off to
the crapper with "Plumbers Monthly" in hand.
Example from Merriam-Webster:
"He found him in a state of great wretchedness,
-- shut up from the light of day in a NOISOME
dungeon, and with no better couch or fare than
those allotted to the worst of criminals."
(Charles MacKay, Memoirs of Extraordinary
Popular Delusions)
Etymology
Consider the two following sentences: "The
babysitter tried to quiet the noisome
children." "My son works at a fish market, and
his clothes bring a noisome stench into the
house whenever he comes home." Which sentence
uses "noisome" correctly? If you picked the
second one, you chose correctly. Though
"noisome" sounds like it might be a synonym of
"noisy," it's not. Something noisome is
disgusting, offensive, or harmful, often in its
smell. "Noisome" does not come from "noise,"
but from the Middle English word "noysome"
(same meaning as "noisome"). The "noy" of
"noysome" means "annoyance," and comes from the
Old French "enui, anoi," which also means
"annoyance."
NADIR
Pronunciations - \NAY-dur or NAY-dear\
Part of speech - noun
Definitions: 1 : the point of the celestial
sphere that is directly opposite the zenith and
vertically downward from the observer
*2 : the lowest point
MOE'S Example:
Joe Blow had reached the zenith of his career
when his salary surpassed that of his biggest
competitor, Bill Gates. Of course, that
happened because Gates' Microsoft empire had
been judged a monopoly by the U.S. government.
Joe, who had thought his former status as a
homeless drifter just a few years earlier, had
been the NADIR era of his life, now felt
confident. After all, he was CEO of the biggest
internet technology firm in the world and his
company's stock was going straight up on the
NASDAQ.
He sipped on champagne in his hot
tub
and calculated his astronomical wealth. He
laughed at his accountants who warned him that
most of this wealth was "on paper" and they
didn't mean thousand dollar bills. Poor Joe.
The more optimistic of the money men called
that day a market "correction." Realists,
however, had been predicting a great fall for
the highly overpriced technical stocks. Black
Tuesday, they called it, a crash heard 'round
the world. 1929 revisited in the next century.
Joe was about to sink to a NADIR even below his
homelessness.
At least,
in those bad times,
he
had always had a bite to eat and a shelter or
hostel would be open. He lost everything - his
job,
house, car, friends, wife [note the order of
importance!], and his dog ran away in
search of a family who had food. Businessmen
jumped off tall buildings; they forgot their
parachutes. Talk about extreme sports. There
were more hangings than the
heyday of capital puishment. And lying on a
street corner under a cardboard box was Joe
Blow. The logo on the box read, "JOE BLOW TECH,
INC." The shelters were crammed and the soup
kitchens closed. It was announced that
tornadoes were
forming in the area and that people should go
down to basements, get as low as you can. But
Joe was already as low as he could get. Then
the tornado came Joe's way and swept him out of
his misery. Joe Blow blew away. Now he was
truly at the NADIR of his existence.
If you
must seek a moral or comforting message from
this rather morbid fiction that trotted,
uninvited, through MOE'S head, I suppose you
might find solace in the trite knowledge that,
when you believe you have descended to the
lowest point of your life, or, say, a loved one
has 'hit bottom',
take heart in knowing this NADIR is the
personal wake-up call. You get one last warning
before that tornado swirls in on you. And,
therefore, the
cliche kicks in - there's nowhere to go but up.
I feel better already.
Etymology
"Nadir" is part of the galaxy of scientific
words that have come to us from Arabic, a
language that has made important contributions
in the vocabulary of mathematics, astronomy,
medicine, and chemistry. "Nadir" derives from
an Arabic word meaning "opposite" -- the
opposite, that is, of the "zenith," which names
the highest point of the celestial sphere, the
one vertically above the observer. (The word
"zenith" itself is a modification of another
Arabic word that means "the way over one's
head.") The English writer Horace Walpole is
first on record as having used "nadir" in the
figurative sense of "lowest point" in a letter
he wrote in 1793.
INVEIGLE
Pronunciation - \in-VAY-gull; -VEE-\
Part
of Speech - verb, transitive:
Definition - To lead astray as if blind; to
persuade by deceptive arts or flattery; to
entice; to wheedle.
MOE'S EXAMPLE - He
wined
and dined her and sent
roses to her workplace, where all her
girlfriends swooned with envy. He prepared her
lavish romantic dinners, often surprising her
with candlelight, hired violinists, and
presented her with expensive gifts such as
diamond earrings and platinum bracelets. Yet,
not once in the four months they had been
dating had he made a sexual advance other than
an evening kiss goodnight. Was this Prince
Charming for real, she could not help thinking?
