[Ads-l] X-dimensional chess

Jim Parish jparish at SIUE.EDU
Tue Feb 20 15:09:31 UTC 2018


Jonathan Lighter wrote:
> Creaky oldsters will recall the first time we saw Spock playing
> three-dimensional chess on board the old Enterprise back in 19 and 66.
>
> Recently a Trump supporter on TV explained that the president constantly
> plays "four-dimensional chess."
>
> Last night on CNN another one assured viewers that, while it may not seem
> that he's doing anything about Russian bad behavior, he's  working hard
> *behind* the scenes, in ways we can know nothing about. The explanation was
> that, as a successful businessman, Mr. Trump plays "eight-dimensional
> chess" his wonders to perform.
>
> And in the words of a GB author,  "Not even Garry Kasparov could grasp the
> basic principles of eight-dimensional chess."
>
> Myself, I prefer extradimensional chess  (68 Google hits). It enables me to
> work out most of my schemes in parallel dimensions until such time as I
> care to reveal them in this existential sector.

Some of President Obama's more vigorous supporters were mocked as 
believing that he played political "eleven-dimensional chess".

Jim Parish

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The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org



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