Some, rather trivial, annotations on Unseen Academicals. Mostly about the names. But first:
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On page 189, Professor Macarona is introduced as being on an exchange scheme, swapped with Professor Maidenhair. As it happens, both macaroni a.k.a. maccheroni, and maidenhair spaghetti, ar kinds of pasta.
Page 199 mentions a Dr. Able Baker. This should be obvious to English readers, but foreigners may not realise that Able and Baker were the first "letters" of a previous British phone alphabet, like Alpha and Bravo in the NATO alphabet.
Also on page 199, and later on as well, the brand Wizla is mentioned. Apparently the ciggie paper brand called Rizla is sold in the UK as well.
On page 215, the Master of the Music is called Ritornello. If you were wondering whether that is a musical term, wonder no more: it is. It's the name of a recurring fragment (a kind of refrain, as it were) in some types of Italian baroque music.
Finally, on page 268, Trev claims that the word for the front claws of a bird of prey is "pounce", and that "talon" should only be used for the hind claws. Perhaps he is correct in current falconer slang, but in ordinary usage, the word "talon" is of older provenance as used for both kinds of claws - at least, according to the OED.
Richard Bos wrote: > Some, rather trivial, annotations on Unseen Academicals. Mostly about > the names. But first:
> S
> o
> m
> e
> S
> P
> O
> I
> L
> E
> R
> S
> P
> A
> C
> E
> Page 199 mentions a Dr. Able Baker. This should be obvious to English > readers, but foreigners may not realise that Able and Baker were the > first "letters" of a previous British phone alphabet, like Alpha and > Bravo in the NATO alphabet.
I think you mean 'phonetic' here?
> Also on page 199, and later on as well, the brand Wizla is mentioned. > Apparently the ciggie paper brand called Rizla is sold in the UK as > well.
> Some, rather trivial, annotations on Unseen Academicals. Mostly about > the names. But first:
> S
> o
> m
> e
> S
> P
> O
> I
> L
> E
> R
> S
> P
> A
> C
> E
> On page 189, Professor Macarona is introduced as being on an exchange > scheme, swapped with Professor Maidenhair. As it happens, both macaroni > a.k.a. maccheroni, and maidenhair spaghetti, ar kinds of pasta.
> Page 199 mentions a Dr. Able Baker. This should be obvious to English > readers, but foreigners may not realise that Able and Baker were the > first "letters" of a previous British phone alphabet, like Alpha and > Bravo in the NATO alphabet.
> Also on page 199, and later on as well, the brand Wizla is mentioned. > Apparently the ciggie paper brand called Rizla is sold in the UK as > well.
> On page 215, the Master of the Music is called Ritornello. If you were > wondering whether that is a musical term, wonder no more: it is. It's > the name of a recurring fragment (a kind of refrain, as it were) in some > types of Italian baroque music.
> Finally, on page 268, Trev claims that the word for the front claws of a > bird of prey is "pounce", and that "talon" should only be used for the > hind claws. Perhaps he is correct in current falconer slang, but in > ordinary usage, the word "talon" is of older provenance as used for both > kinds of claws - at least, according to the OED.
> Richard
You missed the Small Gods reference during the street match when Trev calls Nutt "Brutha" deliberately written that way too. Just to tease us. Then we discover later Nutt was freed by Pastor Oats with an axe. Isn't it an axe he carries in Carpe Jugulum to placate Granny Weatherwax. Also oddly enough Glenda (the name of a famous movie witch) learned her cookery skills from her Granny. And The Patrician does ask if any magic is involved in their manufacture when she uses one to gain entry to his palace. Shades of Nanny Ogg and her famous recipes? And Glendas "rounds" "helping people" sound very much like the work a witch does.
> Some, rather trivial, annotations on Unseen Academicals. Mostly about > the names. But first:
> S
> o
> m
> e
> S
> P
> O
> I
> L
> E
> R
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> A
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> On page 189, Professor Macarona is introduced as being on an exchange > scheme, swapped with Professor Maidenhair. As it happens, both macaroni > a.k.a. maccheroni, and maidenhair spaghetti, ar kinds of pasta.
I assumed a reference to Maradona as well. I am not a football fan, but somehow Maradona's existence had impinged on my consciousness at some point.
<raymond.da...@ntlworld.com> wrote: >"Richard Bos" <ralt...@xs4all.nl> wrote in message >news:4ae1f1e6.6198171@news.xs4all.nl... >> Some, rather trivial, annotations on Unseen Academicals. Mostly about >> the names. But first:
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<<snip excellent points>> Also, "Megapode" sounds like it should be Greek for Bigfoot..
