Tenebrous

Tenebrous (pronounced ten-uh-bruhs)

Dark; gloomy; obscure.

1375-1425: From the late Middle English tenebrose (full of darkness, gloomy), from the Anglo-Norman tenebrous (the earlier spelling was tenebrus), from the eleventh century Old French tenebros (dark, gloomy) (which endures in modern French as ténébreux), from the Latin tenebrōsus (dark), from tenebrae (darkness, shadows).  The Latin forms may have been dissimilated from the earlier temebrai, from the primitive Indo-European root temsro- (dark), an adjective from temos- (darkness).  The adjective tenebrous indicates a high degree of darkness but not an absolute absence of light, the comparative is thus more tenebrous and the superlative most tenebrous.  Tenebrous is now a literary word valued by poets because of the relative novelty of the rhyming and is used also figuratively (as early as the 1670s it was deployed to suggest someone was “morally or mentally dark”.  Tenebrous, tenebricose & tenebrific are adjectives, tenebrity, tenebrousness & tenebrosity are nouns and tenebrously is an adverb; the noun plural is tenebrosities.  The alternative spelling is tenebrious and except in literary use, the verb tenebrize is now obsolete.

Salomè con testa del Battista (Salome with the Head of John the Baptist, circa 1608), oil on canvas by Caravaggio (Michelangelo Merisi da Caravaggio; 1571–1610), National Gallery, London.

Tenebrosity (darkness, gloom, obscurity) was from the early fifteenth century, tenebrious (pertaining to darkness, of a dark nature) dates from the 1590s, tenebrity (quality of being dark) was in use by at least 1792 while tenebrific (producing darkness), dating from the late 1760s, was implied in the earlier tenebrificating, recorded in 1743.  In 1818, it was reported in a London publication there was a theory darkness was not simply the absence of light, but that certain heavenly bodies (called Tenebrific Stars), emitted rays of positive darkness, which produced what commonly was called “night”.  This is how science evolves, theories existing to compete as explanations for this and that until disproved.  The early fifteenth century Tenebrer (bearer of darkness) was an epithet of Satan.  One variant which didn’t endure was recorded in the mid-seventeenth century was tenebrion (one that will not be seen by day, a lurker, a night-thief (also a “night-spirit” and “hobgoblin”)).  In Christianity, the Tenebrae is a religious service celebrated by the Western Church on the evening before or early morning of Maundy Thursday, Good Friday, and Holy Saturday, involving the gradual extinguishing of candles while a series of readings and psalms are chanted or recited.  In fine art, the related tenebrism describes a style of painting using very pronounced chiaroscuro, with darkness a dominating feature of the image and a tenebrist is an artist applying the method.  Works in the genre are said to be tenebristic and in the late nineteenth century those painting in this manner (described usually as “in the style of Caravaggio” were called the tenebrosi; by 1959 the preferred term among art historians was tenebrism.

Illustrating the adjectival: Lindsay Lohan tenebrous (left), more tenebrous (centre) and most tenebrous (right), from Pop Magazine photo-shoot, Fall/Winter 2007.

The MOGAI

MOGAI stands for “Marginalized Orientations, Gender Alignments and Intersex” and is something of an omnibus term, acting as an umbrella term for sexual orientations, gender identities and intersex traits not considered “mainstream” although the very notion of “mainstream” is now a morass of cross-cutting claims, some factions demanding inclusion, others insisting on their separateness.  Whatever has been the track of MOGAI since its emergence in 2015, the original intent seems to have been one of “inclusiveness” and in that sense it’s both a logical extension of the LGBTQ+ concept and a recognition that so many categories could be identified the “extended model” (ie LGBTQQIAAOP and such) was becoming unmanageable.  Even “LGBTQ+” was in a sense counter-productive because in relegating certain letters (and thereby individuals or groups) to the “+”, there was an act of marginalization which, in the modern construct could be deemed a microaggression.  What advocates emphasize is that MOGAI exists for marginalized identities and it’s also as a kind of clearing house for novel or less recognized gender labels.  

