Garland

Garland (pronounced gahr-luhnd)

(1) A wreath or festoon of flowers, leaves, or other material, worn for ornament or as an honor or hung on something as a decoration; an accolade or mark of honor.

(2) To crown, adorn or deck with such an object.

(3) A representation of such a wreath or festoon.

(4) In publishing, a collection of short literary pieces, as poems and ballads; a literary miscellany.

(5) In nautical use, a band, collar, or grommet or ring of rope lashed to a spar for convenience in handling.

(6) In admiralty jargon, a netted bag used by sailors to store provisions.

(7) In mining, a metal gutter installed around the inside of a mineshaft, to catch water running down inside the shaft and funnel it into a drainpipe.

1275–1325: From the Middle English gerlande, gerelande, garlande & garland (used to mean both "wreath of flowers" & "crown of gold or silver), from the Old French garlande, garlaunde, gerlande & guerlande (from which Modern French gained guirlande) from the Frankish wierlōn & wieralōn, a frequentative form of the Frankish wierōn (to adorn, bedeck), from wiera (a gold thread), akin to the Old High German wieren (to adorn) & wiara (gold thread).  The Frankish forms alluded to the notion of "an ornament of refined gold" (most likely "of twisted gold wire"), from the Proto-Germanic wira- & wera-, a suffixed form of the primitive Indo-European root wei- (to turn, twist).  Variations of garland exist in many Romanic languages including the Old Spanish guarlanda, the French guirlande, the Italian ghirlanda and the Portuguese grinalda.  The verb in the sense of "to make a garland" or "to crown with a garland" emerged in the late sixteenth century.  Garland & garlanding are nouns & verbs, garlanded is a verb & adjective, garlander is a noun and garlandless is an adjective; the noun plural is garlands.

Commitment issues: Hamlet and Ophelia by Agnes Pringle (1853-1934)

Flowers appealed to William Shakespeare (1564–1616) as a literary device because their myriad of attributes, color, shape, fragrance, thorns, fragility et al, offered so many metaphors for the human condition.  In the plays, over two-hundred species of plants are mentioned and thirty-odd scenes are set in gardens or orchids.  In Hamlet (Act IV, scene 5), there’s a harvest in Ophelia’s garland speech to her brother Laertes:

There's rosemary, that's for remembrance. Pray you, love, remember.  And there is pansies, that's for thoughts.  There's fennel for you, and columbines. There's rue for you, and here's some for me; we may call it herb of grace o' Sundays.  O, you must wear your rue with a difference.  There's a daisy.  I would give you some violets, but they withered all when my father died. (Act IV, scene 5)

There were fantastic garlands did she come. Of crow-flowers, nettles, daisies and long purples, that liberal shepherds give a grosser name, but our cold maids do dead men’s fingers call them. (Act IV, Scene 7)

There were fantastic garlands did she come, Of crow-flowers, nettles, daisies and long purples. (Act IV, Scene 7)

Rosemary (Salvia rosmarinus or Rosmarinus officinalis (pre 2017).

Since Antiquity, rosemary has been associated with remembrance, Athenian students at study wore garlands of rosemary as a memory improvement tool.  The name is derived from the Latin rosmarinus (dew of the sea), a reference to its blue petals and habitat atop Mediterranean cliffs.  In Shakespeare's day, rosemary was in both the wedding bouquets carried by bridesmaids and the wreaths laid at funeral wreaths.  A contemporary poet, Robert Herrick (1591-1674) , wrote in a verse “Grow it for two ends, it matters not at all, Be it for my bridall or buriall."  In English folklore, a man who couldn't smell the fragrant shrub was thought incapable of loving a woman though in the same tradition, if rosemary was planted in front of a cottage, it was held to mean the woman was the head of the household.  That was one folk belief said to have caused the up-rooting of not a few plants.  Helpfully, it was said also to repel plague and witches while sleeping with a sprig beneath the pillow prevented nightmares.  But for Ophelia, distraught at her father's death and Hamlet's odd behavior, the mention of rosemary indicates to her brother and the Elizabethan audience her brittle feelings and lack of confidence: "Pray you, love, remember."

Daisy (Bellis perennis, bruisewort or woundwort).

The Daisy’s botanical name is friom the Latin bellis (pretty), the English from the Anglo Saxon daeges eage (day’s eye); poetically, that was because the petals open during the day and close at night.  Long associated with childhood and innocence, in Scotland and the north of England it’s known also as Bairnwort (bairn a dialectical word for child).  In Roman mythology, the daisy was the virginal nymph Belides who transformed herself into the flower to escape the sexual advances of the orchard god Vertumnus.  The flower was symbolic of the Greco-Roman goddesses Aphrodite and Venus as well as Freya, the Norse goddess of beauty and love for whom Friday is named. The legend is that daisies picked between noon and one can be dried and carried as a good luck charm and in English fields, to this day some children still make daisy chains although those who do grow up to become emos.  Unlike the other plants in Ophelia's garland, the daisy seems to possess only good connotations but Shakespeare has Ophelia announce the daisy but not hand it out, the implication being there’s no innocence or purity at court.

