"Among Germanic peoples it was once normal to record the passage of time by the number of nights rather than days....It’s a quirk of the language that fortnight has survived as standard British English (though not American) while sennight is now defunct. It did last into the twentieth century in some areas as a dialect term, though eventually driven out by competition with the shorter week." http://www.worldwidewords.org/wei…
Some of us Americans, who are children of the night, use "fortnight" (albeit not "se'enniight").
(Sorry Robert, I didn't notice AND yours is better.)
Susan, I LOL at the quotation from Swift! Was that the inspiration for *The Effect of Gamma Rays on Man-in-the-Moon Marigolds* (1972)? http://imdb.com/title/tt0068528/
L&M transcribe and punctuate this sentence thus - "This day Sir W. Batten tells me that Mr. Newburne (of whom the nick-word came up among us for "Arise Tom Newburne") is dead of eating Cowcoumbers, of which the other day, I heard another, I think Sir Nich. Crisps son."
In 1699 John Evelyn will write about Cucumbers in *Acetaria: A Discourse of Sallets* "...the _Pulp_ in Broth is greatly refreshing, and may be mingl’d in most _Sallets_, without the least damage, contrary to the common Opinion; it not being long, since _Cucumber_, however dress’d, was thought fit to be thrown away, being accounted little better than Poyson." http://www.pepysdiary.com/encyclo…
I thought maybe part of the problem with cucumbers was acute gastrointestinal "wind" -- but evidently the problem wasn't related to gastric distress; the Wikipedia article on cukes sez "English cucumbers....are (nearly) seedless, and are sometimes marketed as "Burpless," as the seeds give some people gas." http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cucu…
"the master organist came, whom by discourse I afterwards knew, having employed him for my Lord Sandwich, to prick out something (his name Arundell)"
This hire had to be pre-1/1/1660, and Pepys employed him for Sir Edward Mountagu, since Arundell appears nowhere else in the Diary.
----
Bullus, welcome back! Vincent's still here, dissolved into several elements - water, fire, poetry (paper), &c., even before Pepys grilled his Cartesian brother John about Aristotle's four and their properties.
St. Bride's (St. Bridget's) is between Salibury Square and Fleet Bridge, above Bridewell on the W side of this part of the 1746 map. http://www.motco.com/map/81002/Se…
"20. Cucumber, _Cucumis_; tho' very cold and moist, the most approved _Sallet_ alone, or in Composition, of all the _Vinaigrets_, to sharpen the Appetite, and cool the Liver, [16]_&c._ if rightly prepar'd; that is, by rectifying the vulgar Mistake of altogether extracting the Juice, in which it should rather be soak'd: Nor ought it to be over _Oyl'd_, too much abating of its grateful _Acidity_, and _palling_ the Taste from a contrariety of Particles: Let them therefore be pared, and cut in thin Slices, with a _Clove_ or two of _Onion_ to correct the Crudity, macerated in the Juice, often turn'd and moderately drain'd. Others prepare them, by shaking the Slices between two Dishes, and dress them with very little _Oyl_, well beaten, and mingled with the Juice of _Limon, Orange_, or _Vinegar, Salt_ and _Pepper_. Some again, (and indeed the most approv'd) eat them as soon as they are cut, retaining their Liquor, which being exhausted (by the former Method) have nothing remaining in them to help the Concoction. Of old they [17]boil'd the _Cucumber_, and paring off the Rind, eat them with _Oyl, Vinegar_, and _Honey_; _Sugar_ not being so well known. Lastly, the _Pulp_ in Broth is greatly refreshing, and may be mingl'd in most _Sallets_, without the least damage, contrary to the common Opinion; it not being long, since _Cucumber_, however dress'd, was thought fit to be thrown away, being accounted little better than Poyson. _Tavernier_ tells us, that in the _Levant_, if a Child cry for something to Eat, they give it a raw _Cucumber_ instead of _Bread_. The young ones may be boil'd in White-Wine. The smaller sort (known by the name of _Gerckems_) muriated with the Seeds of _Dill_, and the _Mango_ Pickle are for the Winter. " Acetaria: A Discourse of Sallets, By _JOHN EVELYN, Esq._ (1699) http://www.gutenberg.org/files/15…
"The cucumber is the edible fruit of the cucumber plant Cucumis sativus, which belongs to the gourd family Cucurbitaceae, as do melons and squash....The fruit is commonly harvested while still green, though generally after the fruits outgrow their spines. They are eaten as a vegetable, either raw, cooked, or made into pickled cucumbers." http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cucu…
Comments
First Reading
About Saturday 22 August 1663
TerryF • Link
Is Pepys, ah, generous touching his accoutrements.