Early on in their relationship, she had
considered the possibility that he might be
trying to INVEIGLE her into separating her from
that money inherited from her late father, a
respected movie mogul. Might he even marry her
to achieve this nefarious plan? He seemed,
however, to have plenty of his own money so she
began to relax and enjoy his attentions. Then,
one starry night, he got down on his knees and
proposed marriage. She accepted immdiately,
overcome with emotion. He really did love her
for herself. There was no INVEIGLING going on
after all.
Well, sort
of, it turns out! After
about a year, she spotted him with another
beautiful young woman. She recognized the woman
as a starlet her father had been grooming for a
major film role. What was he doing with her,
was he cheating, as it appeared? She was
crushed.
That very night, he approached her
in
their bedroom. "You don't really recognize me,
do you, my dear? Well, I am what your father
called 'a two-bit actor'. I could have been a
star. He wouldn't even let me audition for
"Prince Charming and the Pauper" which, of
course, went on to make hundreds of millons of
dollars for him and a star of all the key
actors. I begged him for a chance, my darling,
just a simple audition. I tried to INVEIGLE him
into giving me the role. And he fired me from
the studio, the arrogant fool! I swore then I
would get even if it took the rest of my life.
Then the ultimate insult - he died before I
could exact my revenge. But, you are my
revenge, sweetheart, you, the demon seed of
that devil. The old man must be rolling in his
grave right now, since I have married his
lovely daughter - whom I despise as much as her
father! And he thought I couldn't act. Have I
not been your Prince, ha ha!"
She was hysterical. She opened her dresser
drawer and pulled out the snub-nosed revolver
given to her by her father for proection. "You
may be the Prince, husband dear, but you've
just lost the crown jewels!" Two shots hit him
in the mid-section as he buckled over in agony.
He survived but lost his manhood. She divorced
him and he disappeared from her life. Six
months later she gave birth to his child. The
Prince was born. He grew up to be a
world-renowned actor, as his father observed
bitterly from a cheap apartment somewhere in
Europe. The young Prince had no need to
INVEIGLE anyone. All the great roles were his;
the critics unanimously declared him a prodigy
- in stark contrast to his dad. He never met
his father. She made certain of that. And his
father died a lonely old man. His epitaph read,
"Here lies the man never known as Prince." But
the show, as they say, must go on.
Dictionary
Examples:
Deep Blue had tried to inveigle Kasparov into
grabbing several pawn offers, but the champion
was not fooled.
--Robert Byrne, "Kasparov and Computer Play to
a Draw." New York Times, February 14, 1996
Then there's the crime of pandering, in which a
third party "induces, persuades, encourages,
inveigles, entices or compels a person to
engage in prostitution."
--Laura Mansnerus, "It Was Love for Money,
Right?" New York Times, February 20, 2000
He used to tell one about Kevin Moran ringing
him up pretending to be a French radio
journalist and inveigling Cas, new in France,
into parlaying his three words of French into
an interview.
--Tom Humphries, "Big Cas cameos will be
missed." Irish Times, May 4, 2000
Etymology
Inveigle comes from Anglo-French enveogler,
from Old French aveugler, to blind, from
aveugle, blind, from Medieval Latin ab oculis,
without eyes.
One who inveigles is an inveigler; the act of
inveigling is inveiglement.
EPHEMERAL
Pronunciation - \ih-FEM-er-ul\
Part of Speech - adjective
Definition - 1. Beginning and ending in a day;
existing only, or no longer than, a day; as, an
ephemeral flower.
2. Short-lived; existing or continuing for a
short time only.
MOE'S EXAMPLE -
Youth is
fleeting and
EPHEMERAL, as is life itself. We seldom grasp
this truth until we reach middle age; somehow,
mortality is an idea that takes us just about
half of our time on this earth to understand
and appreciate. Health, too, cannot be taken
for granted. Health is truly EPHEMERAL. I am
thinking now of Canadian actor Michael J. Fox,
who at age 38, has Parkinson's disease, having
just watched him interviewed by Diane Sawyer on
the newsmagazine show, 20/20.