Pansy (Viola × wittrockiana).

The word pansy is from the French pensée (for thoughts), the botanical name tricolor a referece to the three main shades, white, purple and yellow, the heart shaped petals thought to help heal a broken heart, so it was known also as heartease.  Pansies, as Ophelia notes, are for thoughts and it was also used medicinally, a curative for cramps, hysteria and diarrhea in children.  In A Midsummer Night's Dream, the fairy King Oberon mixes a potion with the flower's juice: if dropped on the eyelids of a sleeper, it was said they would awake to fall in love with whatever they first see, hence the unfortunate Titania, Oberon's wife, falling in love with a donkey.

Fennel (Foeniculum vulgare).

Apparently, fennel is among the vegetables children most dislike.  Pre-dating Shakespeare, Fennel was long regarded as an emblem of false flattery, noted famously in Robert Greene’s (1558-1592) Quip for an Upstart Courtier (1592), the link apparently being the seeds popularity as an appetite suppressant to aid fasting pilgrims, thus becoming symbolic of things that appear to give sustenance but have none.  Empty flattery to hunger.  Shakespeare used fennel often, Falstaff mentioning it in Henry IV, Part 2 and for Ophelia, it’s an allusion to her sterile love affair with Hamlet.

Columbine (Aquilegia or granny's bonnet).

The Columbine, known also as granny’s bonnet, was a wild flower but its beauty made it a popular Elizabethan garden flower, the botanical name from the Latin aquila (eagle) because the petals were thought to resemble an eagle’s talons.  In a more gentle avian vein, the English is derived from the Latin columba (dove), a reference to its nectaries being vaguely reminiscent of the heads of doves.  To Shakespeare, the columbine had a number of symbolic associations.  The poet George Chapman (1559-1634) suggested it was emblematic of ingratitude and William Browne (1590–1645) declared it stood only for forsaken and neglected love for in England it also symbolized cuckoldom as the nectaries did look like horns.  More helpfully, as the "thankless flower", the seeds, if taken with wine, were said to induce labor.

Rue (Ruta graveolens or herb-of-grace).

By Shakespeare’s time, rue had been for centuries a symbol of sorrow and repentance and it’s a long, fabled history. Rue was the plant that King Mithridates VI of Pontus (135-16 BC) imbibed to protect himself against poisoning and the Greek physician Hippocrates (circa 460-circa 370 BC) recommended it to relieve rheumatic pains, heart palpitations and menopausal symptoms.  The herb's name is derived from the Greek ruta (repentance) and the Athenians used it while dining with foreigners to ward off evil demons, spells and spirits whereas in Ancient Rome it was said to improve eyesight.  Its other names, Herb o' Grace or Herb o' Sundays, refers to the sorrow and resulting grace one feels after true repentance and the suit of clubs in a deck of cards was modeled after rue's fleshy, oblong leaves.  It remains a call to regret and repent past evil deeds; due to its strong aromatic smell and bitter taste, the plant has long been symbolic of sorrow, regret and repentance, hence the expression “you’ll rue the day”.  In Elizabethan England (1558-1603), it was carried around as protection against plague and witchcraft and even as an insect repellent. When Ophelia hands it to Queen Gertrude in Hamlet, it is a subtle rebuke of her faithlessness.  In moderation, rue was used to hasten labor but in larger doses, was known to be an abortifacient, hence the speculation that when Ophelia utters the lines "there's rue for you, and here's some for me", it’s a confession of unwanted pregnancy and another reason for ending her life.

Violet (Viola).

Francis Bacon (1561-1626) in his essay Of Gardens (1625) wrote the violet was “that which above all others yields the sweetest smell” and they’ve always been prized too for their beauty.  Despite this, there’s the association with melancholy and early death, expressed in Hamlet when Ophelia laments she has no Violets to give to the court because “they withered when my father died” and it’s Laertes’ wish that violets “may spring” from Ophelia’s grave.  There’s a duality of meaning in Ophelia’s statement; she’s lamenting not only the death of her father the lack of faithfulness and fidelity in the court.

Lindsay Lohan in sheer black gown with embroidered garlands, Francesco Scognamiglio's (b 1975) spring 2015 collection, Naples, June 2015.

Accouterment

Accouterment (pronounced uh-koo-ter-muhnt or uh-koo-truh-muhnt)

(1) A clothing accessory or a piece of equipment regarded as an accessory (sometimes essential, sometimes not, depending on context).

