Silhouette

Silhouette (pronounced sil-oo-et)

(1) A two-dimensional representation of the outline of an object, as a cut-out or representation drawing, uniformly filled in with black, especially a black-paper, miniature cut-out of the outlines of a person's face in profile.

(2) The outline or general shape of something.

(3) Any dark image outlined against a lighter background; the outline of a solid figure as cast by its shadow.

(4) To show in or as if in a silhouette; to cause to appear in silhouette.

(5) In printing, to remove the background details from (a halftone cut) so as to produce an outline effect.

(6) In motorsport, a category in which limits are placed on modifications changing a vehicle’s side-silhouette.

1759: From the French à la silhouette, named after Étienne de Silhouette (1709–1767), controller general (1759) in the French government.  The surname was a gallicized form from Biarritz in the French Basque country and the southern Basque spelling would be Zuloeta, Zulueta, Ziloeta or Zilhoeta, the construct being zulo (hole, cave) + the suffix -eta (abundance of).  The word came widely to be applied to the artwork (existing since 1743 and sometimes called figure d'ombre (shadow figure) in 1859.  The rare alternative spelling is silhouet and the verb dates from 1876, derived from the noun.  Silhouette is a noun & verb and silhouetted & silhouetting are verbs; the noun plural is silhouettes. 

Lindsay Lohan with pony-tail in silhouette, smoking.

Jeanne Antoinette Poisson, Marquise de Pompadour (1721–1764 and usually referred to as Madame de Pompadour), was a member of the French court of Louis XV (1710–1774; le Bien-Aimé (Louis the Beloved), King of France 1715-1774) and the king’s official chief mistress (that how things then were done) between 1745-1751 and a court favorite until her death.  One way the estimable Madame de Pompadour used her influence was in appointments to government offices.  While some of this was little more than nepotism and the spreading around of available sinecures, one substantive position in the Ancien Régime was Controller-General (the treasurer or finance minister) and to this, de Silhouette, long recognized in France as something of a “wizz kid” in economics, was appointed early in 1759 with the concubine’s support.  The powers of controller-general made whoever held the job powerful but also vulnerable, the task of limiting the expenditure of the king not one likely to be popular in the Palace of Versailles but given the state of the royal exchequer after years of war, the need for reform was urgent.  Modern economic historians seem to regard the job he did as competent and an orthodox example of rationalizing public finances in that he managed both to reduce expenditure and institute a system of taxation simultaneously simpler to administer and more effective although probably more far-reaching were the long-overdue efficiencies he introduced in internal trade.

Silhouette of the Manhattan skyline.

However, despite his success, his budget for 1760 projected a huge deficit and a rising cost in debt servicing.  Seeing no alternative, he suggested adopting some of the methods of the detested English including collecting tax from the previously exempt aristocracy, landed gentry and the richest of the clergy (the latter existing in what would now seem remarkable numbers).  That was his downfall and after less than nine months as controller general, De Silhouette retired to the country although, such was the national fiscal position, his successors were compelled to follow much the same course.  From his bucolic seat, Étienne de Silhouette might have pondered Apris moi le deluge (After me, the flood) the phrase attributed to Louis XV who is reputed to have uttered the words to the Marquise de Pompadour.  It conveys a feeling both narcissistic and nihilistic, the notion that once one is dead it matters little what happens in the world, an intoxicating sentiment expressed by characters in many novels.  Whether the king really spoke these exact words isn’t certain and there are different versions but it’s certainly something he might have said and historians don’t doubt the fragment of thought was a glimpse into the royal mind.  In a more romantic telling of the tale, he whispers to his concubine: Après nous, le deluge (After us, the flood).

Prima Donna Deauville 100^th anniversary bra (p/n 0161810/11); US$172.95 from Silhouette Fine Lingerie.

Why his name endures to describe the two-dimensional black-on-white images we know as silhouettes is obscure but there are two competing theories.  One is that his methods in finance and administration were all about simplifying what had over the centuries become a system of labyrinthian complexity so, a silhouette being about the simplest form of visual art, the association stuck.  A less sympathetic view is that he was thought an austere and parsimonious fellow so his name was linked to the simple, cheap black & white portraits that had since 1843 been popular among those unable to afford more elaborate forms such as an oil painting.  There’s also the suggestion the minimalist art was named as an allusion to his brief tenure as controller-general and finally, although there’s no evidence, some maintain de Silhouette decorated his office with such portraits.  Whatever the reason, the portraits gained their name in 1859, the year of de Silhouette fleeting ministerial career.

Katie Zacharia in silhouette, in bikini.

