Annotations and comments

Terry Foreman has posted 16,447 annotations/comments since 28 June 2005.

Comments

First Reading

About Thursday 27 August 1663

TerryF  •  Link

design

1548, from L. designare "mark out, devise," from de- "out" + signare "to mark," from signum "a mark, sign." Originally in Eng. with the meaning now attached to designate (1646, from L. designatus, pp. of designare); many modern uses of design are metaphoric extensions. Designer (adj.) in the fashion sense of "prestigious" is first recorded 1966; designer drug is from 1983. Designing "scheming" is from 1671. Designated hitter introduced in American League baseball in 1973, soon giving wide figurative extension to designated. http://www.etymonline.com/index.p…

Methinks "Designing 'scheming'" is from 1663 at least. The OED would help clarify "design" and perhaps SP gets more notice.

About Thursday 27 August 1663

TerryF  •  Link

"I found a feacho (as he calls it) of fine sugar"

feacho
In Portuguese "a small case" (L&M note)

About Wednesday 26 August 1663

TerryF  •  Link

The vicualling braintrust "came to some issue in it" means
(a) they reached a conclusion; OR
(b) they had a difference of op;inion.

About Wednesday 26 August 1663

TerryF  •  Link

May we suppose that Captain Hickes's list goes into a secret compartment in a locked trunk in Pepys's closet in the Navy Office with other such depositiona kept for future reference?

There may come a time when someone with a paygrade high enough and the will to the right thing could find such records of heuristic value.

About Wednesday 26 August 1663

TerryF  •  Link

Captain Hickes "discovers [=reveals] many of their knaverys"

knave
O.E. cnafa "boy, male servant," common Gmc. (cf. O.H.G. knabo "boy, youth, servant," Ger. knabe "boy, lad," also probably related to O.E. cnapa "boy, youth, servant," O.N. knapi "servant boy," Du. knaap "a youth, servant," M.H.G. knappe "a young squire," Ger. Knappe "squire, shield-bearer"). The original meaning may have been "stick, piece of wood." Sense of "rogue, rascal" first recorded c.1205. In playing cards, "the jack," 1568.
http://www.etymonline.com/index.p…

About Monday 24 August 1663

TerryF  •  Link

To continue considering the therapeutic value of cleaning up books -- ones dusty on the shelves, ones full of figures in columns (Is that how they would be?) --, though hardly a neatnik, I find it therapeutic to hand-wash dishes (I have a nechanical dishwasher, but never use it, nor did I when I was married). I find reaching a conclusion with a specific practical task is more satisfying than completing a scholarly article, which is still open-ended, as I think of ways I could have improved it. Perhaps Pepys is that way too.

About Monday 24 August 1663

TerryF  •  Link

Michael, you pose an interesting question about the book-dusting. He records it as part of what seems to be part of the (mild) obsessive-compulsive disorder he manfests. I say "mild" since as Martin observed yesterday, Pepys "could pick up a broom [him]self", but doesn't. Perhaps tonight he's transfered his abhorrence of the "dirt" at home, about which he does nothing, to his office, where everything is under his control, and noone else dare mess with it. And how he delights when all is "neat", "in order," "clear"~ how therapeutic!

About Monday 24 August 1663

TerryF  •  Link

"Early to rise, late to bed: makes a man dead."

James Thurber begs to differ. "Early to rise and early to bed makes a male healthy and wealthy and dead." is the moral of Thurber's Fable "The Shrike and the Chipmunks" (*The New Yorker*, 18 February 1939) http://www.visi.com/~tomcat/poetr…

Our Hero is halfway to avoiding the upshot of the tale.

About Monday 24 August 1663

TerryF  •  Link

Sam'l's OCD's outlasted even them who tucks him in.

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Miss Ann fr Home, good evening! or good 5+ AM where I am. No Diary entry at 11 PM GMT +5 hrs. on 24 August when I went to bed. My hypotheses then was Sam had nodded off, as by candlelight he strained to prepare to write, and zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzand. So the entry came up just before alanB's g'day post (so writ Phil in an email).
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L&M read that the prints "ought to have been better done then by Iching."

L&M [and those who knows from intaglio: my dear ex- made some and taught Iching for a brief while] also agree with SP that an etching produces a less firm and lasting image than an engraving.

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Nice points RG. Well, having made those matters of this day’s account clear, I will put myself back to bed.....

About Sunday 23 August 1663

TerryF  •  Link

gadfly (n.)
1626, "fly which bites cattle," probably from gad "goad, metal rod" (c.1225), here in the sense of "stinger," from O.N. gaddr "spike, nail," from P.Gmc. *gadaz "pointed stick;" but sense is entangled with gad (v.) and an early meaning of gadfly was also "someone who likes to go about, often stopping here and there." Sense of "one who irritates another" is from 1649 (equivalent of L. oestrus). http://www.etymonline.com/index.p…

About Sunday 23 August 1663

TerryF  •  Link

"gadding abroad" or about

gad (v.)
"to rove about," 1460, perhaps a back-formation of O.E. gædeling "wandering," or associated with gad (n.) "a goad for driving cattle" (see gadfly). Gadabout (n.) is 1837, from earlier noun gadder about (1568). http://www.etymonline.com/index.p…

About Sunday 23 August 1663

TerryF  •  Link

"Iter Boreale "

"The classical model for such poetry is Horace, Sermo I.v, [ http://www.thelatinlibrary.com/ho… ] the account of a journey to Brundisium as a member of Maecenas’ retinue....[T]he general dramatic situation of a poet accompanying a Great Man on a journey is obviously similar and he provides much the same sorts of notes: about other members of the company, sights seen along the way, traveler’s hardships, exceptionally good or bad food and lodging, and so forth. In writing this he was no doubt catering to his audience’s curiosity about their national geography."

[This from the Introduction to the hypertext version of the satire by Richard Eedes *Iter Boreale* (1583) in Latin, explanatory notes, an English intro, translation and references: http://www.philological.bham.ac.u… ]