"But, Bess, my new beaver was all for the sake of official appearances!
I must impress those who might otherwise short the King."
But to US he confides his vanity!
About Saturday 22 August 1663
TerryF • Link
se’nnight
"Among Germanic peoples it was once normal to record the passage of time by the number of nights rather than days....It’s a quirk of the language that fortnight has survived as standard British English (though not American) while sennight is now defunct. It did last into the twentieth century in some areas as a dialect term, though eventually driven out by competition with the shorter week." http://www.worldwidewords.org/wei…
Some of us Americans, who are children of the night, use "fortnight" (albeit not "se'enniight").
Aye, Bradford, sometimes Pepys is a soft touch.
About Saturday 22 August 1663
TerryF • Link
Re "John Thomas" - OED, anyone?
*English slang and colloquialisms used in the United Kingdom* http://www.peevish.co.uk/slang/
More male privy part euphemisms - http://www.starma.com/penis/penis…
About Saturday 22 August 1663
TerryF • Link
"cowcumbers" - is this phonetically spelt?
"Cowcoumbers" "cucumbers"? how would they have been pronounced? Would anyone have said "kyew-cumers"?
About Saturday 22 August 1663
TerryF • Link
(Sorry Robert, I didn't notice AND yours is better.)
Susan, I LOL at the quotation from Swift! Was that the inspiration for *The Effect of Gamma Rays on Man-in-the-Moon Marigolds* (1972)? http://imdb.com/title/tt0068528/
(Swift's been appropriate two days in a row.)
About Saturday 22 August 1663
TerryF • Link
But “Arise Tom Newburne” is so right for a dead man!
Was his "nick-word" prophetic?
About Mr Arundell
TerryF • Link
An organist/musician of some proficience, hired by Pepys in the pre-diary times to serve Sir Edward Mountague. http://www.pepysdiary.com/encyclo…
About Saturday 22 August 1663
TerryF • Link
Beware Cowcumbers, for they are deadly?!!
L&M transcribe and punctuate this sentence thus - "This day Sir W. Batten tells me that Mr. Newburne (of whom the nick-word came up among us for "Arise Tom Newburne") is dead of eating Cowcoumbers, of which the other day, I heard another, I think Sir Nich. Crisps son."
In 1699 John Evelyn will write about Cucumbers in *Acetaria: A Discourse of Sallets*
"...the _Pulp_ in Broth is greatly refreshing, and may be mingl’d in most _Sallets_, without the least damage, contrary to the common Opinion; it not being long, since _Cucumber_, however dress’d, was thought fit to be thrown away, being accounted little better than Poyson." http://www.pepysdiary.com/encyclo…
I thought maybe part of the problem with cucumbers was acute gastrointestinal "wind" -- but evidently the problem wasn't related to gastric distress; the Wikipedia article on cukes sez "English cucumbers....are (nearly) seedless, and are sometimes marketed as "Burpless," as the seeds give some people gas." http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cucu…
About Saturday 22 August 1663
TerryF • Link
"strong water" = "distilled spirits"
(L&M Select Glossary)
About Friday 21 August 1663
TerryF • Link
Nix, brilliant!
About Friday 21 August 1663
TerryF • Link
Bullus, BTW, nice verse.
