R E S P E C T, FIND OUT WHAT IT MEANS TO ME

Respect has several meanings as a verb and as a noun. Its roots mean "look back" but now it means to look at carefully with esteem and regard. The prefix dis in disrespect has become a slang word meaning to insult someone by not according him sufficient respect, precedence, deference, acknowledgement, even fear, whatever he thinks he has to have in order not to kill you. The two journalists who were kidnapped in Gaza were forced at gunpoint to "convert" to Islam and were given new names. After their release, one of them, American Steve Centanni, said:

"I have the highest respect for Islam," he said. "But it was something we felt we had to do because they had the guns and we didn't know what the hell was going on."

Quite understandable. Presumably neither of the journalists had any actual religious beliefs to be loyal to, and anyone might be expected to lie to save his life. But what's with the "respect" after being released? Did he have time to experience the Stockholm syndrome in just 13 days? I'm glad the guys got back alive. Now maybe they can make time to sit down and read the Koran.

BROWN BESS

Readers have sent more comments on "doing it up brown" but Jan sent the best link, or at least the most suggestive: "From Bright Steel to Brown: Colour of Brown Bess Barrels," 1757-1815, by Robert Henderson, about the Brown Bess, the name given to guns used in the Revolutionary War. Soldiers liked to shine the barrels and other metalwork on their guns.

Orders for the Nottinghamshire Markman in 1778 highlighted its importance:

"...Such being the importance of his Arms, no wonder that a soldier should shew his attachment to his Firelock, by keeping it as bright as the Sun, and looking upon it with a kind of veneration. A glittering Firelock is a prime ornament of a Soldier and gives to every movement an appearance of double Life and Spirit."

But very bright metal reflects light and therefore can give away the location of the soldier, and scare the horses too. And...

The dazzle of bright arms prevents aim being taken in the sun -- proof of this is that brown barrels are universally used by sportsmen.

In time, soldiers were required to "brown" their barrels.

(By the way, Fred told me that's why smokeless gun powder was invented. The old black powder left clouds of smoke hanging in the air, so the shooter could be located.)

Perhaps "to do something up brown" came from the practice of improving firearms by dulling their surfaces. If so, "brown" is the opposite of burnished here, so doing something well would mean not making it shiny (or making it not shiny).

The person who inquired about "doing it up brown" is Tim Bazzett, and I tell you his name because he has some books for sale.

HOLY MOSES

More than one person wrote to remind me about "Holy Moses!" Of course I've heard it but I forgot it when I was writing about "sweet fancy Moses."

Bill R. says these are what are called "minced oaths" in John Ciardi's Browser's Dictionary series.

WRITE LIKE MIKE

Commenting on the Barnes & Noble online class, "How to Think Like Leonardo da Vinci," Mike wrote, "In code, perhaps?"

On the "Everyday Ethics" class, he commented, "As opposed to Sunday (best) Ethics?"

FLAMMATORY WORDS

Anne DaBee has written about the confusion between "flammable" and "inflammable" which mean the same thing, i.e. anything labeled with either could burst into flame or become inflamed. To avoid dangerous misunderstandings, most trucks, tanks, and other objects are labeled "flammable" for those who think the "in" in "inflammable" means "un" or not, i.e. it cannot burst into flame.

HO HO HO NOT

I heard an attractive, innocent-looking teenage girl, no more than 15 years old, amongst a gaggle of other teens outside Starbucks last week, say, "I've got a boyfriend so I'm not a ho anymore." This was in an affluent suburb, not downtown. "Ho" (whore) and "pimp" have become everyday slang to mean ... what? Something that teens think is cool, especially, of course, the "pimps". But "ho" isn't so far removed from its origins that a teenage girl ought to refer to herself like that if it's not literally true. (I'm all for telling the truth.) Was she simply exhibiting typical pride in validating herself by claiming a boyfriend? Or do teens now think that any girl who doesn't have a steady boyfriend is presumed to be available to everyone? Don't their parents or teachers ever teach them that words represent ideas, which are related to actions? The "ho/pimp" fad is not cute.

URGENT BUT NOT IMPORTANT

You already know that some things are urgent but not important in the long run (e.g. going to the bathroom) and some things are important but not immediately urgent (e.g. understanding the universe, or grammar). Here's a little story illustrating the concept: A teacher held up a big jar while his students watched him fill it first with large rocks, then he added small stones, then little pebbles, then he filled it to the top with sand. "The big rocks are important things in life, the small rocks are less important, and so on. We fill up our days with important and unimportant things. What does this teach us?" he asked the class. "That we always have room for more?" a student volunteered. "No. It shows us that if we don't do the important things first, there won't be room for them." OK, sometimes you have to go to the bathroom first, but it doesn't take all day, unlike, say, playing computer games (which is neither important nor urgent).

WHAT KIND OF NUDITY?

A couple of documentaries on TV this week about tribes in far lands were preceded by warning signs: "This program contains indigenous nudity." Took me a minute to get it. "Indigenous" (as in "indigenous peoples") means native, born there. Well, I can tell you I am indigenously nude myself, under my clothes. Don't tell me Americans are not indigenously nude.

From the bottom of my bag

Con Jus

From World Wide Words:

Dee Bowman, who lives in Texas, thought we might enjoy a sign she saw in a small grocery store recently. It said, “Chili con carne, with meat, $1.49.” Chili con carne, without meat: priceless. In case you aren't speaking Spanish yet, "con carne" means "with meat."

This is like ordering roast beef with au jus; "au jus" means with juice, or the drippings from the meat.

Shirttail Relatives

Were we talking about shirttail relatives at some time, or was I talking to myself again? I did some research on it then forgot about it. I found a legal doc online that referred to shirttail relatives, i.e. distant relatives. The Literary Encyclopedia says a shirttail relative is one who needs financial support. Someone who clings on to your shirt tail is very dependent.

Hundred-Mile Coffee

From Oxford's daily slang word:

Hundred-mile coffee is strong coffee that can presumably keep a driver awake for the time it takes to drive one hundred miles. [From] Trucking. Example sentence: "Gallons of strong 'hundred-mile coffee' are consumed by truckers for the caffeine content."

I'm gonna go get me some 10-hour coffee now.

SOMETHING NEW! Check out the new "I Eat Dead Things" T-shirts for dogs and people, and the Protestant Work Ethic items in the Parvum Opus CafePress shop, plus a new Parvum Opus mouse pad! Now you can buy neat products with the Parvum Opus / KeithOps Catti logo at CafePress.com/parvumopus.

The poet Muriel Rukeyser said the universe is not composed of atoms, but stories.

The physicist Werner Heisenberg said the universe is not made of matter, but music.

If you buy books from Amazon using the link below, I'll get a tiny commission, and I'd appreciate it.

Link here to look for books on Amazon.com!

NEED SOMEONE TO ORGANIZE A MEETING OR CONFERENCE? CALL KEITHOPS.

Go to Babelfish to translate this page into Chinese, Dutch, French, German, Greek, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Portuguese, Russian, or Spanish!

Parvum Opus is a publication of KeithOps / Opus Publishing Services. Back issues may be found at http://www.keithops.us/. Feel free to e-mail me with comments or queries.

The PO mailing list is private, never given or sold to anyone else. If you don't want to receive Parvum Opus, please reply with "unsubscribe," "quit," "enough," or something like that in the subject line, and I'll take you off the mailing list.

Copyright Rhonda Keith 2006. Parvum Opus or part of it may be reproduced only with permission, but you may forward the entire newsletter as long as the copyright remains.