Still, his brief tenure was longer than that of Katie Zacharia (b circa 1984) who served as the 37^th White House press secretary in the second administration of October 2026 Donald Trump (b 1946; POTUS 2017-2021 and since 2025), her five days in office smashing the ten-day record set in July 2017 by Anthony “The Mooch” Scaramucci (b 1964) during the first Trump administration.  A photogenic creature perhaps not ideally suited to the role, what’s of especial note about Ms Zacharia is she fulfilled pop artist Andy Warhol’s (1928–1987) most famous prediction: “In the future everybody will be world famous for fifteen minutes”, that much-repeated (if slightly altered from its origin) quote first appearing in print in a catalogue for a 1968 exhibition of the artist’s work at the Moderna Museet, Stockholm, Sweden.  Ms Zacharia’s contribution to cultural history was her sole press briefing (in the James S. Brady [1940-2014] Press Briefing Room) on 13 October, 2026 that lasted almost exactly 15 minutes.  On 16 October, the White House issued a statement saying Ms Zacharia would be “transitioning into a new role that will be announced at a later date”.  That announcement has yet to be made but to mark Halloween she posted photographs showing her svelte figure in a bikini so there was that.

Katie Zacharia during her “half Mooch” tenure in the White House.  Any news outlet wishing to have something in US politics explained should now first turn to her for comment.

There is also the unanticipated contribution to the Washington political jargon.  After Ms Zacharia so decisively broke the Mooch’s record for “brevity in position”, it was revealed a ten day career in the Trump administration is now styled as “one Mooch” (someone lasting 40 days and 40 nights thus a “four Moocher”, John Bolton (b 1948) surviving 519 days (19 April 2018-10 September 2019) as national security advisor making him a “51.9 Moocher" etc); it’s a useful shorthand metric and Ms Zacharia is (thus far) unique in having lasted a desultory “half Mooch”.  That doesn't mean she should despair because Mr Scaramucci has since his epoch-defining White House “Mooch” become a frequent (and presumably well-paid) commentator on political events, his contributions genuinely thoughtful.  If Ms Zacharia’s thoughts on the 2026 mid-term elections are a guide, she too will find a ready audience at Fox News and beyond because clearly she’s from the Kellyanne Conway (b 1967; senior counselor to the POTUS, 2017-2020) “alternative facts” school of political analysis, a discipline exemplified by former opposition leader Sir Billy Snedden (1926–1987) who, rationalizing the results of the 1974 Australian general election (at which he’d just led his party to defeat), told the press: “We didn’t lose, we just didn’t get enough votes to win.”  Ms Zacharia seems likely to become a fixture on screens and all should welcome that.

Silhouette of Mercedes Benz SLC (C107; 1971-1981, left) and 1979 450 SLC 5.0 (right) in competition under the FIA’s silhouette rules.  The FIA (Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (International Automobile Federation)) is world sport's dopiest regulatory body; really not approving of motor-sport in which cars go fast, it should re-purpose itself as the governing body for competitive basket-weaving or something similar.  

Silhouette racing was introduced essentially because it was simple to administer.  There had been a variety of classes for “modified production” cars which permitted changes to bodywork to improve aerodynamic or allow wider wheels & tyres to be used but formulating and enforcing the rules was difficult; the regulations becoming increasingly precise, subject to variations in interpretation and cheating was rife.  What the introduction of a baseline silhouette for each competing vehicle did was provide a simple, literal template: if the car fitted through, it was lawful and if manufacturers wished to change a silhouette and produce a sufficient number of identical models to homologate the car for whatever competition was involved, that was fine.  Sometimes with variations, the silhouette formula widely was adopted in classes as varied as series production to quite radical constructions with space frames or carbon-fibre monocoques and drive-trains unrelated to road-cars, the attraction always that the external skin continues to bear more than a superficial resemblance to a production model, something important to both manufacturers wishing to maintain a tangible link to their consumer offerings and an audience anxious willingly to suspend disbelief.

1974 Lamborghini Uracco P300.

Despite the name, the Lamborghini P300 Silhouette (1976-1979) wasn’t designed with competition in mind; it was an attempt to produce an open-top model able to be certified for sale in the lucrative US market, then a place in which the company had no such offering.  The Silhouette was Lamborghini’s first production targa-top and was based on the P300 Uracco.  Neither the Uracco nor the Silhouette went close to matching the volume of its competitors from Ferrari & Maserati and only 54 of the latter were but both contributed to the company’s survival in the difficult 1970s, something that at times seemed improbable.  The Silhouette’s successor was the P350 Jalpa (1981-1988), the final evolution of the Uracco.  Lamborghini was by then more stable and the Jalpa a much improved product (although the interior always attracted criticism) and not only did it sell in a volume that made production viable but, more importantly, it was profitable.  Like Ferrari’s 208 & 308 GT4 (1973-1980), the styling of the Uracco was never greeted with great enthusiasm but it’s not easy to fit both four seats and a mid-mounted V8 engine into a sleek package, even if the rear seats realistically were best-suited to one’s (very young) children, cat, dog or handbag.

