While we are contemplating the possibility of mass destruction by the pompous pompadour-coiffed popinjay in North Korea, we might take a few minutes to remind ourselves that every day is someone\u2019s birthday.<\/p>\n
Today just happens to be Dr. Samuel Johnson\u2019s 308th<\/sup> birthday.\u00a0 And who is he, pray tell?\u00a0 Why, I do thank you kindly for asking.\u00a0 The esteemed Sr. Johnson was, among other things, a lexicographer, someone he defined as \u201ca writer of dictionaries; a harmless drudge that busies himself in tracing the original, and detailing the signification of words\u201d. He was also a poet, a critic, a satirist, an author and a dyed-in-the-wool conservative.<\/p>\n In regard to his birthday, he wrote: \u201cThe return of my birthday, if I remember it, fills me with thoughts which it seems to be the general care of humanity to escape.\u201d\u00a0 A few of his somewhat sardonic definitions follow:<\/p>\n Cough:\u00a0A convulsion of the lungs, vellicated by some sharp serosity.<\/p>\n Distiller:\u00a0One who makes and sells pernicious and inflammatory spirits.<\/p>\n Dull:\u00a0Not exhilaterating (sic); not delightful; as,\u00a0to make dictionaries is\u00a0dull\u00a0work.<\/p>\n Excise:\u00a0A hateful tax levied upon commodities, and adjudged not by the common judges of property, but by wretches hired by those to whom excise is paid.<\/p>\n Far-fetch:\u00a0A deep stratagem. A ludicrous word.<\/p>\n Jobbernowl:\u00a0Loggerhead; blockhead. (This is also spelled \u2018jobbernoll\u2019 by some Regency Romance authors.)<\/p>\n Oats:\u00a0A grain, which in England is generally given to horses, but in Scotland appears to support the people.<\/p>\n Patron:\u00a0One who countenances, supports or protects. Commonly, a wretch who supports with insolence, and is paid with flattery.<\/p>\n Pension:\u00a0An allowance made to any one without an equivalent. In England it is generally understood to mean pay given to a state hireling for treason to his country.<\/p>\n (N.B.: He might define it even more wittily and acerbically now.)<\/p>\n Politician:\u00a01. One versed in the arts of government; one skilled in politicks. 2. A man of artifice; one of deep contrivance.<\/p>\n Rant:\u00a0 high sounding language unsupported by dignity of thought.<\/p>\n Tory:\u00a0One who adheres to the ancient constitution of the state, and the apostolical hierarchy of the church of England; opposed to a Whig.<\/p>\n Whig:\u00a0The name of a faction; one of our unhappy terms of disunion. (He left out that Whig stands for We Hope In God, but did include the history of the term.)<\/p>\n To\u00a0worm:\u00a0To deprive a dog of something, nobody knows what, under his tongue, which is said to prevent him, nobody knows why, from running mad.<\/p>\n The meanings of some words have changed since 1755. For example, in Johnson’s time a cruise\u00a0was \u201ca small cup\u201d, a\u00a0high-flier\u00a0was someone who “carries his opinions to extravagance,” a\u00a0recipe\u00a0was “a medical prescription”, and a\u00a0urinator\u00a0was “a diver; one who searches under water.”<\/p>\n When Dr. Johnson decided to catalog and define the English language, it was not the first attempt by anyone to do so. More than twenty dictionaries had appeared over the previous two hundred years, thanks to the use of movable type. The French (“immortals” of l’Acad\u00e9mie Francaise) had spent 55 years compiling their four volume edition of the French language. Since Dr. Johnson took a dim view of the French, he stated firmly that he could do better, and in less time. It took him about eight years and six assistants, spent collecting and defining a vocabulary of words that were in common use in the 18th<\/sup> century, but some of which are now obscure. His stated goal was to standardize the English language which was as much in flux in the 18th<\/sup> century as it is now.<\/p>\n In his efforts to comprise his compendium of common and sometimes not so common words, he left us with a near-complete version of that tome of our recorded language, the dictionary of the English language, first published in 1755. His goal was to standardize the language. He also addressed grammar and spelling.<\/p>\n There are several versions of Samuel Johnson\u2019s Dictionary available on Amazon, if you\u2019re interested. \u00a0Jack Lynch has compiled a compendium of acerbic observations by Mr. Johnson, titled \u201cSamuel Johnson’s Insults: A Compendium of Snubs, Sneers, Slights and Effronteries from the Eighteenth-Century Master\u201d, if you’re thinking of a need to expand your insult vocabulary.<\/p>\n There is also available a reproduction of the 1828 American Dictionary of English, compiled by Noah Webster, which may contain words which are now obscure and out of common use. In a hopefully brief age of political correctness, its contents may be a breath of fresh air.<\/p>\n I tend to prefer print books, in case I have no electronic resource engine available. Print books can be read by candlelight or oil lamp, whereas the electronic versions of everything require electricity when their batteries run down.<\/p>\n