He calls
his
ailment, "PD". Attorney-General Janet Reno and
Muhammad Ali also have PD. It may sound trite,
but the cliche should never make us complacent:
we are all, by our human nature, EPHEMERAL
beings. Recognizing this transient quality, let
us live each day as if it were our last for we
have no guarantee that it is not. This should
be a sobering, but not a depressing thought; on
the contrary, it is one that should help us
savor the preciousness of life and the gift of
health. Therefore, as my friend Thatchmo likes
to say, I urge you all to "carpe that ol'
diem"! Robin Williams in Dead Poets' Society
shared that good advice with his students:
seize the day. For the day is EPHEMERAL.
MORE EXAMPLES -In the 1980s, Lt. Col. Oliver
North unwittingly proved that e-mail, so
apparently ephemeral, is harder to expunge than
paper documents comfortingly run through a
shredder.
--Amy Harmon, "E-Mail Is Treacherous. So Why Do
We Keep Trusting It?" New York Times, March 26,
2000
In "Mississippi Mermaid," the planter character
played by Belmondo, a fellow who has sought a
safe, permanent love, is liberated when he
chooses to follow the ephemeral.
--Vincent Canby, "Truffaut's Clear-Eyed Quest."
New York Times, September 14, 1975
Rather, we must separate what is
ephemeral... from the things that are of
lasting importance.
--Patrick Smith, Japan: A Reinterpretation
Etymology
Ephemeral derives from Greek ephemeros, from
epi, upon + hemera, day.
Synonyms: passing, short-lived, transient,
transitory, fugacious
MAWKISH
Pronunciation - \MOCK-ish\
Part of speech - adjective
Definitions - 1. Sickly or excessively
sentimental.
2. Insipid in taste; nauseous;
disgusting.
MOE'S Example: The
movie's attempts to connect
these out-of-body experiences with the '60s
ethos of consciousness expansion are so forced
that the transcendent, feel-good leaps of faith
with which the story culminates seem MAWKISH
and unearned. It is important, when discussing
history, even though you may be relating a
personal anecdote which evokes strong emotions
in you, to avoid a MAWKISH tone. That is the
difference between conversation and writing. If
I were telling a nostalgic story of my baby
boomer youth, I might well become sentimental,
even maudlin after a beer or two with my
friends, and to be MAWKISH would be completely
understandable and socially acceptable. In the
written form, however, there is a big
difference between the nostalgic and MAWKISH
approach; the latter distracts the reader from
the substance, the story being told.
More Examples
Philadelphia Inquirer dismissed it as "a
terrible play, a hopeless jumble of juvenile
humor and mawkish sentimentality."
--Peter
Applebome, "Blasphemy? Again? Somebody's
Praying for a Hit." New York Times, October 18,
1998
Joe DiMaggio, who died this year to often
mawkish eulogies and overwrought sociology, was
an ancestor of the current four: driven,
selfish, unidimensional in his playing days.
--Robert Lipsyte, "Time for Sports Heroes to
Start Acting in a Heroic Way." New York Times,
August 22, 1999
Etymology
Mawkish originally meant "maggoty" (from Middle
English mawke, maggot), hence squeamish,
nauseating, hence tending to render squeamish
or make nauseated, especially because of
excessive sentimentality.
"SETTLING THE
SCORE"
Grammatic category - Idiomatic phrase
Definition - to avenge, to "get even" [yet
another idiom]
MOE'S EXAMPLE:
I recall all those old western movies with John
Wayne, Henry Fonda, Dana Andrews, Kirk Douglas,
and the character actor Gabby Hayes when I
think of the expression, "SETTLING THE SCORE."
One rarely knew the actual name of the "bad
guys" although their faces were ingrained
indelibly upon our youthful minds. One I do
remember is Lee Van Cleef and who's that dude
who did some one-arm pushups at the Academy
Awards a few years ago...Jack Palance. Movies
like "High Noon" and many of Clint Eastwood's
best films have, as their major premise, some
theme based upon SETTLING THE SCORE. The
shootout at the OK Corral is a good example of
what it means to utter the threatening phrase,
"We Clantons are gonna SETTLE THE SCORE on you,
Mr. Wyatt Earp." As I write about this movie
and the context of SETTLING THE SCORE, it
occurs that, to add a little color and a more
accurate historical detail than I can offer, I
shall consult my faithful companion, ASKJEEVES,
for a bit of assistance. The result is what
follows. Please keep in mind the idiom du jour
as you enter Tombstone, won't
y'all:-)
Let me take you back to a cold, windy, overcast
day, October 26 1881. This is the re-creation
of the famous OK Corral Gunfight in Tombstone,
Arizona Territory. The way it happened!