DSM-5-TR (Text revision (2022) of DSM-5 (2013)).

In the narrow technical sense, MOGAI is a classification system but its focus on non-binary and other gender identities that are not cisgender seems to have acted to encourage the growth in the creation of categories and while some have “filled a gap”, there’s also clearly been linguistic adventurism in the same way some have been beyond imaginative in the coining of long German compound nouns and others have describe phobia despite there being no evidence of the particular fear ever having been defined as a clinical condition or even reported, a phenomenon the marvellously comprehensive Phobiapedia cheerfully acknowledges.  Whereas the American Psychiatric Association's (APA) Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM) exists to codify mental health conditions including phobias, MOGAI is just one of many list of gender identities but one which commands interest simply on the basis of numbers: it has spawned literally hundreds of entries and while some are “variations on a theme”, the breadth is striking.

The DSM contains two obviously tenebricose conditions, Social Anxiety Disorder and Seasonal Affective Disorder (a mood disorder characterized by recurrent depressive episodes that occur at particular times of the year, usually in winter), tenebrous used of the former figuratively, of the latter literally.  In a decision which may have been an agenda item on one of the editorial committee's meeting, it was decided the acronym “SAD” would be applied to Seasonal Affective Disorder (presumably on the basis it described the sadness associated with dark, wintery conditions); Social Anxiety Disorder typically is abbreviated as SoAD and the differentiation makes sense because while sadness can be associated with SoAD, it's the prime dynamic of SAD.  Multiple uses of acronyms is of course common but within the one publication it could confuse for the editors made a wise choice.  First described in 1984, SAD was included in the revision to the third edition (DSM-III-R (1987)) as a “seasonal pattern”, a modifier applied to recurrent forms of mood disorders, rather than as an independent entity.  In the DSM-IV (1994), its status as a standalone condition was changed, no longer classified as a unique mood disorder but instead a specifier (called “with seasonal pattern”) for the “recurrent major depressive disorder that occurs at a specific time of the year and fully remits otherwise”.  In the DSM-5 (2013), although there were detail changes in terminology, the disorder was again identified as a type of depression (Major Depressive Disorder with Seasonal Pattern).  The symptoms of SAD often overlap with the behaviors & mood changes noted in clinical depression, the novelty being the condition manifesting usually during the fall (autumn) & winter when temperatures and lower and the hours of sunlight fewer, the symptoms tending to diminish with the onset of spring.

A gathering of high tech, robotic lawnmowers: Four Stihl iMows of the apocalypse.

Suggested collective nouns for lawnmowers have included “graze”, “scythe”, “lawn” & “swathe” but the most evocative was the (presumably Australian) “startyafuquer” (pronounced stahrt-yuh-fuhk-ah).  Most “high tech” lawnmowers are controlled using a cell phone app but some include the feature of a user being able to create their own voice-activation command set so “startyafuquer” could be recorded as the “start command”, the obvious companion phrase being “stopyafuquer”.

While notably less common, there are those who experience SAD during the summer and in either case it’s seen more frequently in women; SAD appears to be possible at any age but is most typically suffered in the age range 18-30.  In the US, the dynamic of the condition is illustrated by the diagnosis of SAD ranging from 1.4% of the population in sunny Florida to 9.9% in often gloomy Alaska and, after some initial scepticism, the condition was accepted as legitimate by most of the profession although there has been some contradictory research.  Although in a sense SAD has for centuries been documented in the works of poets and artists, it wasn’t until the mid-twentieth century that structured research began and it has been linked to a biochemical imbalance in the brain prompted by exposure to reduced hours of daylight and a reduction in sunlight.  It’s thought that as the seasons go by, some experience a shift in their internal “biological clock” (circadian rhythm) which induces the mechanism to become asynchronous with their daily schedule.  Predictably, SAD appears more prevalent among those living far from the equator where the conditions in winter are exaggerated.  Seemingly paradoxically, clinicians treating SAD do in some cases recommend “outdoor activities” on the basis (1) of “confronting the problem” as is sometimes done for fears (heights, spiders etc) and (2) its frequent effectiveness in countering depression.  One popular activity suggested is gardening and while many have reported it as therapeutic, those suffering from Sponeopapaaughprosebeeanthropopcacareophobia (the phobia describing the “fear of high tech lawn mowers”) would need to be cautious in their choice and handling of equipment.   

