Mar 27 2020 - Benefit of the Doubt

This idiom came to my mind - benefit of the doubt.  What a fascinating expression. Here's Merriam-Webster's definition: the state of accepting something/someone as honest or deserving of trust even though there are doubts  "He might be lying, but we have to give him the benefit of the doubt and accept what he says for now." Here's Oxford's version: A concession that a person or statement must be regarded as correct or justified, if the contrary has not been proven. I saw this definition attributed to Oxford: an acceptance that a person is truthful or innocent if the opposite cannot be proved.  These seem subtley different to me.  In one, the subject is presumed to be guilty of something, in the other presumed to be innocent.  Alfred Lord Tennyson's words speak to the kinder and more generous interpretation of the second definition:  “Cleave ever to the sunnier side of doubt.”  ― Alfred Lord Tennyson In my research I found numerous articles challenging people to stop giving Trump the benefit of the doubt.  This one - about Guinness Word Records is the more interesting story. And the two answers demonstrate the two sides of the expression. Q Is Guinness World Records (GWR) trustworthy? A1  GWR has a track record of approving or disapproving record attempts based on whether or not it will benefit their Brand. The most recent is the 1 minute pull up attempt by Anthony Robles, it is clearly not a good attempt, however GWR approved it so that they could attach their Brand to his increasing popularity. A2 Very trustworthy. Their standards for acceptance of records is very strict, sometimes ridiculously so. I have a good friend, a very talented athlete at both distance running and now as a pro cyclist, who had had knee surgery that did not allow her to run. She thought, however, that she could set a Guinness record for the fastest 5-kilometer race on crutches using one leg. She actually did complete a 5K race in a faster time than the listed Guinness record, but Guinness rejected her application because she did not submit a video of the entire race to show that she used the crutches the entire way; her partial video was deemed inadequate. It is a train day today, which means a 'Skylum" day replacing the plain blue backdrop with a sunny sky.

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June 10 - Hiving Off

What about the expression hive off? It must come from hive as in a bee hive.  You can see it visually - taking a chunk of a bee hive. The definition gives no reference to a bee hive:  "to transfer or be transferred from a larger group or unit, to transfer profitable activities o or unit." When we think of it, there are many expressions that are directly inspired by bees. Some are still in use while others seem to have become dated. the birds and the bees Lessons about sex, such as are typically taught to children or young adults.  put the bee on (someone) To ask or pressure someone for a loan or donation of money. Primarily heard in US. Jane's good-for-nothing brother always comes around our place every couple of weeks to put the bee on us for a few bucks.The alumni association of my old university puts the bee on me once or twice a year looking for a donation queen bee  A woman who has authority or is in a dominant or favored position over her peers. An allusion to the (typically) lone egg-laying female of a bee colony. Martha fancies herself a queen bee after her promotion, but she's only an assistant supervisor. You'll have to ask the queen bee before you put through any more orders on the company card. be (as) busy as a bee  To be very busy. I'm currently choreographing three plays, so I'm as busy as a bee. Can we meet next week instead? I'm busy as a bee right now. a bee in (one's) bonnet  An obsession, often with something that is strange or  asource of agitation. Ever since the blizzard last year, dad has had a bee in his bonnet about moving to a warmer climate. It seems that Mike still has a bee in his bonnet over thec riticism he got in the staff meeting. the bee's knees  Dated slang. Something or someone highly enjoyable, desirable, or impressive, especially in a fancy or elaborate way. Tom's new Cadillac is really the bee's knees! Boy, that singer last night was the bee's knees, wasn't she? Today's picture is an unusual orchid in the Longwood Garden orchid house.

This Week's Hostage Expression

U.S. Attorney General William Barr's Mueller Report press conference drew a lot of attention.  Why?  Because of the expression on Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein's face.  It is known as the hostage expression.  Something that came to my mind was that this might be an actual state of mind as a result of having worked with the Trump administration. Here's Rod Rosenstein before:   Here he is at the press conference: Don't pictures tell a story!  He's not the first to stand behind Trump with the "hostage expression"  - New Jersey Governor Chris Christie did the same on Super Tuesday in 2016 and then went on The Tonight Show to "explain it."  I wonder who might be next. We approach Easter Sunday with its religious and secular traditions. Supposedly the Germans brought the Easter bunny to America in 1the 1700s with German immigrants in Pennsylvania.  The tradition was an egg-laying hare.  The evolution since then:  This year's White House Easter Egg Roll is on April 22nd.  There were 18,000 eggs in last year's event. Two of our water abstracts from the National Art Gallery in Ottawa.

Pardon my French

A Walmart flyer just flew onto my screen and filled it up. That's brand new -  a whole flyer filling the entire screen! The expression of interest today is "Excuse my French". This is a coy phrase used when someone who has used a swear-word attempts to pass it off as French.  The coyness is that both speaker and listener are aware the swear-word is English.  And it originates in England. In the 19th century, when English people used French expressions in conversation they often apologised for it - presumably because many of their listeners (then as now) wouldn't be familiar with the language. An example of this was given in The Lady's Magazine, 1830:  Bless me, how fat you are grown! - absolutely as round as a ball: - you will soon be as enbon-point (excuse my French) as your poor dear father, the major. 'En bon point' is French for 'plump; well-nourished'. It might seem odd to us now that the speaker, having been rather rude about her compatriot's appearance, felt obliged to apologise for doing so in French, but not for the rudeness itself. The side bar comment is "Every country has neighbours they like to look down on.  For the English it's the French." I found this abstract of the ceiling at the Performance Art Centre in St.Catharines.  The fuchsia colour is their choice.