Let me set the scene: The night before in the
Earps presence, Doc Holliday had a verbal
confrontation and began threatening and openly
challenging the life of an un-armed,
intoxicated Ike Clanton. The next morning
Ike Clanton armed himself in self defense and
went looking for Holliday's challenge. Before
Ike could find Holliday, Virgil and Morgan Earp
snuck up on Ike and pistol whipped him to the
ground. He was taken to court and fined $27.50
for carrying firearms in city limits. To no
avail, Ike was claiming self defense, because
of Holliday's threats against his life. Mean
time, Ike's younger brother Billy and Frank
McLaury ride into Tombstone to hear of the
trouble.
Earp
[excuse me!], Doc Holliday and the Clanton gang
SETTLING A SCORE at the OK Corral
Ike and Billy Clanton, Tom and Frank McLaury
and Billy Claiborne are seen outside the Gun
shop on Fourth Street. Here Frank McLaury
begins to show his anger as he learns that his
brother Tom has also been pistol whipped by
Wyatt Earp for supporting Ike Clanton's claims
of self defense.
Meanwhile, the Earp brothers (Wyatt, Morgan
and Virgil) are joined in Hafford's Saloon by
J.H. "Doc" Holliday. This is where Tombstone
Chief of Police Virgil Earp committed an
injudicious and censurable act. If Virgil Earp
really wanted to keep peace as he stated, he
would not have asked Doc Holliday, the town
gambling drunk and known trouble maker to help
him and his brothers disarm the cowboys.
Especially when the night before, Virgil
witnessed the verbal confrontation between
"Doc" and Ike Clanton. It is my opinion that
this injudicious act is why the Earps should
have been held responsible for the murders of
my cousin Billy Clanton and the McLaury
brothers.
The cowboys gather in a vacant lot behind the
OK Corral, between Flys Photo Studio and the
Harwood house.
Sheriff Johnny Behan heads down Fremont Street
towards the vacant lot where the Cowboys have
gathered.
Here Sheriff Johnny Behan converses with
the
Cowboys. He tells them "I don't want any
trouble boys, let me have your weapons." Ike
Clanton and Tom McLaury respond and show the
Sheriff that they are unarmed. Billy Clanton is
armed but tells the Sheriff he's getting ready
to leave town. An angry Frank McLaury says, "I
ain't givin' up my weapons till you disarm the
Earps, they have been threatening to kill us."
The Earp brothers and Doc Holliday come walking
down Fremont Street. To no avail, Sheriff
Johnny Behan tries to stop them from going down
to the vacant lot.
Here the Earps and Doc Holliday confront the
four cowboys; only two of the cowboys are
armed. As Virgil Earp tries to calm everything
down, Doc Holliday and Morgan Earp murderously
open fire on the cowboys. Here in the
background, you can see an un-armed Ike
Clanton, still bleeding from the head, running
for his life, just as the gunfight begins
Etymology
Before the days of paper records, the usual way
of keeping count was to cut marks into wooden
rods called tallies (hence our verb tally, to
count). Tally sticks have been used for
thousands of years - Roman numerals evolved out
of a system for notching them - and they
survived until very recently (tallies were
usually split in two lengthways so both parties
had an identical record). For example, the
English government kept its tax records on
tallies until they were abolished in 1826 (the
Palace of Westminster was gutted in 1834
because somebody over-enthusiastically burned
old tally sticks in a furnace under the House
of Lords). Cutting the notches on tallies was
called scoring (from Old Norse scora, to make
an incision, related to our shear), a word we
still use in much the same sense.
From about 1400, score was also the word for a
record or an amount due, the total of the score
marks on a tally. It became a common word for
the total of a tradesman's or innkeeper's
account. So, to settle the score originally
meant just to pay one's bill. But it acquired
the figurative sense of taking revenge on
somebody, and that's usually what we mean by it
now.
The same idea is behind our word for the number
of points achieved in a game; this was first
used in print by the famous Edmund Hoyle (as in
according to Hoyle) in his Short Treatise on
the Game of Whist of 1742. The word also turns
up in several slang phrases or idioms, such as
to know the score, to be aware of what's going
on, or to score points off, to outdo somebody.
It is also the origin of score for twenty,
though we're not entirely sure how it became
linked specifically to that number. A score in
music comes from a related idea of engraving or
drawing the stave lines.
Thank you to Michael Quinlan for the
etymology.