(2) In military jargon, a piece of equipment carried by a soldier, excluding weapons and items of uniform.

(3) By extension, an identifying yet superficial characteristic; a characteristic feature, object, or sign associated with a particular niche, role, situation etc.

(4) The act of accoutering; furnishing (archaic since Middle English).

1540-1550: From the Middle French accoutrement & accoustrement, from accoustrer, from the Old French acostrer (arrange, sew up).  As in English, in French, the noun accoutrement was used usually in the plural (accoutrements) in the sense of “personal clothing and equipment”, from accoustrement, from accoustrer, from the Old French acostrer (arrange, dispose, put on (clothing); sew up).  In French, the word was used in a derogatory way to refer to “over-elaborate clothing” but was used neutrally in the kitchen, chefs using the word of additions to food which enhanced the flavor.  The verb accouter (also accoutre) (to dress or equip" (especially in military uniforms and other gear), was from the French acoutrer, from the thirteenth century acostrer (arrange, dispose, put on (clothing)), from the Vulgar Latin accosturare (to sew together, sew up), the construct being ad- (to) + consutura (a sewing together), from consutus, past participle of consuere (to sew together), the construct being con- + suere (to sew), from the primitive Indo-European root syu- (to bind, sew).  The Latin prefix con- was from the preposition cum (with), from the Old Latin com, from the Proto-Italic kom, from the primitive Indo- European ḱóm (next to, at, with, along).  It was cognate with the Proto-Germanic ga- (co-), the Proto-Slavic sъ(n) (with) and the Proto-Germanic hansō.  It was used with certain words to add a notion similar to those conveyed by with, together, or joint or with certain words to intensify their meaning.  The synonyms include equipment, gear, trappings & accessory.  The spelling accoutrement (accoutrements the plural) remains common in the UK and much of the English-speaking world which emerged from the old British Empire; the spelling in North America universally is accouterement.  The English spelling reflects the French pronunciation used in the sixteenth century.  Accouterment is a noun; the noun plural (by far the most commonly used form) is accouterments.

In the military, the equipment supplied to (and at different times variously worn or carried by) personnel tends to be divided into "materiel" and "accouterments".  Between countries, at the margins, there are differences in classification but as a general principle:  Materiel: The core equipment, supplies, vehicles, platforms etc used by a military force to conduct its operations.  This definition casts a wide vista and covers everything from a bayonet to an inter-continental ballistic missile (ICBM), from motorcycles to tanks and from radio equipment to medical supplies.  Essentially, in the military, “materiel” is used broadly to describe tangible assets and resources used in the core business of war.  Accouterments: These are the items or accessories associated with a specific activity or role.  Is some cases, an item classified as an accouterment could with some justification be called materiel and there is often a tradition associated with the classification.  In the context of clothing for example, the basic uniform is materiel whereas things like belts, holsters, webbing and pouches are accouterments, even though the existence of these pieces is essential to the efficient operation of weapons which are certainly materiel.

The My Scene Goes Hollywood Lindsay Lohan Doll was supplied with a range of accessories and accouterments.  Items like sunglasses, handbags, shoes & boots, earrings, necklaces, bracelets and the faux fur "mullet" frock-coat were probably accessories.  The director's chair, laptop, popcorn, magazines, DVD, makeup case, stanchions (with faux velvet rope) and such were probably accouterments.

In the fashion business, one perhaps might be able to create the criteria by which it could be decided whether a certain item should be classified as “an accessory” or “an “accouterment” but it seems a significantly pointless exercise and were one to reverse the index, a list of accessories would likely be as convincing as a list of accouterments.  Perhaps the most plausible distinction would be to suggest accessories are items added to an outfit to enhance or complete the look (jewelry, handbags, scarves, hats, sunglasses, belts et al) while accouterments are something thematically related but in some way separate; while one might choose the same accessories for an outfit regardless of the event to be attended, the choice of accouterments might be event-specific.  So, the same scarf might be worn because it works so well with the dress but the binoculars would be added only if going to the races, the former an accessory to the outfit, the latter an accouterment for a day at the track.  That seems as close as possible to a working definition but many will continue to use the terms interchangeably.

Emeritus

Emeritus (pronounced ih-mer-i-tuhs)

One retired or honorably discharged from active professional duty, but retaining the title of one's office or position.

