Cantankerous
It is not a
coincidence that Ed, (Edrodmedina), has chosen for POD, (Phrase of the Day), WOD,
(Word of the Day), WOW, (Word of the Week), and WOMB, (Word of the Month when
Babies are Born), the word �Cantankerous�.
This word is his very
opposite.
To put it more simply,
�This
word is the consummate contrariety of his idiosyncratic Weltanschauung, vis-�-vis
Homo Sapiens�, (to quote the well-known Swahili proverb).
This proverb appears
in: �A
Futile Argument�, by the Spanish linguist Xavier Breth. The companion volume is the word-book: �Cambridge
Oxford Dictionary, Special Words Assisting Language Learning, Operating
Procedure�, by the same author, with photographs by the talented Scandinavian photographer,
Matt Finnish. Lovers of this excellent dictionary,
(or �CODSWALLOP�
as others rudely call it), are never without a story which demonstrates the
power of human observation.
Because
of British economic difficulties, 2 young men were engaged to work, cleaning up
the cemetery, where local people were buried after death. One young man discovered his grandfather�s
grave, which was very untidy. He cut the
grass and put fresh flowers in the vase.
The
gravestone, with the name and the date of death, was falling forward, so the
young man straightened it, but it fell forward again. He got a length of wire, wrapped it around
the stone, and tied it to a telegraph pole, to keep it vertical. Beautiful!
That
evening was pay-night, so the two went out and had a couple of drinks. On the way home, they passed the cemetery, and
stopped to admire their work. The friend
looked at the grandfather�s beautiful grave, with the stone held upright by the
wire tied to the telegraph pole.
�I see that your grandfather has had the
telephone put in!�
The origins of the
word �Cantankerous�
are not a mystery. They are simplicity
itself.
�Can�t Anka Rouse!� was the publicity
slogan written for the singer, Paul Anka. Born in Canada, he �wowed� teenage audiences
with his singing. He wrote numerous
famous songs, including the English words for the French song, �Comme
d�habitude�. Frank Sinatra made it world-famous as: �My Way!�
(Incidentally, have
you noticed how every performer who sings: �I Did it My Way�, performs it exactly the SAME WAY as everybody else?)
Many ESLP readers
have suggested that �Can�t� refers to Immanuel Kant, the German
Philosopher, who founded the School of Negative Thinking. Others contend that the originator was Genghis
Khan, the Mongol Philosopher, who founded the School of Positive
Thinking.
However, whenever I
am in difficulties, I turn to one of the most famous of English families, the Homes
Family.
Yes! You can find a Member in every English City,
Town and Village --- Wimpey Homes; Barratt Homes; Persimmon Homes
--- their signs are everywhere.
But the most famous
of all, is Sherlock Holmes, the Detective!
In fact, he was so famous that, for copyright reasons, he changed
his surname, and added an �L�, HoLmes. But this was not unusual --- in the past, many people changed their homes as soon as they had the money!
I am proud to say
that, like me, Sherlock Holmes is, or was, a Magician.
Sherlock
Holmes stood before his colleague, Doctor Watson. In his left hand he held a glass lemonade bottle,
which had a narrow neck. In his right
hand, he held a large lemon.
He
handed the two objects to Doctor Watson, who examined them minutely, for 60 seconds, but could
find nothing unusual.
On
receiving them back from the Doctor, Sherlock Holmes put the lemon and the
bottle together, and blew on them with his lips.
In an
instant, the large lemon was inside the glass bottle, trapped.
Doctor
Watson�s eyes gaped wide in astonishment.
�Holmes!
That was amazing! How did you do
it?�
�Lemon Entry, my Dear Watson! Lemon Entry!�
Les
- but this special gas station always had extra cans on hand.
?
Very clever!!