About Friday 21 August 1663
TerryF • Link
"the master organist came, whom by discourse I afterwards knew, having employed him for my Lord Sandwich, to prick out something (his name Arundell)"
This hire had to be pre-1/1/1660, and Pepys employed him for Sir Edward Mountagu, since Arundell appears nowhere else in the Diary.
----
Bullus, welcome back! Vincent's still here, dissolved into several elements - water, fire, poetry (paper), &c., even before Pepys grilled his Cartesian brother John about Aristotle's four and their properties.
About Thursday 20 August 1663
TerryF • Link
But viall music soothes the soul....
About Thursday 20 August 1663
TerryF • Link
Fallout from Pepys's conflicts spot the day from first to last.
- The incident with bro. John (one in a series of incidents concerning keys - misplaced and lost)...
- The saga of the chastening of Commnissioner Pett, whose dignity has been sorely tested, both by Pepys and by those who "act in the yard" at Chatham.
- Then, of course, the day's several issues concerning servants ("You can't find good masters these days," 'tis rumored belowstairs).
Pepys does not characterized his feelings as he goes to bed.
About St Bride's
TerryF • Link
St. Bride's (St. Bridget's) is between Salibury Square and Fleet Bridge, above Bridewell on the W side of this part of the 1746 map. http://www.motco.com/map/81002/Se…
About Fleet Street
TerryF • Link
Fleet Street's east end is the Fleet Bridge in this segment of the map. http://www.motco.com/map/81002/Se…
About Fleet Street
TerryF • Link
Fleet Street runs east from Temple Bar across this segment of the 1746 map. http://www.motco.com/map/81002/Se…
About Cucumbers
TerryF • Link
John Evelyn on Cucumbers
"20. Cucumber, _Cucumis_; tho' very cold and moist, the most approved _Sallet_ alone, or in Composition, of all the _Vinaigrets_, to sharpen the Appetite, and cool the Liver, [16]_&c._ if rightly prepar'd; that is, by rectifying the vulgar Mistake of altogether extracting the Juice, in which it should rather be soak'd: Nor ought it to be over _Oyl'd_, too much abating of its grateful _Acidity_, and _palling_ the Taste from a contrariety of Particles: Let them therefore be pared, and cut in thin Slices, with a _Clove_ or two of _Onion_ to correct the Crudity, macerated in the Juice, often turn'd and moderately drain'd. Others prepare them, by shaking the Slices between two Dishes, and dress them with very little _Oyl_, well beaten, and mingled with the Juice of _Limon, Orange_, or _Vinegar, Salt_ and _Pepper_. Some again, (and indeed the most approv'd) eat them as soon as they are cut, retaining their Liquor, which being exhausted (by the former Method) have nothing remaining in them to help the Concoction. Of old they [17]boil'd the _Cucumber_, and paring off the Rind, eat them with _Oyl, Vinegar_, and _Honey_; _Sugar_ not being so well known. Lastly, the _Pulp_ in Broth is greatly refreshing, and may be mingl'd in most _Sallets_, without the least damage, contrary to the common Opinion; it not being long, since _Cucumber_, however dress'd, was thought fit to be thrown away, being accounted little better than Poyson. _Tavernier_ tells us, that in the _Levant_, if a Child cry for something to Eat, they give it a raw _Cucumber_ instead of _Bread_. The young ones may be boil'd in White-Wine. The smaller sort (known by the name of _Gerckems_) muriated with the Seeds of _Dill_, and the _Mango_ Pickle are for the Winter. "
Acetaria: A Discourse of Sallets, By _JOHN EVELYN, Esq._ (1699) http://www.gutenberg.org/files/15…
About Wednesday 19 August 1663
TerryF • Link
The Witches of Chelsea
- Uppity Ashwell
- Sandwich's Slutt
About Cucumbers
TerryF • Link
"The cucumber is the edible fruit of the cucumber plant Cucumis sativus, which belongs to the gourd family Cucurbitaceae, as do melons and squash....The fruit is commonly harvested while still green, though generally after the fruits outgrow their spines. They are eaten as a vegetable, either raw, cooked, or made into pickled cucumbers." http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cucu…