1785-1795:  1785–1795: From the Latin ēmeritus (having fully earned) (tus the past participle suffix), past participle of ēmerēre, perfect passive participle of ēmereō (earn, merit, the construct being ex- +‎ mereō (earn, merit, deserve).  The ex- prefix was from the Middle English, from words borrowed from the Middle French, from the Latin ex (out of, from), from the primitive Indo-European eǵ- & eǵs- (out).  It was cognate with the Ancient Greek ἐξ (ex) (out of, from), the Transalpine Gaulish ex- (out), the Old Irish ess- (out), the Old Church Slavonic изъ (izŭ) (out) & the Russian из (iz) (from, out of).  The “x” in “ex-“, sometimes is elided before certain constants, reduced to e- (eg ejaculate).  The adjective was a learned borrowing from the Latin ēmeritus (having been) earned, (having been) merited; (having been) served, having done one’s service”), the perfect passive participle of ēmereō (to earn, merit; to gain by service (and in military use "to complete one’s obligation to serve, to serve out one’s time”), the construct understood as ex- (the prefix meaning "away; out") + mereō (to deserve, merit; to acquire, earn, get, obtain; to render service to; to serve), probably from a Proto-Italic cognate of the Ancient Greek μέρος (méros) (share, portion), from the primitive Indo-European smer- & mer- (to assign, allot)) + -eo.   Related were the Classical Latin merx and the Ancient Greek μείρομαι (meíromai) (to receive as one's portion or due).  The female equivalent, ēmerita is occasionally used, but as often happens with loanwords, the use of the donor language's inflectional system faces limits in the recipient language; in English, emeritus is often unmarked for gender.  Emeritus is a noun & adjective (the noun derived from the adjective); the noun plural is emeriti (from the Latin ēmeritī) (the form emerituses is rare but, under the rules of English construction, a correct (if inelegant) alternative).

Used for good and bad

Emeritus in its current usage, is an adjective used to designate a retired professor, pastor, bishop, pope, director, president, prime minister, or other person.  In some cases, the term is conferred automatically upon all persons who retire at a given rank, but in others, it remains a mark of distinguished service, awarded to only a few upon retirement.  It’s also used when a person of distinction in a profession retires or hands over the position, enabling their erstwhile rank to be retained in their title.  The term emeritus does not necessarily signify that a person has relinquished all the duties of their erstwhile position and they may continue to exercise some of them.  It seems first to have been used of retired professors in 1794, an American innovation.  It also attracts others.  Former Ugandan dictator, Idi Amin (Idi Amin Dada Oumee (circa 1925–2003; President of Uganda 1971-1979) styled himself:  His Excellency, President for Life, Professor Emeritus, Field Marshal Al Hadji, Doctor Idi Amin Dada, VC, DSO, MC, Lord of All the Beasts of the Earth and Fishes of the Seas and Conqueror of the British Empire in Africa in General and Uganda in Particular.

Dr Rowan Williams (b 1950; Archbishop of Canterbury 2002-2012) and Pope Benedict XVI (1927–2022; pope 2005-2013, pope emeritus 2013-2022) at prayer, Lambeth Palace, September 2010.

Meanwhile, back at the Vatican:

Upon retirement, Benedict became Pope Emeritus, creating an unusual situation for Pope Francis (b 1936, pope since 2013) and one for which there was no precedent in living memory.  The sudden radicalism in the positions taken by Francis since his predecessor's death does seem to suggest Benedict’s very presence in the Vatican exerted some influence in matters such as papal appointments, some of Francis’ choices being thought too liberal to proceed while Benedict lived.  The presence was literal, Benedict living in a sort of papal granny flat, close to the centre of the Vatican.  It’s was said he lived quietly but his door was always to be open to cardinals and others who might like to call in for a yarn.  While not quite the uneasy feeling some recent prime-ministers (the UK and Australia come to mind) must have felt, knowing their predecessors were down the corridor scheming against them, Francis must have felt just a little constrained.  Since Benedict's funeral, things have changed.

Benedict talking, Francis listening.

Rupert Murdoch, Chairman Emeritus

Whether or not the consequence of certain legal difficulties (or the anticipation of more to come), Rupert Murdoch (b 1931) in September 2023 announced that in November he would be “transitioning from” the positions of chairman of Fox Corporation and executive chairman of News Corporation, his son Lachlan (b 1971) assuming the chairmanship of both.  Mr Murdoch will evolve into “chairman emeritus”.  Some decades earlier, Mr Murdoch had found the “emeritus” title a convenient thing to have around.  After the scandal of the forged “Hitler Diaries” which were published by the UK’s Sunday Times, the editor (Frank Giles (1919–2019) was told he was no longer in that position and had been moved to the newly created job of “editor emeritus”.  When he asked Mr Murdoch what that meant he was told: “It's Latin, Frank; the “e” means you're out and the “meritus” means you deserved it.”

Rupert Murdoch reading The Sun (2012).  Year earlier, when he added the topless "Page 3 girls" to The Sun, it was observed "Rupert Murdoch has discovered a gap in the market; the oldest gap in the world".

