2015年6月11日 星期四

clod, dolt, allusion, shrieking hag. snob,


 法國的大科學家帕利西(Bernoard Palissy, 1509-1590),在活著的時候被稱為「大笨蛋」(great dolt),但是今天在大學的「水土保持學系」,帕利西被稱為「水土保持學之父」(father of soil and water conservation);大學裏的「農藝學系」,帕利西是「近代農藝學的先鋒」(pioneer of modern agronomy);大學裏土木工程裏重要的「水文學」,帕利西是「水文學之父」(father of hydrology)。怎麼這些學術冠冕會戴在一個「大笨蛋」的頭上呢?






Another highlight from our ‪#‎WitchesAndWickedBodies‬ exhibition: Dürer's print of a shrieking hag ow.ly/EAQZL

Grand Allusion

By ELIZABETH D. SAMET
Failed allusions produce feelings of betrayal on all sides. Is the speaker a snob or the listener a dolt?



''King Herod shrieking vengeance at the curled
Up knees of Jesus choking in the air,

A king of speechless clods and infants. Still
The world out-Herods Herod;''
Robert Lowell (1917-1977), U.S. poet. The Holy Innocents (l. 9-12). . . Oxford Book of Contemporary Verse, The, 1945-1980. D. J. Enright, comp. (1...




  1. hag is a wizened old woman, or a kind of fairy or goddess having the appearance of such a woman, often found in folklore and children's tales such as Hansel and Gretel.
shriek

ʃriːk/
verb
gerund or present participle: shrieking
  1. utter a high-pitched piercing sound or words, especially as an expression of terror, pain, or excitement.
    "the audience shrieked with laughter"
    synonyms:screamscreechsquealsquawkroarhowlbellowbawlshoutyellcry, cry out, call, call out, call at the top of one's voice, clamourbaycheeryawpyelp,squallcaterwaulwhoopwailMore
    • (of something inanimate) make a high-pitched screeching sound.
      "the wheels shrieked as the car sped away"
    • be very obvious or strikingly discordant.
      "the answer shrieked at her all too clearly"


allusion
(ə-lū'zhən) pronunciation
n.
  1. The act of alluding; indirect reference: Without naming names, the candidate criticized the national leaders by allusion.
  2. An instance of indirect reference: an allusion to classical mythology in a poem. See Usage Note at allude.
[Late Latin allūsiō, allūsiōn-, a playing with, from Latin allūsus, past participle of allūdere, to play with. See allude.]


dolt
A stupid person.

Origin


Mid 16th century: perhaps a variant of dulled, past participle of dull.
clod
n.
  1. A lump or chunk, especially of earth or clay.
  2. Earth or soil.
  3. A dull, stupid person; a dolt.
[Middle English, variant of clot, lump. See clot.]
cloddish clod'dish adj.
cloddishly clod'dish·ly adv.
cloddishness clod'dish·ness n.

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