1978 Lamborghini P300 Silhouette. 

First displayed as a prototype at the 1970 Turin Motor Show, the first production Uracco appeared in 1972 with a 2.5 litre V8 and was dubbed P250; it was within twelve months (as the P250S) revised with additional appointments and a slight power increase (except for the emission-compliant US-specification models).  The press reception generally had been positive (some testers even managing to be polite about the looks that, given the design parameters, genuinely were quite accomplished) with the level of adhesion especially praised, the ability (under ideal conditions) to achieve a verified 1.0 G when negotiating fast sweepers then something associated with racing cars on slick tyres.  Just as impressively, that was achieved without sacrificing ride quality, the approach a combination of relatively soft springs, carefully calibrated shock absorbers and immensely stiff anti-roll bars.

1984 Lamborghini Jalpa.  Giallo Fly (yellow fly) is something of a Lamborghini signature color but the wheels on this one have received an after-market re-spray in sympathy, the factory never that committed to monochromaticity.

At a time before supercomputers were available to optimize such dynamics, the Uracco's suspension was was an innovative approach.  In 1974, the P300 was released with the displacement increased to 3.0 litres, something necessitated by the power robbed from the 2.5 by the addition of the anti-emission equipment required to meet the increasingly strict US rules.  However, the carefully laid plans to have a V8 able to be offered in the US proved chimerical and fewer than two dozen were sold before the venture was abandoned.  Now fitted improved DOHC (double overhead camshaft) cylinder heads with a chain drive (the belts used earlier not as robust as improvements in materials would later make possible), performance was comparable with the competition but it was a difficult time to be selling such things and without the vital US market, production never went close to achieving the hoped-for thousand-odd a year.  When in 1979 production ended, 791 had been built (520 P250s, 190 P300s and 77 P200s (a 2.0 litre version designed to suit Italian tax laws). 

Lamborghini Miura Roadster in metallic blue over white leather.

Although the Silhouette was the factory’s first targa to enter series production, a decade earlier, the factory had shown one exquisite creation in that vein.  The modern convention is to distinguish between a roadster (with a roof that wholly can be removed or folded back) and a targa (with a removable panel above the seats (a car with left & right panels being a “T-top”)) but in what now seems a forgivable linguistic quirk, Lamborghini in 1968 displayed a (sort of) targa it called a Roadster.  It would be the only convertible Miura of any type the factory would build.  Although the P400 Miura's rolling chassis had generated much interest (and some scepticism from engineers who understood the implications of installing its mid-mounted V12 engine transversely) when displayed at the 1965 Turin Auto Show, when a pre-production prototype was used for the car’s debut at the Geneva show, it created as much of a sensation as the Jaguar E-Type (XKE, 1961-1974) arrival in the same city half-a-decade earlier.  The Miura is the spiritual ancestor of the “supercars” and “hypercars” of recent decades but while undeniably beautiful, at high-speed (it could exceed 170 mph (275 km/h)) the aerodynamic properties were dubious and the transverse engine induced handling quirks even experts found challenging to master.  Still, with close to 800 made over three series (P400, 1966-1968; P400 S, 1968-1971; P400 SV 1971-1973), it was a great success and the most desirable of the breed are now multi-million dollar machines.  It was quite an achievement for a concern that between 1948-1963 had built only well-regarded tractors & other farm equipment and although the Miura wasn’t the company’s first car, it was the one that gained the marque the credibility to ranked with Ferrari; indeed, greatly it influenced the mid-engined Ferraris and Maseratis of the 1970s as well as encouraging lower-cost imitators such as De Tomaso’s Mangusta (1967-1971) and Pantera (1971-1992).

Lamborghini Miura Roadster in metallic blue over white leather.

Perhaps counterintuitively, the sensuous Miura was named after a breed of bull but it was one prized in bullfighting for its aggressive qualities so one can see the connection.  While a few claim to be cooks who helped stir the broth, the Miura’s lovely lines usually are credited to Marcello Gandini (1938–2024), a designer working at Giuseppe "Nuccio" Bertone’s (1914-1997) Turin-based Carrozzeria Bertone.  The one-off Miura roadster wasn’t exactly the first mid-engined coupé in a targa configuration, Ford building in 1965 five such GT40s (1964-1969) but these were pure racing cars and the first appeared a few weeks before Porsche in 1965 released the 911 Targa so it’s not surprising Ford dubbed the things “roadsters”.  The Fords were actually rolling test-beds for components and featured a number of differences from the more numerous coupés but nor was the Miura Roadster simply a coupé pulled from the assembly line and then de-roofed.  What Bertone did was a significant re-engineering, the roofline lowered by 30 mm (1¼ inches) with the rollover hoop lowered to reduce drag, the angle off the windscreen made more acute and the rear bodywork re-shaped with larger air-intakes for the V12, a more pronounced spoiler fitted to the rear deck, the tail-pipes re-routed with revised taillights fitted.  Unseen were structural changes reinforcing the chassis, the box-section side members strengthened to compensate for the loss of rigidity created by the roofectomy.  Inside, there were detail changes to the trim and switchgear.

