Stupid Neurosis

Whan that aprill with his shoures soote The droghte of march hath perced to the roote, And bathed every veyne in swich licour Of which vertu engendred is the flour; — Canterbury Tales, General Prologue, Chaucer1 Canterbury Tales ↩ …

While researching for a forthcoming post about linguistic features of George R. R. Martin’s writing in A Game of Thrones, I was examining this line (emphasis mine): “You will attend me in court this afternoon,” Joffrey said. “See that you bathe and dress as befits my betrothed.” (743) Pretty soon I found myself at the entry “be-, prefix” in the Oxford English Dictionary1. (Those uninterested in language history can skip to the next paragraph now.) It originated in Old English, as a “weak or stressless form of the prep. and adv. bí (big).” The by- in bylaw, bystander, and bygone...…

The other night in a bout of post-graduation “now what,” I popped open Netflix and started watching The CW’s show Arrow. On the air since 2012, it takes elements from DC comic book hero Green Arrow. Five-line summary: After a shipwreck kills his father, rich kid Oliver Queen spends five mysterious years (which we learn of through flashbacks) on a deserted island. Upon returning he becomes a vigilante and, with the help of his lawyer (ex[?]-) girlfriend, starts taking down corrupt businessmen in his father’s memory. (image credit: The Hollywood Reporter) Instead of going after people with alter egos, Oliver...…