to "fashion"; "in the weeds"

[Jonathan Lighter]

I concur.

> someone who is defined by their intellect is either suspect ... or
downright evil and amoral in =
his (rarely her) machinations.

Mr. Obama. Mrs. Obama.

Who is she really?

JL

On Sun, May 6, 2012 at 10:48 AM, Laurence Horn <laurence.horn at yale.edu>wrote:

> ---------------------- Information from the mail header
> -----------------------
> Sender:       American Dialect Society <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
> Poster:       Laurence Horn <laurence.horn at YALE.EDU>
> Subject:      Re: to "fashion"; "in the weeds"
>
> -------------------------------------------------------------------------------
>
> On May 6, 2012, at 9:18 AM, Jonathan Lighter wrote:
>
> >=20
> > II
> > This morning a defense analyst explained that Osama bin Laden had been =
> "in
> > the weeds" with Al Qaeda planning, and that one of his lieutenants =
> "did a
> > very in-the-weeds analysis of CNN."
> >=20
> > 'Involved in or involving the close examination of detail.'
> >=20
> > When I first heard "in the weeds" in the early '90s, waiters and =
> waitresses
> > were using it to mean "overwhelmed with work."   Pilots use it to mean =
> "at
> > minimum flying altitude" (1982, but semi-literal "wheels in the weeds" =
> in
> > 1966; a couple of firsthand sources use the former in a Vietnam War
> > context.).
> >=20
> Speaking of OBL and his buddies in the weeds, I've noticed that now that =
> Khalid Sheikh Mohammed is back in the news, he's once again identified =
> as "the mastermind of 9-11".  Tricky, since many of the google hits for =
> "mastermind" are references to Bin Laden as "the mastermind of 9-11".  =
> Besides that little problem (co-mastermind?), this usage reinforces my =
> impression that masterminds (outside of fantasy and gaming uses) tend to =
> be evil ones, at least when the label is connected to a particular =
> episodic act.  Steve Jobs may be described as "the mastermind of Apple" =
> in various obituaries, or "the mastermind behind the development of the =
> iPhone, iPod,=E2=80=A6.", but even those uses strike me as a bit =
> unnatural.  For me, the evil mastermind is the prototype (the "good =
> mastermind" seems almost oxymoronic), and evidently I'm not alone.  =
> Here's the OED entry:
>
> 2. spec. A person who plans and directs a complex and ingenious =
> enterprise, esp. a criminal operation.
> 1872   Trollope Eustace Diamonds lxix, in Fortn. Rev. 18 725   The =
> police thought that I had been the master-mind among the thieves.
> 1920   =E2=80=98Sapper=E2=80=99 Bull-dog Drummond v. 121   A gang of =
> international criminals=E2=80=A5controlled by a master-mind.
> 1960   Observer 24 Jan. 5/2   These were recognised prop-men or putters =
> up of jobs, what the mugs called master minds.
> 1997   Esquire Feb. 67/1   TV-network masterminds=E2=80=A5now spent =
> their evenings cozying up with=E2=80=A5melon-domed intellectual =
> dinner-party types.
>
>
> Maybe we tend to distrust intellect, so while the hero acts from =
> courage, bravery, godliness, moxie, and undauntable physical resilience, =
> someone who is defined by their intellect is either suspect (scientists =
> played by Jeff Goldblum and their ilk) or downright evil and amoral in =
> his (rarely her) machinations.   Braveheart vs. Mastermind. =20
>
> LH=20
>
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>



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