It seems the term for steroids and other illegal substances taken by athletes is now "PED" (Performance Enhancing Drugs). I'd seen and heard that phrase, but the abbreviation is new to me. The odd thing is, it seemed to pop up everywhere all at once when I hadn't ever seen it previously. Strange how such … Continue reading Why didn’t I get the memo?
Day: March 8, 2007
Faria and Busoni
This explains a lot about the above-mentioned abbés who feature prominently in The Count of Monte Cristo.abbéThe French title answering to Eng. abbot, but extended to ‘every one who wears an ecclesiastical dress,’ Littré; and specially applied to one having no assigned ecclesiastical duty, but acting as a professor, private tutor, or master of a … Continue reading Faria and Busoni
Translations and Language
This post over at First Things got me thinking about languages and translations. (My mind wandered off in a different direction than the post itself eventually takes.) I wonder if the waning interest in the great works of classical literature in the culture at large is related to the decline in learning of Latin and … Continue reading Translations and Language
On the defensive
An interesting military term that I don't recall seeing before. Also of note is that only the most recent reference given by the OED (out of six) uses the spelling given by the OED. The rest either double the "b" or the "t".abatisMilit.A defence constructed by placing felled trees lengthwise one over the other with … Continue reading On the defensive
Neh 