Bertone’s Lamborghini Miura Roadster, Brussels Salon de L’Automobile, January 1968. Young ladies adorning exhibits were once a fixture at motor shows and this colorful bevy was more fully clothed than many.

The reaction when the roadster was displayed at Brussels was little less enthusiastic than at Geneva two years earlier, dealers and the factory at once receiving enquiries about price and delivery dates.  Unfortunately, what the designers knew was that stunning though it looked, what the removal of the roof had done was so compromise the structural rigidity that not even the strengthening done to the platform had been enough to make the Roadster viable for series production.  To achieve that, the whole shell would have had to be re-engineered and Lamborghini’s engineers knew that though achingly lovely, the shape and the transverse mounting of the V12 which made it possible were both flawed concepts, the future being in longitudinally-positioned power-plants within an angular wedge.  Those conclusions would be rendered in physical form when the prototype Countach appeared at Geneva in 1971 and its lines can be seen still in twenty-first century Lamborghinis and many other machines.  Ultimately, the shape of the Countach proved more influential but the Miura incontestably was more lovely. 

The ILZRO’s ZN 75 in iridescent green over tan leather.  The delightful “eyelashes” above the Miura's headlights unfortunately didn't appear on the P400 SV.

So the Roadster was destined to be a one-off curiosity but the show car subsequently had an interesting life.  In 1969 it was purchased by the New York-based ILZRO (International Lead Zinc Research Organization) that wanted something eye-catching with which to promote the use of the metals in automotive use.  Renamed ZN 75, it became a demonstration platform for zinc and lead applications in automotive engineering; it was repainted in an iridescent green, and various components were recast in zinc and lead-alloys, including trim, bumpers and even engine parts.  On the periodic table, the chemical element zinc has the symbol “Zn” while the “75” was a reference to 1975, the year the ILZRO and other industry groups were lobbying the regulators to set as the date by which new automotive materials and corrosion-resistance standards would become widespread.  The ILZRO’s campaign emphasis was on galvanization and anti-corrosion technologies, with the argument that by the mid-1970s, manufacturers would need extensively and more systematically to use zinc and such to meet with expectations of durability and comply with legislative dictate.  During the 1970s, ZN 75 was shown around North America, Europe, and Asia, becoming one of the more widely displayed Miuras and decades later, was restored to its original appearance.  Whether it even should be referred to as a targa is debatable because Bertone didn’t include a removable roof panel but, over the years, some Miuras have been converted to targas (with a removable panel) so pedants can dub the original roadster as being “in the targa style”.

Sponge

Sponge (pronounced spuhnj)

(1) Any aquatic, chiefly marine animal of the phylum Porifera (also called poriferan), having a porous structure and usually a horny, siliceous or calcareous internal skeleton or framework, occurring in large, sessile (permanently attached to a substrate and not able independently to move) colonies.

(2) The light, yielding, porous, fibrous skeleton or framework of certain animals or colonies of this group, especially of the genera Spongia and Hippospongia, from which the living matter has been removed, characterized by readily absorbing water and becoming soft when wet while retaining toughness: used in bathing, in wiping or cleaning surfaces, etc.

(3) Any of various other similar substances (made typically from porous rubber or cellulose and similar in absorbency to this skeleton), used for washing or cleaning and suited especially to wiping flat, non-porous surfaces; bat sponge, car-wash sponge etc).

(4) Used loosely, any soft substance with a sponge-like appearance or structure.

(5) Use loosely, any object able rapidly absorb something.

(6) As “sponge theory” (1) a term used in climate science which tracks the processes by which tropical forests "flip" from absorbing to emitting carbon dioxide, (2) a term used in urban planning to re-design the built environment to "absorb" water in heavy rainfall events rather than encouraging "runoff" that tends to produce flooding and (3) one of the competing ideas in the configuration of the US nuclear arsenal that supports the retention of the triad (ICBMs, SLMBs and those delivered by strategic bombers).

(7) Figuratively, a person who absorbs something efficiently (usually in the context of information, education or facts).

(8) Figuratively, a person who persistently borrows from or lives at the expense of others; a parasite (usually described as “a sponger” or one who “sponges off” and synonymous with a “leech”).

(9) In disparaging slang, a habitual drinker of alcohol who is frequently intoxicated (one more mildly affected said to be “spongy” (a synonym of “tipsy”)).

(10) In metallurgy, a porous mass of metallic particles, as of platinum, obtained by the reduction of an oxide or purified compound at a temperature below the melting point; iron from the puddling furnace, in a pasty condition; iron ore, in masses, reduced but not melted or worked.

