Who put the "world" into World Series?
Apr. 3rd, 2009 08:16 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
steepholmOn Afghanistan, President Obama has apparently invited his fellow NATO leaders to "step up to the plate". I wonder whether there isn't some danger of mistranslation here? I had a vivid mental image of Silvio Berlusconi tucking a napkin into his collar.
In other news, I've been wondering aloud to![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
lady_schrapnell about the names of folk/fairy tale heroes and heroines. We know the names of quite a few heroines: Rapunzel, Goldilocks, Cinderella, Gretchen, Gretel, Snow White, Cap o' Rushes, Red Riding Hood etc etc. (Admittedly, quite a few of these are nicknames: Cinderella may actually have been Edith, for all we know.) But beyond "Jack", which is more or less a synonym for "young man" anyway, how many heroes actually get a name? Aren't they far more commonly "the youngest prince", or similar? True, there's Hansel, and lady_schrapnell mentioned a Michael, iirc, but still. So, flist, are there fewer names of heroes than of heroines? And if so, why might that be?
Finally - I wish I could remember the extempore lecture I gave in a dream last night, on the history of stage scenery and its relationship to developments in theories of perception. It was bullshit - but such bullshit!
In other news, I've been wondering aloud to
lady_schrapnell about the names of folk/fairy tale heroes and heroines. We know the names of quite a few heroines: Rapunzel, Goldilocks, Cinderella, Gretchen, Gretel, Snow White, Cap o' Rushes, Red Riding Hood etc etc. (Admittedly, quite a few of these are nicknames: Cinderella may actually have been Edith, for all we know.) But beyond "Jack", which is more or less a synonym for "young man" anyway, how many heroes actually get a name? Aren't they far more commonly "the youngest prince", or similar? True, there's Hansel, and lady_schrapnell mentioned a Michael, iirc, but still. So, flist, are there fewer names of heroes than of heroines? And if so, why might that be?Finally - I wish I could remember the extempore lecture I gave in a dream last night, on the history of stage scenery and its relationship to developments in theories of perception. It was bullshit - but such bullshit!
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(no subject)
Date: 2009-04-04 12:13 pm (UTC)It's considered a variant of Rapunzel, but I shall check around and see if I can find -- 30 seconds later - interesting! On Sur La Lune it says that traditionally he's just 'the prince', but many modern variants have given him a name. And - I'd completely forgotten, it says there that 'Rapunzel' is another name for 'rampion', which is the herb her pregnant mother says she must have to eat or she'll die.
(no subject)
Date: 2009-04-04 12:29 pm (UTC)I wouldn't be surprised if that was often the case in these matters.
'Rapunzel' is another name for 'rampion', which is the herb her pregnant mother says she must have to eat or she'll die.
Interesting! So even Rapunzel is a nickname, after a fashion. Well, she didn't have it so bad - she could have been called Mugwort, I guess.
Off to catch the airport bus, now - we'll hammer this out face to face later!