Cheers, Chris -- Chris Sloan - Adelaide, South Australia [Remove "s" to email] If the Librarian's an orang-utan, then a Cataloguer must be a gorilla ... rarer, and not safe enough to be let out in public
-- Andy Brown Where a calculator on the ENIAC is equipped with 18,000 vacuum tubes and weighs 30 tons, computers in the future may have only 1,000 vacuum tubes and weigh only 1 1/2 tons. ---Popular Mechanics, March 1949
jester wrote: > On Sat, 24 Oct 2009 15:23:47 +1030, Chris Sloan > <i...@internode.on.net.au> wrote: > <snip slightly> > nothing below gives away anything important about the story, so don't > bitch about spoiler space
>> Also, "Megapode" sounds like it should be Greek for Bigfoot..
? OK Megapode sounds like Greek for Bigfoot, because as your link mentions "Their name literally means large foot (Greek: mega = large, poda = foot)" The singular nature of pode does not require that the creature is a monopode as so few creatures have one foot (and when they do, it is its stomach!)!
-- Reader in Invisible Writings.. Something to Ponder upon!
jester wrote: > On Sat, 24 Oct 2009 15:23:47 +1030, Chris Sloan > <i...@internode.on.net.au> wrote: > <snip slightly> > nothing below gives away anything important about the story, so don't > bitch about spoiler space
>> Also, "Megapode" sounds like it should be Greek for Bigfoot..
"Raymond Daley" <raymond.da...@ntlworld.com> wrote: > "Richard Bos" <ralt...@xs4all.nl> wrote in message > > Some, rather trivial, annotations on Unseen Academicals. Mostly about > > the names. But first:
> > S
> > o
> > m
> > e
> > S
> > P
> > O
> > I
> > L
> > E
> > R
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> > E
> You missed the Small Gods reference during the street match when Trev calls > Nutt "Brutha" deliberately written that way too.
No, I didn't; I noticed it, and thought it too obvious to mention.
>jester wrote: >> On Sat, 24 Oct 2009 15:23:47 +1030, Chris Sloan >> <i...@internode.on.net.au> wrote: >> <snip slightly> >> nothing below gives away anything important about the story, so don't >> bitch about spoiler space
>>> Also, "Megapode" sounds like it should be Greek for Bigfoot..
Nigel Stapley <u...@judgemental.plus.com> wrote: > jester wrote: > > On Sat, 24 Oct 2009 15:23:47 +1030, Chris Sloan > > <snip slightly> > > nothing below gives away anything important about the story, so don't > > bitch about spoiler space
> >> Also, "Megapode" sounds like it should be Greek for Bigfoot..
Richard Bos wrote: > Nigel Stapley <u...@judgemental.plus.com> wrote:
>> jester wrote: >>> On Sat, 24 Oct 2009 15:23:47 +1030, Chris Sloan >>> <snip slightly> >>> nothing below gives away anything important about the story, so don't >>> bitch about spoiler space
>>>> Also, "Megapode" sounds like it should be Greek for Bigfoot.. >>> It does rather sound like it, but apparently it's one of these: >>> <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Megapode> >> Another example of a word not meaning what it really *ought to* mean.
> Ah, but it does! It does, in fact, mean big foot. It just happens that > it's the bigfoot fowl, not the bigfoot mammal, but it's a bigfoot all > the same.
> Richard
I sense that some people are reading 'foot' as meaning the creature is a uni-pode, but note nobody expects that the Bigfoot aka Yeti aka Sa(something that eludes me) has only one foot!
-- Reader in Invisible Writings.. Something to Ponder upon!
>>> jester wrote: >>>> On Sat, 24 Oct 2009 15:23:47 +1030, Chris Sloan >>>> <snip slightly> >>>> nothing below gives away anything important about the story, so don't >>>> bitch about spoiler space
>>>>> Also, "Megapode" sounds like it should be Greek for Bigfoot.. >>>> It does rather sound like it, but apparently it's one of these: >>>> <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Megapode> >>> Another example of a word not meaning what it really *ought to* mean.
>> Ah, but it does! It does, in fact, mean big foot. It just happens that >> it's the bigfoot fowl, not the bigfoot mammal, but it's a bigfoot all >> the same.
>> Richard
>I sense that some people are reading 'foot' as meaning the creature is a >uni-pode, but note nobody expects that the Bigfoot aka Yeti aka >Sa(something that eludes me) has only one foot!
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