(11) In clinical medicine, a sterile surgical dressing of absorbent material, usually cotton gauze, for wiping or absorbing pus, blood, or other fluids during a surgical operation.

(12) In hospitals and other care institutions, as "sponge bath", a method of hygiene whereby a patient is cleaned with a sponge (usually with soap & water) while in a chair or bed.

(13) In cooking (baking), dough raised with yeast before it is kneaded and formed into loaves and after it is converted into a light, spongy mass by the agency of the yeast or leaven.

(14) In cooking, a light, sweet pudding of a porous texture, made with gelatin, eggs, fruit juice or other flavoring ingredients; popular as a cake, often multi-layered with whipped cream (or similar) between.

(15) In birth control, a contraceptive made with a disposable piece of polyurethane foam permeated with a spermicide for insertion into the vagina.

(16) As “makeup sponge” or “beauty sponge”, a device for applying certain substances to the skin (most often blusher and similar products to the face).

(17) In ballistics, a mop for cleaning the bore of a cannon after a discharge, consisting of a cylinder of wood, covered with sheepskin with the wool on, or cloth with a heavy looped nap, and having a handle, or staff.

(18) In farriery, the extremity (or point) of a horseshoe, corresponding to the heel.

(19) In the slang of the nuclear industry, a worker routinely exposed to radiation.

(20) To wipe or rub with or (as with a wet sponge), to moisten or clean.

(21) To remove with a Usually moistened) sponge (usually followed by off, away, etc.).

(22) To wipe out or efface with or as with a sponge (often followed by out).

(23) To take up or absorb with or as with a sponge (often followed by up).

(24) Habitually to borrow, use, or obtain by imposing on another's good nature.

(25) In ceramics, to decorate (a ceramic object) by dabbing at it with a sponge soaked with color or any use of a sponge to render a certain texture on the surface.

(26) To take in or soak up liquid by absorption.

(27) To gather sponges (from the beach or ocean).

(28) In marine biology (in behavioral zoology, of dolphins), the description of the use of a piece of wild sponge as a tool when foraging for food.

Pre 1000: From the Middle English noun sponge, spunge & spounge, from the Old English noun sponge & spunge (absorbent and porous part of certain aquatic organisms), from the Latin spongia & spongea (a sponge (also (the “sea animal from which a sponge comes”), from the Ancient Greek σπογγιά (spongiá), related to σπόγγος (spóngos) (sponge).  At least one etymologist called it “an old Wandewort” while another speculated it was probably a loanword from a non-Indo-European language, borrowed independently into Greek, Latin and Armenian in a form close to “sphong-”.  From the Latin came the Old Saxon spunsia, the Middle Dutch spongie, the Old French esponge, the Spanish esponja and the Italian spugna.  In English, the word has been used of the sea animals since the 1530s and of just about any sponge-like substance since the turn of the seventeenth century and the figurative use in reference to one adept at absorbing facts or learning emerged about the same time.  The sense of “one who persistently and parasitically lives on others" has been in use since at least 1838.  The sponge-cake (light, fluffy & sweet) has been documented since 1808 but similar creations had long been known.  Sponge is a noun & verb, sponged & sponging are verbs, Spongeless, spongy, sponginess, spongable, spongiform & spongelike are adjectives and spongingly is an adverb; the noun plural is sponges.

The verb emerged late in the fourteenth century as spongen (to soak up with a sponge) or (as a transitive verb) “to cleanse or wipe with a sponge”, both uses derived from the noun and presumably influenced by the Latin spongiare.  The intransitive sense “dive for sponges, gather sponges where they grow” was first documented in 1881 by observers watching harvesting in the Aegean.  The slang use meaning “deprive someone of (something) by sponging” was in use by at least the 1630s, the later intransitive sense of “live in a parasitic manner, live at the expense of others” documented in the 1670, the more poetic phrase “live upon the sponge” (live parasitically, relying on the efforts of others) dating from the 1690s; such folk described as “spongers” since the 1670s.  However, in the 1620s, the original idea was that the victim was “the sponge” because they were “being squeezed”.  The noun sponge in the general sense of “an object from which something of value may be extracted” was in use by circa 1600; the later reference to “the sponger” reversed this older sense.  In what was either a neutral job-description or an example of military humor, the noun sponger also had a use in the army and navy, referring to the member of a cannon’s crew who wielded the pole (with a sponge attached to one end) to clean the barrel of the weapon after discharge.  It’s not clear when it came into use but it’s documented since 1828.

The companion sponge products Scrub Mommy & Sponge Daddy are available from Walmart.  Scrub Daddy is US$3.97 and Scrub Mommy is US$3.87 (a 3-pack of the latter available at US$9.87).

