cicerone, Moorish, knock into a cocked hat. history is infused with fantasy, drama and puckish humor.

Henri Matisse (1869-1954)
"The Moorish Screen ",1921

Moorish Screen 標題很有意思

G. Willow Wilson Reimagines the Last Days of Moorish Spain By EMILY BARTON In her new novel, “The Bird King,” history is infused with fantasy, drama and puckish humor.

Mr Lo is a patient cicerone.

 

Secretary of State Dean Acheson had persuaded the U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff, against the advice of General MacArthur, that the U.S. should not intervene in Formosa. He advanced the remarkable argument that if Russia had its way in Asia, the Communists would eventually become highly unpopular among Asian people and the U.S. would gain popularity for its nice-mannered nonintervention.
The Red invasion of South Korea knocked such arguments into a cocked hat. The President reversed himself, announced what most military men—and plain common sense—would tell any American: Formosa in Red hands would be "a direct threat to the security of the Pacific area . . ."



knock into a cocked hat
Debunk, render useless or unbelievable. For example, His findings knocked our theory into a cocked hat. This expression alludes to a style of hat with the brim turned up on three sides--the three-cornered (tricorne) hat worn by officers in the American Revolution--giving it a distorted look. [Early 1800s]

cicerone[cic・e・ro・ne]

• 発音記号[sìsəróuni, tʃìtʃə-]

[名]（複〜s, -ni 〔〜〕）((文))（名所旧跡の）案内人, ガイド.

［△CICERO］

(sĭs'ə-rō'nē, chĭch'ə-, chē'chĕ-rō'nĕ)
n., pl., -nes, or -ni (-nē).
A guide for sightseers.

[Italian, from Latin Cicerō, Cicerōn-, Marcus Tullius Cicero*. 此字是18世紀早期對先賢的博學和言論滔滔的幽默用法]

*西塞羅（Marcus Tullius Cicero）

（西元前 106.1.3—43.12.7）

古羅馬帝國的哲學家、政治家與演說家。三權分立學說的古代先驅。由於堅持共和制度而慘遭暗殺身亡。著作等身，範疇橫跨修辭學、神學、政治學、倫理學領域，以及大量的書信與演說稿。

Moorish
adj.

1. Of or relating to the Moors or their culture.
2. Of, relating to, or being a style of Spanish architecture of the 8th to the 16th century, characterized by the horseshoe arch and ornate decoration.