The internet reacted to the announcement as it usually does to anything said by Mr Murdoch: a mix of cynical amusement with a variety of suggestions about hidden agendas and ulterior motives.  The consensus was that as chairman emeritus Mr Murdoch would be far from “out” and from Fox News and News Corporation's mastheads, we should expect more of the same.  Interestingly, without any apparent sense of irony, in his letter to staff, Mr Murdoch, whose approach to politics, industrial relations and such has for decades been well-known, claimed that he was a champion of those oppressed by “elites”, saying he would continue to be “…involved every day in the contest of ideas”, warning the “battle for the freedom of speech and, ultimately, the freedom of thought, has never been more intense.  For my entire professional life, I have been engaged daily with news and ideas, and that will not change.  My father (Sir Keith Murdoch (1885–1952)) firmly believed in freedom, and Lachlan is absolutely committed to the cause. Self-serving bureaucracies are seeking to silence those who would question their provenance and purpose. Elites have open contempt for those who are not members of their rarefied class. Most of the media is in cahoots with those elites, peddling political narratives rather than pursuing the truth.  Our companies are communities, and I will be an active member of our community. I will be watching our broadcasts with a critical eye, reading our newspapers and websites and books with much interest, and reaching out to you with thoughts, ideas, and advice. When I visit your countries and companies, you can expect to see me in the office late on a Friday afternoon.”

Pyjamas

Pyjamas or Pajamas (pronounced puh-jah-muhz or Puh-jam-uhz)

(1) Night clothes, consisting usually of loose-fitting trousers and jacket.

(2) Loose-fitting trousers, usually of silk or cotton, worn by both sexes in Asia, especially in the East.

1799:  The plural of pyjama, a Hindi variant of pāyjāma, from the Persian paejamah (leg clothing); construct being pāy & pae (leg) from the primitive Indo-European root ped-(foot) + jāma or jāmah (garment).  The early forms were pajamahs & pai jamahs (loose trousers tied at the waist) describing the style worn by Muslims in India and adopted by Europeans, especially for nightwear.  Under the Raj, a variety of spellings in English were noted including pai jamahs (1800); pigammahs (1834), peijammahs (1840) and interestingly, none were geographically specific.  The modern US spelling was almost universal there by 1845; pyjamaed and pyjama are the adjectives, both rare.

Lindsay Lohan in pyjamas, The Canyons (IFC Films, 2013)

Under the Raj, the British adopted many local customs, including a fondness for the Sharia Courts where colonial administrators found it much easier to be granted a divorce than under English law, English judges usually as tiresome as English wives.  The traditional clothing of India, known as angarakha and suthan provided the model for the early forms of pyjamas and pai jamahs, worn by Muslims in India, soon found British favour, both as nightwear and comfortable clothing in the hotter months.  Pajamas, the modern spelling, was a US invention from 1845; British spelling is now split between that and pyjamas with the US form becoming more common.  Pyjamas, both word and garment, spread from the Raj to the wider Western world during the Victorian era, becoming fashionable sleeping attire for men circa 1870.  Unsuccessfully introduced in England in the early 1800s as lounging attire, they were re-branded as mogul's breeches when they were referred to with that term in The Fair Maid of the Inn but soon fell from fashion. Their popularity from the 1870s followed them being marketed as simple, functional, convenient nightwear.

The comedy The Fair Maid of the Inn was an early seventeenth century stage play attributed to the Jacobean playwright John Fletcher (1579–1625).  It was originally published in the first Beaumont and Fletcher folio (1647) although uncertainties have always surrounded the work’s date and even authorship, making it among the most widely disputed works in English Renaissance drama.  Fletcher is remembered for his many collaborations with the dramatist Francis Beaumont (circa 1585-1616), the two working together for almost a decade.  Whether it was true or bitchy theatre gossip, the legend was the two men lived together, sharing clothes (possibly pyjamas) and having "one wench in the house between them."  A "wench" could of course be a housemaid there to do the cooking & cleaning and such or she may have included "added value" services.  If ever it existed, this modern-sounding domestic arrangement was sundered upon Beaumont's marriage in 1613 and their professional partnership ended after he suffered a stroke later that year.

Pink pots & pans.  Paris Hilton (b 1981, left) and her mother Kathy Hilton (b 1959) in Christmas themed pyjamas, promoting Paris' new line of kitchenware, December 2022.

Baguette

Baguette (pronounced ba-get)

(1) In ad-hoc application, a descriptor (based on baguette in the sense of “stick” , “rod” or “wand”) for an object with a narrow, relatively long rectangular shape (applied in the past as baguette magique (magic wand), baguettes chinoises (chopsticks) & baguette de direction (conductor's baton)).

(2) In jewelry design, a small gem-stone in a rectangular shape, achieved by cutting & polishing.

