Several people (well, at least one) have asked me about the name of this blog. The Oxford English Dictionary defines bemusing as, "making utterly confused or muddled, as with intoxicating liquor; putting into a stupid stare, stupefying." Now I have a thing for syntactic ambiguity in sentences. Sentences like "Kent is cooking in the kitchen" are particularly delightful. Is Kent stirring the pot, or is he in the pot? So, back to my title, that wonderful little apostrophe leaves the meaning up for grabs.
Depending on if the "s" is possessive or the contraction, it could mean the content of this blog is stupefying, or that I am personally the intoxicating liquor. Or, with a little creativity, it could even refer to the fact that I'm "Given to or characterized by meditation; contemplative, thoughtful, dreamy" (the adjective form of musing). (On a side note, I've always wanted to be dreamy...) But my point here is that between this sort of ambiguity and the incredible synonymy of English we have an amazing language to play with and enjoy. (Another side note, "synonymy" has three "y"s in it. I can't think of any other three-"y" words, let alone a word with more than three. Anybody else have one?) So seeing English as a merely functional thing is a tragedy. As for which of those meanings I was going for when I named this blog? That's right, all of them.
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"Humility, that low, sweet root, From which all heavenly virtues shoot" - Thomas More
1 comment:
Syzygy has three "y"'s, Matt. I had to look it up to know what it means, though it came to mind as a real word. Yes, I was one of those nerd kids like those on that movie you like. Not "Victory" mind you.
By the way, "syzygy" is apparently some type of astronomy term.
-RB
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