Gender lists are however not “peer reviewed” in the traditional sense (controversial as that model of academic publishing has become) so in a sense all the categorization systems are of equal validity with users free to determine which works best for them.  That’s democratic and how a classic marketplace of ideas operates but does mean it’s a field in which most are left to make of it what they will.  It would be interesting to compare a “comprehensive list” curated by academics in the now well-populated discipline of “gender studies” with the hundreds of entries which the MOGAI community hosts.  In the most recent edition of the DSM (DSM-5-TR, 2022), while there are five sub-types of specific phobias: (1) animals, (2) the natural environment, (3) blood, injections, medical procedures and such, (4) situational types (airplanes, elevators, enclosed spaces etc) and (5) other types, officially, terms like nomophobia, coulrophobia, globophobia, arachibutyrophobia etc) are no longer accepted clinical terms used in psychiatry and instances are grouped to be diagnosed as “Specific Phobia, other type”.  Remarkably, given the frequency of use of xxx-phobia in general use, only two explicitly are mentioned in the DSM and they are not unrelated: Agoraphobia (an extreme or irrational fear of entering open or crowded places or leaving one's home) and Social Anxiety Disorder (SoAD or Social anxiety).

The MOGAI community's lists of gender types are an invaluable resource but can be challenging for those suffering Albumistaphobia (the phobia describing the “fear of lists”).

Still, even if many of MOGAI’s entries might not survive an academic cull, there would be gender theorists or activists who might acknowledge the entire set because a syndrome need not be widespread to be defined as such: a single case can establish the diagnosis.  Word nerds too must have been impressed by the diversity and intricacy (if not always the grammar and spelling) because MOGAI definitions can also be mapped onto specific systems or sets of labels, such as the Celestial Gender System (based on celestial bodies) or the Restaurant System (based on restaurants and eateries).  What that has meant is that as well as serious contributions, the MOGAI community has seen the creation of new labels of dubious practical validity which, like some alleged phobias, clearly exist just because their creation was possible and fun.  Those schooled in labelling theory might also be interested because, once created and vested with the “validity” of appearing in a “gender list” on the internet, a label can gain some gravitational pull and convince readers they’ve just discovered their “true gender” identity or identities.  As patients can create the diagnosis, so the diagnosis can create the patient.

Xenogender

A xenogender identity is one in which a person's gender is connected to an aesthetic or sensory experience.  It is non-binary and applies concepts beyond traditional male, female or androgynous categories to describe a gender that cannot be contained by traditional human understandings of gender.  Xenogender claims to be all-encompassing and is this positioned as an umbrella term for identities related to abstract sources like animals, plants, concepts and imaginary or inanimate objects; the linkages need not in any way be literal or concrete and can be simply a device people use to best articulate how their gender “feels” (or “appears” for those who view themselves from beyond their own physical body) to them.  Some xenogenders are used by the neurodivergent community but the essence of xenogenderism is they cannot be exclusive and thus cannot be used in an exclusionary way.

Hallowgender

Hallowgender (or Halloweengender) is an aesthetigender in which one's gender is tied closely to “the silly part of Halloween and the Halloween aesthetic” (ie it focuses on the fun rather than the dark and scary).  The first known use of hallowgender was by Tumblr user asukazepplinsoryu in 2014.

Flags of the Hallowgender.