(3) A gem-stone in this shape (used especially for diamonds).

(4) In architecture, a small convex molding (a narrow, relatively long rectangular shape, especially one in a semi-circular section.

(5) In zoology, one of the minute bodies seen in the divided nucleoli of some infusoria after conjugation.

(6) As an ethnic slur (can be mildly offensive, but also used neutrally or affectionately as an alternative to “frog”), a French person, or a person of French descent.

(7) A type of French bread, actually defined in law by the ingredients and methods of production but most associated with the long, narrow shape.

1720–1730: From the French baguette (or baguet) (a type of architectural ornament, based on the sixteenth century sense of the word as “a wand, rod, stick”), from the Italian bacchetta (literally “a small rod” and the diminutive of bacchio (rod), from the Latin baculum (a stick or walking-stick (and linked to the later bacillus)).  The construct was bacch(io) + -etta.  The –etta suffix (the feminine of –etto), as well as indicate the feminine was used also with inanimate nouns ending (usually ending in –a) to create a literal diminutive (such as with boteca (shop, store), rendering botechetta (small shop).  The term was first used in gem-stone cutting in 1926 and in countries where the French colonial history left some linguistic trace, baguette is applied to some items such as the gun-stick (the rod for forcing ammunition into the barrel of a gun and in Louisianan Cajun, it referred to the barrel itself).  Like English, Danish, German, Spanish and Swedish adopted the French spelling which in other languages the variations included the Czech bageta, the Greek μπαγκέτα (bagkéta), the Hebrew בגט‎ (bagét), the Norwegian (Bokmål & Nynorsk) bagett, the Portuguese baguete, the Romanian baghetă, the Russian баге́т (bagét) and the Turkish baget.  Baguette & baguet are nouns; the noun plurals are baguettes & baguets.

Beware of imitations: The baguette de tradition française.

The origin of the baguette (as it's now understood) is truly a mystery and there are so many tales that it's recommended people choose to believe which ever most appeals to the.  In France, a true baguette (Baguette artisanale) is made from ingredients and with a method defined in law while the famous shape is a convention.  Typically, baguettes have a diameter between 50-75 mm (2-3 inches) and are some 610-710 mm (24-26 inches) in length although the 1 m (39 inch) baguette is not unusual, popular especially with the catering trade.  It’s a little misleading to suggest the baguette was invented because for centuries loaves in the shape existed in many places around the world and recipes for the mixing of dough were constantly subject to changes imposed by the success of harvests, economics, supply-chain disruptions and simple experimentation.  The baguette instead evolved and its popularity was a thing of natural selection; it survived because people preferred the taste, texture and convenience of form while other breads faded from use.  It seems clear that the long, stick-like direct ancestors of the baguette began to assume their recognizably modern form in French towns and cities in the eighteenth century although doubtless there was much variation between regions and probably even between bakers in the same place.  The daily bread being the classic market economy, bakers would be influenced by losing sales to a more popular shop and so would adjust their mixes or techniques to attract customers back.  In this way a standardized form would have emerged and, in the French way, by 1920 the assembly had passed a law codifying the critical parameters (weight, size and price), formalizing the popular name baguette.  In 2003, the jocular slang "freedom bread" emerged to describe the baguette, an allusion to the "Freedom Fries" which replaced "French Fries" in US government staff canteens while there was tension between the White House and the Élysée Palace over France's attitude to the proposed invasion of Iraq.   

Lindsay Lohan in promotion for @lilybakerjewels, 2020.  The Rainbow Baguette Ring (centre) using stones cut in a true “baguette” rectangle whereas the Rainbow Bracelet used squares.

Globalization and modern techniques of mass production however intruded on many aspects of French lives and bakeries weren’t immune from the challenge of the cheap “baguette” sold by supermarkets.  Even among the boulangerie (a French bakery in which the bread must, by law, be baked on-premises) there were some who resorted to less demanding methods of production to compete.  As a matter of cultural protection, the assembly in 1993 enacted Le Décret Pain (The Bread Decree) which stipulates that to be described as pain maison (homemade bread), a bread needs to be wholly kneaded, shaped, and baked at the place of sale.  To limit the scope of the supermarkets (some of which were importing frozen, pre-prepared dough), rules also defined what pain traditionnel français (traditional French bread) may be made from and banning any pre-made components from baguettes.  Also retained was the relevant provision of the 1920 labor legislation which prohibits the employment of people in bread and pastry making between ten in the evening and four in the morning.  So, when visiting a boulangerie, it’s recommended to ask for a baguette de tradition française (usually as baguette de tradition) which is made from wheat flour, water, yeast, and common salt (reflecting modern practice, one may contain up to 0.5% soya flour, up to 2% broad bean flour and up to 0.3% wheat malt flour) and the dough must rest between 15-20 hours at a temperature between 4-6^o C (43-46^o F).  The less exalted baguettes ordinaires, are made with baker's yeast and a less exacting specification.

