I Never Knew There Was a Word for It - Adam Jacot De Boinod [139]
genethliacon (1589) a poem written for someone’s birthday
amphigory (1809) a poem that seems profound but is nonsense
randle (b.1811) a set of nonsensical verses, repeated in Ireland by schoolboys and young people, who have been guilty of breaking wind backwards before their companions
rhapsodomancy (1727) fortunetelling by picking a passage of poetry at random
musophobist (Swinburne 1880) a person who regards poetry with suspicious dislike
PENMEN
Scribblers still throng a land where people have long been under the illusion that there is something glamorous about the business of writing:
purlicue (1808) a dash or flourish at the end of a written word
wegotism (1797) the excessive use of ‘we’ in writing (particularly in newspaper editorials)
parisology (1846) the use of ambiguous language or evasive writing
macaronic (1638) mixing words from different languages
Patavinity (1607) the use of local slang or expressions when writing
cloak-father (c.1639) a pretended author whose name is put forth to conceal the real author
CRITICAL MASS
The best advice for authors is Somerset Maugham’s: ‘Don’t read your reviews, dear boy. Measure them’ …
Zoilist (1594) a critic, especially one who is unduly severe or who takes joy in faultfinding (after the fourth-century Greek critic)
histriomastix (Tudor–Stuart) a severe critic of playwrights
squabash (1818) to crush with criticism
praise sandwich (US slang Houston 1987) criticism prefaced by and followed by compliments
BOOKS DO FURNISH A ROOM
here remains one important group that no one in the business can afford to take for granted – the dear old readers:
enchiridion (Late Latin 1541) a book carried in the hand for reference
thumbscall (Shropshire) a piece of paper or card inserted in a book to mark a page
bibliotaph (1824) a person keeping his or her books secret or locked up
grille-peerer (1940s) one of a group of clergymen who used to haunt the stacks of the London Library to look up the skirts of women browsing above
to have a face-ticket (British Museum Reading Room 1909) to be so well known to the janitors that one is not asked to present one’s ticket
ARE YOU WORKING?
Sitting in a corner with a mere book has never been enough for another creative group who flourish in our supposedly inhibited culture:
oyster part an actor who appears and speaks or acts only once (like an oyster he opens but once)
nap-nix (c.1860) an amateur playing minor parts for experience
crawk (1930s) a performer acting as an animal imitator
cabotinage (1894) behaviour typical of a second-rate actor or strolling player, implying a tendency to play to the gallery or overact
come back Tuesday pseudo-friendly advice from theatrical directors and management to hopefuls really meaning ‘go away!’
flag-fallen (16C) unemployed (used first of actors: the playhouse flag was lowered where there was no performance)
AGAIN FROM THE TOP
Many are the tricks of the trade to be learnt in this most demanding of callings; and theatre has developed a fine jargon to describe it:
swallow the cackle to learn a part
ping to speak one’s lines softly, with no special emphasis
pong to speak in blank verse after forgetting one’s lines
stagger the first rehearsal without a script in one’s hands
wing to fasten one’s script to one of the wing flats or some part of the scenery when one has failed to learn it properly and thus needs an occasional reference during the performance
Mummerset (J. B. Priestley: Festival at Farbridge 1951) fake peasant accents adopted by actors to denote a supposed rural origin (from a mix of Somerset and mummer)
SMOKE AND MIRRORS
Normal costume apart, a range of cunning accessories assist the thespian’s art:
heart the padding out of their tights by acrobats, actors etc. to prevent an otherwise painful fall
wafters (Geordie) swords made with blunt edges for performers
bronteon (Ancient Greek 1849) a device used in theatre or movies to create thunder
scruto (1853) a spring trap-door, flush with the floor of a stage, for a ghost to rise through,