Left to right: (1) The original hallowgender flag, designed by an anonymous user; (2) the first alternate hallowgender flag designed by Tumblr user ask-pride-color-schemes; (3) the second alternate hallowgender flag designed by Tumblr user momma-mogai-sphinx, (4) the third alternate hallowgender flag designed by Tumblr user momma-mogai-sphinx and (5) the fourth alternate hallowgender flag designed by FANDOM user WriterThatArts.  In the ecosystem of gender-diversity, flags have become a thing; the gay liberation movement's Rainbow flags are the best-known but there are banners for many non-cisgender sub-sets and other divergencies including the still much-marginalized Objectum community.  

TFS: The Tenebrous Gender System

A fork of the MOGAI community, the TGS (Tenebrous Gender System) was said to have been created by Tumblr user Hallowgender who on 12 September 2020 published a codified version; under TGS, all sub-types are in some way and to some degree connected to “darkness and gloominess”.  All are related also to other things or concepts and that some of those might stand in stark contradiction to darkness and gloominess was noted without further comment.  In a sign of the times, TGS, with seven categories, is said to be “one of the smallest gender systems” and that reflects the recent proliferation from something which for millennia usually was represented as a binary.  Each TGS category has a flag:

Tenebrariarumian: A gender that is dark, enveloping, and colorful.  It is gloomy, calming and cold.  Exemplar: Billie Eilish (b 2001).

Tenebrasian: A gender that is dark, separating, and sullen.  It is gloomy, tumultuous and warm.  Exemplar: Lindsay Lohan (b 1986).

Tenebellariumian: A gender that is flamboyant, dark, cool, and wintry. It is gloomy, calming, and freezing as well but may tend also to fluidity and can be similar to Burlesgender.  Exemplar: Kim Kardashian (b 1980).

Tenebrationisian: A gender that is masculine, toasty, calming, and similar to the sea at night.  It is gloomy, calming, and connected to anchors, boats, and summer.  Exemplar: Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (AOC, b 1989).

Tenebricosumian: A gender that is cautious, wintry, dark and comforting.  It is small, fluid, and flux.  Exemplar: Bernie Sanders (b 1941).

Tenebricumian: A gender that is icy, soft, watery and comforting. It is large, fluid, and flux.  Exemplar: Sydney Sweeney (b 1997).

Tenebrosumian: A gender that is icy, soft, electric and powerful.  It is large, fluid and flux as well.  It can be connected to lights in a city at night, blankets and snowy afternoons.  Exemplar: Jessica Simpson (b 1980).

Aesthetigender

Aesthetigender was said to have been coined in 2014 by Tumblr user curiosityismysin and the original description read: “a gender experience that is derived from, or the embodiment of, an aesthetic”; from that came the mission creep which saw the term evolve from a “standalone gender” to being an entire sub-category of MOGAI genders to the point where it is one of the largest.  The nature of the beast is such that within the rubric of aesthetigender it’s an irrelevance to try to determine where one ends and another begins and the extent of proliferation anyway made overlap inevitable.  As might be imagined, a category in which the imperative is “a gender which in some ways relates to an aesthetic” is so broad that probably all MOGAI genders could be made to fit under the umbrella, including terms that aren't obviously “aesthetically linked” because just as “everything is text”, in a sense, “everything has an aesthetic”.  That has to be right because the root of aesthetigender ultimately can be traced back to a rejection of gender as a binary and the nonbinary activist movement really began as something aesthetic before a conceptual framework was built.  The MOGAI community now lists over 600 known aesthetigenders and while some (like many entries in the phobia lists) are variants, jocular coinings or exercises in novelty, such is the breadth, there must be something for just about everyone; some illustrative examples are:

Abandoe: a gender similar to that of an abandoned house; could be dead, genderless or of themes being empty and intimidating.

Adorbian: a xenic alignment to cuteness or cute things.

