I realized today, as I was at UT for lex class which required much walking in throngs of people, how lucky I was that I got to attend a small, beautiful college that wasn't overrun with bodies, people, and people in flip-flops and short-shorts. UT is throng central and I suspect that its population density rivals that of Manhattan. So many bodies. So many moving bodies everywhere. And it was hot. So hot. I had left my sunglasses at home and so my enemy Mr. Sun was beating on my face something terrible and I suspected I was getting a bit stinky. So I found a shaded enclave and hung out there for a bit. Like a mushroom, I seek out cool, dark, damp spaces. I hate the sun. And throngs. Throngs fucking suck.
Anyway, today in class we compared definitions in the New Oxford American vs. American Heritage smackdown style. The prof is an AH alumna, and I gotta say, I thought their defs were crap compared to Ms. McKean's tome. (Oh, Ms. McK...you are so much cooler than Mr. Sheidlower...) To define an object, do you describe its function or its appearance? Oh, quandary. One point for NOA, in my opinion. I brought up front matter and more importantly, the fact that no one reads the front matter. (The front matter is the 10-12 pages in the front of your dictionary that explain to you how to use your dictionary and why the editors have decided to do things the way they did them) Then she assigned the homework of reading the front matter in the dictionary of your choice.
I like to think that my mention of the unimportant front matter prompted that little homework assignment. Hee hee hee...you have to read the front matter. I've already read the front matter, so I'm good. Thanks.
As the class is an undergrad course, I overheard two women chatting about their post-graduation plans, which include law school for one and a SWEET finance job down in San Antonio. "I just turned twenty-three," the one wearing a strapless top confided. "I feel so old." I turned to her and said "you're really not." She smiled at me but I don't think she has any idea what she's saying. Hell, I used to think I was old at 23, but what I meant by that was "I am a very old soul and unlike most people my age because I am inherently this very old person, no matter what my age is." "Old" implies doors closing, skin wrinkling, knees giving out, and doctor-prescribed low-salt diets. Old people do not wear strapless shirts and if they do, they are heartily admonished for their trespasses.
Posted by Zerd at August 29, 2008 02:20 PM