Saturday, January 13, 2007
Keeping it short today...
...because I'm busy with this and that at the shop, but I didn't want to completely skip a day. Particularly since I'll be skipping the next two days (Much snow in the forecast! and a holiday on Monday!). From the Js:
Jack and Jill. The well-known nursery rhyme is said to be a relic of a Norse myth, accounting for the dark patches in the moon: the two children are supposed to have been kidnapped by the moon while drawing water, and they are still to be seen with the bucket hanging from a pole resting on their shoulders. (The entry then goes on to quote the rhyme.) (p.549) (I have a copy of the Opie Oxford Dictionary of Nursery Rhymes, and let me tell you, it is fascinating reading. Truly. There's some terrific bloodthirsty stuff in there, not to mention the mythic, such as this.)
jitterbug. A devotee of swing music, that is, a bug (not the insect but a slightly crazy enthusiast) who behaves as though he had the jitters (a mixture of gin and bitters). (p.561)
jive. Swing music or selections in this style. Also, the lingo of swing musicians. Jitterbugs are "hep to jive." (p.561)
Joyeuse. A name given to more than one sword famous in romance, but especially to Charlemagne's, which bore the inscription Decem praeceptorum custos Carolus and was buried with him. (p.570)
Others of note, as usual, too long to quote here: other various Jacks, John o'Groat's, Samuel Johnson (in part: ...known for his eccentricity of behavior, slovenliness of dress and manner, indolence, peevishness, arrogance, and predilection for learning), various Johns and Joneses, Juggernaut, oh, I could go on. Or I could call it a day. Thanks for reading, those who are. I am envisioning several napping (hep) cats.
Jack and Jill. The well-known nursery rhyme is said to be a relic of a Norse myth, accounting for the dark patches in the moon: the two children are supposed to have been kidnapped by the moon while drawing water, and they are still to be seen with the bucket hanging from a pole resting on their shoulders. (The entry then goes on to quote the rhyme.) (p.549) (I have a copy of the Opie Oxford Dictionary of Nursery Rhymes, and let me tell you, it is fascinating reading. Truly. There's some terrific bloodthirsty stuff in there, not to mention the mythic, such as this.)
jitterbug. A devotee of swing music, that is, a bug (not the insect but a slightly crazy enthusiast) who behaves as though he had the jitters (a mixture of gin and bitters). (p.561)
jive. Swing music or selections in this style. Also, the lingo of swing musicians. Jitterbugs are "hep to jive." (p.561)
Joyeuse. A name given to more than one sword famous in romance, but especially to Charlemagne's, which bore the inscription Decem praeceptorum custos Carolus and was buried with him. (p.570)
Others of note, as usual, too long to quote here: other various Jacks, John o'Groat's, Samuel Johnson (in part: ...known for his eccentricity of behavior, slovenliness of dress and manner, indolence, peevishness, arrogance, and predilection for learning), various Johns and Joneses, Juggernaut, oh, I could go on. Or I could call it a day. Thanks for reading, those who are. I am envisioning several napping (hep) cats.
