Our Only President made some remarks yesterday about the rebuilding of Iraq. He did, to his credit, say that "The rise of Iraq as an example of moderation and democracy and prosperity is a massive and long-term undertaking." He appeared to be willing to take up that undertaking, and given that we are still being taken to the undertaker's, I am relieved that the US will not be taking a powder. He also, in reference to Afghanistan, mentioned that "America and other countries continue to provide humanitarian aid and assistance in building clinics and schools and roads." I hope that we are doing and planning to do the same in Iraq. Clinics and schools and roads. And libraries, trains, and water mains.
Still, and quite rightly, W's concern is for the military action, which is not yet over. Fighting continues every day, and Our Boys and Theirs are still dying. The butcher's bill is mounting, and the thing about that bill is it always gets paid, one way or another.
Redintegro Iraq,
-Vardibidian.
Ignorant question of the day:
“Taking a powder”?
Google Glossary was no help.
To take a powder is to skip town, run away, abscond, vamoose, disappear, run out, or otherwise absent one-self. The OED shows a 1934 quote from Suckers All by J. Proskauer using the phrase “took a walk out powder”; by 1941, Raymond Chandler just uses ‘take a powder’. I can’t decide if the metaphor is drawn from medicine (there are certain powdered drugs which would necessitate excusing yourself pretty promptly) or from magicians sprinkling powder(specifically powder of prelinpinpin, and isn’t that great) on things before making them disappear.
R.I.,
-V.
! powder of prelinpinpin! I’ve never heard of it, but I love the word.
But Google wants me to search for “perlimpinpin” instead, which appears to be some kind of untranslatable French word. Any relation?
Ooh, eck, I dunno. I was just pulling stuff out of the OED; they refer to “powder of prelinpinpin, powder pimp a lim pimp, pimperlim-pimp, powder le pimp, a pretended magical powder used by conjurers; hence allusively. [= F. poudre de perlimpinpin (in Richelet 1680 poudre de prelinpinpin).]” So I guess the perlimpinpin spelling is OK, and perhaps that’s the current French usage. If the current French use the word at all.
Still, ain’t it grand… Attend! I sprinkle a little prelinpinpin powder on these weapons of mass destruction, and pouf! But they are gone!
R.I.,
-V.
Attend! I sprinkle a little prelinpinpin powder on these weapons of mass destruction, and pouf! But they are gone!
That’s one metaphysical explanation for why they ain’t t’be found.
😛