The anthropomorphism (eyes and smiling mouth) is both a sales gimmick and functional ergonomics, the eyes “hold two fingers to prevent slippage while scrubbing deep inside cups” while the mouth “cleans both sides of the utensils at once”.  So, the “happy look” both works subliminally to attract customers and offers real benefits when in use, thus justifying the spiel: “the versatile cleaning tool that is more than just a smile.”  Whether or not intentionally, the anthropomorphism extends to the product-description only selectively, Scrub Daddy’s references including “his ergonomic design”, “his eyes” and “his mouth” whereas Scrub Mommy gets the bland, gender-free “its ergonomic design”, “the eyes” and “the mouth”.  Someone in a university's gender-studies department should apply for a grant to explore this; clearly there is gender discrimination (generously, perhaps “unconscious bias”) going on at Walmart, Scrub Mommy's pink color also blatant gender-stereotyping.

The adjective spongiform (resembling a sponge, sponge-like; porous, full of holes) dates from 1774 and seems now restricted to medical science, the incurable and invariably fatal neurodegenerative disease of cattle "bovine spongiform encephalopathy" (BSE) the best known use although the public understandably prefer the more evocative "mad cow disease".  The adjective spongy (soft, elastic) came into use in the 1530s in medicine & pathology, in reference to morbid tissue (not necessarily soft and applied after the 1590s to hard material (especially bone)) seen as open or porous.  In late fourteenth century Middle English, there was spongious (sponge-like in nature), again, directly from the Latin.  In idiomatic use and dating from the 1860s, to “throw in the sponge” was to concede defeat; yield or give up the context.  That came from bare-knuckle prize-fighting, the sponge (sitting usually in a bucket of water and used to wipe blood from the boxer’s face) thrown into the ring by the trainer or second, indicating to the referee the contest was conceded and the fight must immediately be stopped.  The phrase later “throw in the towel” means the same thing and is of the same origin although some older style guides insist the correct use is “throw up the sponge” and “throw in the towel”.  To the beaten and bloodied boxer, it probably was an unnoticed technical distinction.

Born of a Woman (1992) by Bishop John Shelby “Jack” Spong (1931–2021).  Spong's writings were as provocative as the titles of his books.  Unlike most “liberal” Anglicans, he didn't “nibble at the church’s doctrinal edges” but attacked the core tenants of Christianity, arguing much of what was in the Bible must be read as midrashic or interpretive symbols rather than literal historical accounts.

A prolific author and bishop of the US Episcopal Church, Bishop Spong was in some circles described as a “liberal theologian” but truly was a radical and many regarded his views as heretical.  Had he been Roman Catholic, it’s likely the Inquisition, (established in 1542 as the Supreme Sacred Congregation of the Roman and Universal Inquisition; in 1908 renamed Supreme Sacred Congregation of the Holy Office (clipped usually to “Holy Office”); in 1965 renamed CDF (Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith) as part of the “reforms” imposed by the Second Vatican Council (Vatican II, 1962-1965); in 2022 renamed DDF (Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith) in the latest restructuring of the Roman Curia under the aegis of the apostolic constitution Praedicate evangelium (Preach the gospel)) would have prevented his ordination and, had he slipped through their fingers, it’s more likely he’d have faced laicization (defrocking) or even excommunication than receive a bishopric (for the Anglicans, he served as Bishop of Newark, New Jersey, between 1979 and 2000).  Theologically, he was not a mere “revisionist at the margins” but one who advocated a fundamental re-structuring of Christian belief and while it may sound casually dismissive, it’s not wholly unfair to characterize his oeuvre as the framework of a “DEI (diversity, equality & inclusion) Christianity”.  The surname Sponge is rare (the variant Spong more common) and in regional English dialects was derived from topography (there being no evidence of connection with the sea-dwelling creatures).  In dialectal East English, a spong was a marsh or other bog-like place, the word believed a guttural form of the Old English sponge; as a topographic surname, it was given to someone who lived near a wetland or swamp.  In German-speaking lands and in the Ashkenazi Jewish traditions, related surnames like Schwamm meant “sponge” or “mushroom”, their origins often as metonymic occupational names for someone who gathered edible fungi or harvested sea sponges.  In the UK television series Dad’s Army (1968-1977), the “minor but recurrent” character Private Sponge was a farmer, played by Colin Bean (1926–2009).

Despite the phonetic overlap, the verb expunge (pronounced ik-spuhnj) is unrelated.  Expunge (to erase or strike out; totally to eliminate; permanently to delete) was a learned borrowing from Latin expungere, the construct being ex- + pungō (to prick; to puncture; to sting).  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 prefix was appended variously to create the sense of “out of”, “outside”, “former” or “without”.  Pungō was from the Proto-Italic pungō (with punctus for puctus after pungō), from the primitive Indo-European pewǵ- (prick, punch).  In English, although rare (effectively extinct except in literary or poetic use), the verb punge can be used to mean “to pierce, prick or puncture.”  In the slang of lexicographers, expunge is a “delicious word” in that it’s “pleasurable to say”, a quality shared by “succulent”.  Although rarely used, the derived forms are also pleasing; they include expugnable, expunger, expunge, expungement, expunction & expungible; the nouns expunctionist & expunctionism are non-standard.