The French Ministère de la Culture’s (Ministry of Culture) L'inventaire national du Patrimoine culturel immatériel (National Inventory of Intangible Cultural Heritage) in 2018 added the baguette to its index and in 2022, the artisanal know-how and culture of the baguette was added to UNESCO’s (the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization) list of Intangible Cultural Heritage.  Already preserving the information about some 600 traditions from more than 130 countries, UNESCO noted the addition by saying it celebrated the French way of life, something of which the baguette, as a central part of the French diet for at least 100 years, was emblematic.  With some 16 million consumed in France every day, the “…the baguette is a daily ritual, a structuring element of the meal, synonymous with sharing and conviviality", a statement from UNESCO read, concluding it was “…important that these skills and social habits continue to exist in the future."

Spook

Spook (pronounced spook)

(1) In informal use, a ghost; a specter; an apparition; hobgoblin.

(2) A person whose appearance or conduct is thought “ghost-like”.

(3) In philosophy, a metaphysical manifestation; an artificial distinction or construct.

(4) In slang, a ghostwriter (one who writes text (typically columns, autobiography, memoir) published under the name of another,

(5) In slang, an eccentric person (now rare).

(6) In disparaging and offensive slang, term of contempt used of people of color (historically African-Americans).

(7) In slang, a spy; one engaged in espionage.

(8) In slang, a psychiatrist (originally US but now more widespread under the influence of pop culture.

(9) In the slang of blackjack, a player who engages in “hole carding” by attempting to glimpse the dealer's hole card when the dealer checks under an ace or a 10 to see if a blackjack is present.

(10) In southern African slang any pale or colorless alcoholic spirit (often as “spook & diesel”).

(11) To haunt; inhabit or appear in or to as a ghost or spectre.

(12) To frighten; to scare (often as “spooked”).

(13) To become frightened or scared (often as “spooked”); applied sometimes to animals, especially thoroughbred horses.

1801: A coining of US English, from the Dutch spook (ghost), from the Middle Dutch spooc & spoocke (spook, ghost), from an uncertain Germanic source (the earliest known link being the Middle Low German spōk (ghost), others including the Middle Low German spôk & spûk (apparition, ghost), the Middle High German gespük (a haunting), the German Spuk (ghost, apparition, hobgoblin), the Danish spøg (joke) & spøge (to haunt), the Norwegian spjok (ghost, specter) and the Swedish spok (scarecrow) & spöke (ghost).  The noun spook in the sense of “spectre, apparition, ghost” seems first to have appeared in a comical dialect poem, credited to “an old Dutch man in Albany” and printed in Vermont and Boston newspapers which credited it to Springer's Weekly Oracle in New London, Connecticut.  The regional diversity in language was then greater and evolutions sometimes simultaneous and the word also appeared in US English around 1830 as spuke & shpook, at first in the German-settled regions of Pennsylvania, via Pennsylvania Dutch Gschpuck & Schpuck, from the German Spuk.  Spook & spooking are nouns & verbs, spooker & spookery are nouns, spooktacular is a noun & adjective, spooktacularly is an adverb, spooked is a verb & adjective, spookery is a noun, spooky, spookiest & spookish are adjectives; the noun plural is spooks.

Spooked: Lindsay Lohan in I Know Who Killed Me (2007).

A “spook show” (frightening display) was a term in use by 1880 and in the sense of a “popular exhibition of legerdemain, mentalism or staged necromancy” it was documented by 1910.  The spook house (abandoned house) was in use in the 1850s, the expression meaning “haunted house” emerging in the 1860s.  The meaning “superstition” had emerged by 1918, presumably an extension from the earlier sense of “a superstitious person”, documented around the turn of the century although it probably existed longer in oral use.  In the 1890s, “spookist” (described variously as “jocular” and “a less refined word” was used to refer to spiritualists and medium (and in those years there were a lot of them, their numbers spiking after World War I (1914-1918) when many wished to contact the dead.  Spooktacular (a pun on “spectacular” developed some time during World War II (1939- 1945).  The meaning “undercover agent” or “spy” dates from 1942 (inducing “spookhouse” (haunted house) to pick up the additional meaning “headquarters of an intelligence operation”, a place presided over by a “spookmaster” (“spymaster” the preferred modern term).  In the same era, in student slang a spook could be an unattractive girl or a quiet, diligent, introverted student (something like the modern “nerd” but without any sense of a focus of technology).

