Monday, November 02, 2009

Les Mots

you'd have to know to read what i'm reading for art history class (most of which baffle standard spellchecking apps and also must be looked up by me in order to read):

diminuendo (reduction in force or loudness; this word should come in handy)

prole (means proletariat — yes, run, glenn beck!)

aperçu (know french but english connotations are a bit different)

pangyricBold (recall from undergrad life; fun and hopefully will be directed at me someday : )

fatuous (you know this one)

borborygm (gas!)

voulu (more french; contrived — why not just say "contrived," dear author?)

Bundesrepublik (german, of course, and it just means "germany" — i'm starting to get angry)

exegetical (sounds familiar … oh — means, "explanatory")

catamite (eew)

feuilleton (argh!)

tittup (we should talk about this one more often)

SAVAK (o.k. that just exposes that people my age are not familiar with the cultural and political things of our own babyhood years)

2 comments:

hearmysong said...

the author of your book needs an editor--badly.
i've always maintained that using "exegesis" or any variation thereof equates to pompous windbaggery.

never heard of borborygm, catamite, or tittup.

feuilleton i know from my time in france--there was a delicious pastry called "mille (or million) feuilleton."

diminuendo is usually reserved for music, unless said pompous windbag writes a novel. can't imagine the art history context!

Applecart T. said...

i arhged at feuilleton b/c it was pretentious; magazine pastry, mmmm.

it was just an article. from the NYTimes Review of Books, if you can believe that.

re: a Warhol book or something. 1982 and with the worst conclusion ever … something about Reagan. however, i did learn some "things" about why i already feel the way i do about andy w.

AND, if you had heard of catamite, well, i'd say "eww" again : )