Sea sponges.

In zoology, sponges are any of the many aquatic (mostly sea-based) invertebrate animals of the phylum Porifera, characteristically having a porous skeleton, usually containing an intricate system of canals composed of fibrous material or siliceous or calcareous spicules.  Water passing through the pores is the delivery system the creatures use to gain nutrition.  Sponges are known to live at most depths of the sea, are sessile (permanently attached to a substrate; all but a handful not able independently to move (fully-grown sponges do not have moving parts, but the larvae are free-swimming)) and often form irregularly shaped colonies.  Sponges are considered now the most primitive members of the animal kingdom extant as they lack a nervous system and differentiated body tissues or organs although they have great regenerative capacities, some species able to regenerate a complete adult organism from fragments as small as a single cell.  Sponges first appeared during the early Cambrian Period over half a billion years ago and may have evolved from protozoa.

Of sponges and brushes

Dior Backstage Blender (Professional Finish Fluid Foundation Sponge).

Both makeup brushes and makeup sponges can be used to apply blush or foundation and unless there’s some strong personal preference, most women probably use both, depending on the material to be applied and the look desired.  Brushes are almost always long-bristled and soft (sometimes to the point of fluffiness) with a rounded shape affording both precision and the essential ability to blend at the edges.  Brushes are popular because they offer great control over placement & blending (users debating whether a long or short handle is most beneficial in this and it may be that both work equally well if one’s technique is honed).  Brushes can be used with most varieties of formulation including powders and creams.

Lindsay Lohan, October 2011.  The (presumably inadvertent) "eye effect" is known in the industry as the "reverse panda".

This not entirely flattering application of grey-brown shade of blusher attracted comment, the consensus being it was an attempt to create the effect of hollowed cheekbones, a look wildly popular during the 1980 & 1990s and one which to which her facial structure was well-suited.  Unfortunately, the seemingly “heavy handed” approach instead suggested bruising.  Done properly, the “contoured blush look” is achieved with delicacy and Benjamin Disraeli (1804-1881, UK prime-minister 1868 & 1874-1880) might have called this: “laying it on with a trowel”.  It’s not known if Ms Lohan used brush or sponge but her technique may have been closer to that of the bricklayer wielding his (or her) trowel.  Makeup sponges (often called “beauty blenders” are preferred by many to brushes and are recommended by the cosmetic houses especially for when applying cream or liquid products.  They’re claimed to be easier to use than a brush and for this reason are often the choice of less experienced or occasional users; they create a natural, dewy finish, blending the product seamlessly into the skin and avoiding the more defined lines brushes can tend to produce.  When applying a powder blush, sponges produce an airbrushed, diffused effect and are much easier to use for those "doing their own" in front of a mirror, a situation in which the “edging” effect inherent in brush use can be hard to detect.  For professional makeup artists, both sponges and brushes will be used when working on others, the choice dictated by the product in use and the effect desired.

Sponge theory

The awful beauty of our weapons: Test launch of Boeing LGM-30G Minuteman III ICBM.

Ever since the US military (sometimes in competition with politicians) first formulated a set of coherent policies setting out the circumstances in which the use of nuclear weapons was permissible, there have been constant revisions to the plans.  At its late 1960s peak, the US nuclear arsenal contained some 30,000 weapons and the target list extended to a remarkable 10,000-odd sites, almost all in the USSR (the Soviet Union, 1922-1991), the PRC (People’s Republic of China, 1949-) the Baltic States and countries in Eastern Europe either part of the Warsaw Pact (1955-1991) or in some way aligned with Moscow.  Even the generals admitted there was in this some degree of "structural overkill" but rationalized the system on the basis it was the only way to guarantee a success rate close to 100%.  That certainly fitted in with the US military’s long established tradition of “overwhelming” rather than merely “solving” problems but, given the projected death toll, not all would have agreed "success" was quite the right word.

US nuclear weapons target map 1956 (de-classified in 2015).