Senator Rebecca Ann Felton (1835–1930, left) and Senator Mitch McConnell (b 1942; US senator (Republican-Kentucky) since 1985; Senate Minority Leader since 2021).  The spooky resemblance between Senator Fulton (who in 1922 served for one day as a senator (Democratic-Georgia), appointed as a political manoeuvre) and Senator Mitch McConnell has led some to suggest he might be her reincarnated.  Some not so acquainted with history assumed the photograph of Senator Felton was Mitch McConnell in drag.

The sense of spook as “a black person” is listed by dictionaries of US slang as being documented by 1938 (the date of origin uncertain) and it seems to have begun in African-American (hep-cat) slang and it was not typically used with any sense of disparagement, nor was it thought in any way offensive word.   However, by 1945 it had picked up the derogatory racial sense of “black person”, defined specifically as “frightened negro” and it became a common slur in the post-war world, probably because that even by then the “N-word” was becoming less acceptable in polite society.  That was the “linguistic treadmill” in practice but spook had also deviated earlier: In 1939 it is attested as meaning “a white jazz musician” and is listed by some sources as a disparaging term for a white person by 1947.  Spook also developed a curious fork in military aviation although one probably unrelated to the informal pilot’s jargon of the 1930s, a “spook” a “novice pilot” of the type who “haunt the hangers”, hiring air-time and learning to fly for no obvious practical purpose other than the joy of flying.  During the early 1940s, the US Army Air Force (USAAF) began the recruitment of black athletes for training as pilots, conducted at the Tuskegee Institute in Alabama; the group (1940-1948) was known as the Tuskegee Airmen and during World War II (1939-1945) they gained a fine reputation when deployed as combat units.  However, they also suffered prejudice and when first posted to Europe were often called the “Spookwaffe” (a play on Luftwaffe, the name of the German air force) although as happened decades later with the by then infamous N-word, some black pilots “re-claimed” the name and used it as a self-referential term of pride.

Left to right: Spook, the Bacterian ambassador, Benzino Napaloni, Diggaditchie of Bacteria (a parody of Benito Mussolini), Adenoid Hynkel (Adolf Hitler) and Field Marshall Herring (Hermann Göring).  The satirical film The Great Dictator (1940) was very much a personal project, Charlie Chaplin (1889–1977) writing, producing & directing as well as staring as Adenoid Hynkel, Phooey of Tomainia.  The rather cadaverous looking Spook was the Bacterian ambassador.

Seventy years of spooks.

On 9 September 2019, the Royal Australian Mint released a 50 cent coin to commemorate the 70th anniversary of the Australian Security Intelligence Organisation (ASIO), the domestic spy agency (similiar in function to the UK's MI5 (Security Service)).  The issue was limited to 20,000 coins and each featured an encrypted code, similar in structure to those used by spooks during the Cold War.  At the time of the release, the Mint ran a competition inviting attempts to "solve the code", the prize the only proof commemorative coin in existence.  The competition was won by a fourteen year old who is apparently still at liberty, despite having proved him or herself a threat to national security.

Albert Einstein (1879-1955) gave the word a few memorable phrases but one of the most evocative is a calque of the German spukhafte Fernwirkung (rendered by Einstein as spukhafte Fernwirkungen (spooky actions at a distance) in a letter of 3 March 1947 to the physicist Max Born (1882–1970)).  Einstein used “spooky actions at a distance” to refer to one of the most challenging ideas from quantum mechanics: that two particles instantaneously may interact over a distance and that distance could be that between different sides of the universe (or if one can’t relate to the universe having “sides”, separated by trillions of miles.  Known as “quantum entanglement”, it differs radically from some of the other (more abstract) senses in which everything in the universe is happening “at the same time”.

This aspect of quantum mechanics has for a century-odd been one of the most contested but the 2022 Nobel Prize in Physics was awarded to three scientists who designed experiments which tested the theories, their results contradicting Einstein and discovering the seriously weird phenomenon of quantum teleportation.  Quantum entanglement is a process in which two or more quantum particles are in some way connected so any change in one causes a simultaneous change in the other, even if they are separated by vast distances.  Indeed those distances could stretch even to infinity.  Einstein was one of many physicists not convinced and he didn’t like the implications, calling the idea “spooky action at a distance” and preferred to think the particles contained certain hidden variables which had already predetermined their states.  This was neat and avoided the need for any teleportation.  However, what the 2022 Nobel Laureates found that the fabric of the universe should be visualized as a sea of wave-like particles that affect each other instantaneously, distance as conventionally measured being irrelevant.  What that seems to mean is that nothing has to travel between the two particles (the speed of light therefore not a limitation) because the two are in the same place and that place is the universe.  The English physicist Sir Arthur Eddington (1882–1944) was surely correct when he remarked “…not only is the universe queerer than we imagine, it is queerer than we can imagine.”