More semantic drift

[Jonathan Lighter]

A leading publisher has retained a number of learned academics to prepare teacher's guides to great works of literature.  One such guide exhibits the following usages which I suspect are more than idiosyncratic yet appear to be relatively novel. All dates are 2005 and refer to Aristophanes's _Lysistrata_. The writer, nameless here forever more, is assistant professor of drama at a large state university, and is the holder of B.F.A. and M.F.A. degrees :

  _command center_,  n. any sort of headquarters or place from which instructions may be sought or imparted:  "The rest of the women enter into the Akropolis to set up their command center."  [A "command center" is usu. organized and hierarchical (it seems to me) and functions through direct immediate communication with subordinate elements.]

  _espouse_, v. to relate or recount: "Lysistrata convinces the women to return to the Akropolis by espousing a prophecy that describes their victory if they remain chaste."
  _playwrighting_, n. playwriting: "Aristotle's dramatic structure was eventually adopted as the rules of playwrighting."  [100,000 raw Googlits.]

  _politics_, n.pl. "social relations, esp. as between persons of conflicting interests or attitudes": "Greek comedy...gives modern audiences insight into political issues in ancient Greece. What might the themes below tell us about their politics?  1. The war between the sexes. 2. Abstinence brings peace. 3. Make love not war. 4. "Never underestimate the power of a woman." [etc.]  [Resembles OED 3.b., but appears to be more concrete, i.e., not just "assumptions or principles."]

  _quality_, adj. of the greatest possible excellence: "Aristotle...sets forth the principles of quality poetry in order of importance."

  _ready_, v. intrans. to prepare: "The male chorus leader commands the men to ready for war."

  _top_, n. start (of a play): "Women from other lands...arrive at the top of the play."  [Established usage usu. applies to brief musical compositions ("take it from the top"), the first half of an inning ("at the top of the inning"), or the beginning of a segmentary radio or television show ("coming up at the top of the hour").]

  _tragic_, adj. self-pitying: "Myrrhine runs off without satisfying him, and Kinesias delivers a tragic soliloquy."

  And cf. the following with our earlier discussion of pluralizing "attorney-general" and the like:

  "The comic playwrights of ancient Greece...are well-known for taking advantage of metaphor and puns, or play-on-words."

  JL


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