Over the decades, different strategies were from time-to-time adopted as tensions rose and fell or responded to changes in circumstances such as arms control treaties and, most obviously, the end of the Cold War (1918-1991) when the Soviet Union was dissolved.  A case-study in the synamics of the "military-industrial complex". the processes that produced these changes were always the same: (1) inter-service squabbles between the army, navy & air force, (2) the struggle between the politicians and military high command (many of the latter proving politically quite adept), (3) the influence of others within and beyond the “nuclear establishment” including (3a) the industrial concerns designing and manufacturing the things and (3b) those in think tanks & academic institutions, (4) attitudes and policies of foreign governments and (5) the (usually anti-nuclear) lobbyist and activist communities.  Many of the discussions were quite abstract (something the generals & admirals seemed to prefer to descending to specifics), probably because one of their quoted metrics in the early 1950s was that if after  a nuclear exchange there were 50 million dead Russians and only 20 million dead Americans, that meant the US could be said to have “won the war”.  Within the Pentagon's internal logic of the time, that made sense but after reductionist critics pursued this to its logical conclusion and asked if the verdict would be the same were the final result one Russian and two Americans being left alive, the military tended to restrict their discussion papers to delivery systems, targets, megatons and timings, body-counts (the term "collateral damage" not yet part of the jargon) just tiresome detail.  This meant the strategies came to be summed-up in short, punchy, indicative terms like “deterrence”, “avoidance of escalation” & “retaliation” although the depth was sufficient for even the “short” version (printed for the POTUS’s use in the event of war) was an inch (25 mm) thick.  What was described varied from a threat of use, a limited strike, various forms of containment (the so-called "limited nuclear war") and sometimes the doomsday option: global thermo-nuclear war.  However, during the administration of Barack Obama (b 1961; POTUS 2009-2017) there emerged a genuine linguistic novelty: “sponge theory”.

US Air Force Boeing B-52 Stratofortress (1952-, left) and Northrop Grumman B-2 Spirit (1989-, right).

The term “sponge theory” had been used in climate science to describe a mechanism used to track the processes by which tropical forests "flip" from absorbing to emitting CO₂ (carbon dioxide) (a la a sponge that absorbs water able to be expelled when squeezed) but in the matter of nuclear weapons it was something different.  At the time, the debates in the White House, the Congress and even some factions within the military were about whether what had become the traditional “triad” of nuclear weapons ((1) ICBM (intercontinental ballistic missile), (2) SLMB (submarine launched ballistic missiles and (3) the "gravity bombs" or "smart bombs" delivered by strategic bombers) should be maintained.  By “maintained” that of course meant periodically "refurbished or replaced".  The suggestion was that the ICBMs should be retired, the argument being they were a Cold War relic, the mere presence of which threatened peace because they encouraged a "first strike" (by either side).  However, the counter argument was that, in a sense, the US was already running a de-facto dyad because, dating from the administration of George HW Bush (George XLI, 1924-2018; POTUS 1989-1993), none of the big strategic bombers had been on “runway alert” (ie able to be scrambled for a sortie within minutes) and only a tiny few were stored in secure hangers with their bombs loaded.  Removing the ICBMs from service, went the argument, would leave the nation dangerously reliant on the SLMBs which, in the way of such things, might at any time be rendered obsolete by advances in sensor technology and the (still speculative) implications of AI (artificial intelligence).  The British of course had never used ICMBs and had removed the nuclear strike capability from their bombers, thus relying on a squadron of four submarines (one of which is on patrol somewhere 24/7/365) with SLMBs but the British system was a pure IND (independent nuclear deterrent), what the military calls a "boutique bomb".  

Test launch of US Navy Trident-II-D5LE SLBM.

There was also the concern that land or air to submarine communications were not wholly reliable and this, added to the other arguments, won the case for the triad but just in case, the Pentagon had formulated “sponge theory”, about their catchiest phrase since “collateral damage”.  The idea of sponge theory was that were the ICBMs retired, Moscow or Beijing would have only five strategic targets in the continental US: the three bomber bases (in the flyover states of Louisiana, Missouri & North Dakota) and the two submarine ports (in Georgia on the south Atlantic coast and in Washington state in the PNW (Pacific North-West).  A successful attack on those targets could be mounted with less than a dozen (in theory half that number because of the multiple warheads) missiles which would mean the retaliatory capacity of the US could (in a worst-case scenario) be limited to the SLMBs carried by the six submarines the USN (US Navy) maintains on permanent patrol.  Given that, a POTUS might be reluctant to use them because of the knowledge Moscow (and, increasingly, Beijing) could mount a second, much more destructive attack.  However, if the 400 ICBMs remained in service, an attack on the US with any prospect of success would demand the use of close to 1000 missiles, something to which any POTUS would be compelled to respond and the US ICBMs would be in flight to their targets long before the incoming Russian or Chinese missiles hit.  The function of the US ICBM sites, acting as a sponge (soaking up the targeting, squeezing the retaliation) would deter an attack.  As it was, the 400-odd Boeing LGM-30 Minuteman ICBMs remained in service in silos also in flyover states: Montana, North Dakota and Wyoming.  After over 50 years in service, the Minuteman is due for replacement in 2030 and there seems little appetite in Washington DC or in the Pentagon to discuss any change to the triad.