Aesthetigxrl: a girl or woman who is also aesthetifluid.  Your aesthetigenders act as an overlay, affecting pronouns and desired presentation.  If the aesthetic is heavily aligned with a different gender, your gender might be obscured until the aestheticgender changes. Comes under the genderfluid umbrella. (Gxrl can be substituted with your main gender (bxy, boy, girl, xen, enby ect).

Ancientus: a gender that feels like it is becoming ancient and unused, regardless of whether it is or is not.

Animecoric: a gender related to animecore.

Antiancientius: a gender that feels like it is coming back from being ancient and unused to being new and used

Arcage: a gender that feels locked up in a coffin or mausoleum, it’s desolate and unused but can be revisited and used for a small amount of time.  It can also be related to coffins, cemeteries and Halloween.

Autumnusian: a slightly neutral gender related to autumn (fall), fallen leaves, oak trees, the smell of maples, rain, and/or the sun.

Bellusgender: a gender relating to anything beautiful to the user’s eye (can be flowers, pets etc).

Burlesgender: A gender that is ineffable, extremely hard to label, but is flamboyantly and fabulously androgynous.  It was first coined as Ziggystardustgender but changed due to this referencing a fictional character.

Camogender: a gender that’s hard to see on the outside, almost invisible, but very deep and full of meaning on the inside. Can be thick or thin but is always not what it appears to be.

Cosmiccoric: a gender that feels like you’re a cosmic entity, one with the universe, especially when meditating.

Crystalforestgender: a gender associated with both crystals and forests or that is easily described by both forests and crystals.

Demi-Smoke: a transcendental, spiritual gender roughly drifting to other genders that are unable to be foreseen or understood, shrouded in darkness within your inner visual.  Elevating through mystery and caused by a lack of inner interpretation and one’s dark emotional states.

Derkazgender: where you feel like parts of your gender are hidden or concealed in darkness.

Djender: a gender that is harsh and jagged.

Elegender: a gender up to interpretation by individuals, but in essence is an ethereal gender that is unable to be understood by either the individual or others; a gender that cannot be explained; a dainty, elegant, or delicate gender.

Estetikgender: when your gender is influenced by your current aesthetic.

Fatugender: a useless gender.

Fractigender: a gender identity characterized by different genders occurring with different intensities, and yet still connected (either through expression, interpretation, or being experienced simultaneously).  This identity is based on the Latin fractus (broken), perfect passive participle of frangō (break, fragment), the idea being a pattern that repeats on smaller and smaller scales, and different locations.

Genderabyssalis: a gender that is dark, deep, and abyssal.  It may be connected to darkness, dimness, and cold nights.  It can be masculine or neuter-aligned, but need not be.

Genderamburo: a gender that feels slightly scorched or burnt.

Genderardere: a gender that feels like it has been burnt/scorched, but still remains.

Genderatrum: a gender shrouded into darkness. It feels gloomy and unwelcoming, isolating itself from other genders.

Gendercalefecere: a gender that feels like it warms, and then quickly cools again.

Gendercimiterium: a gender related to graveyards.  It feels buried underneath other genders, and trapped forever more.

Genderclock: a xenogender related with time and clocks.

Gendergothica: a gender that feels Gothic or related to Gothic architecture or literature.

Gendermortes: A gender that fades into death.

Gendermortuss: A gender that feels dead or is barely clinging to life.

Gendernoir: A gender related to the noir aesthetic.

Genderplush: A gender related to teddy bears.

Gendertextus: a gender that is woven into other genders.

Icegender: A cold gender that's disconnected from emotion

Lolitagender: A gender related to Lolita fashion.

Magikavine: A gender related to the color purple, dark circus aesthetics, and magic.

Mermaidcoric: A gender related to mermaidcore.

Multioculaec: a gender related to having or wanting multiple eyes (Based off Wingphinaec).

Naufragiumgender: a gender simply abandoned.  It is similar to a shipwreck in that it just plainly disappears for a while, later to be rediscovered by advancing into the depths of gender.

Necrogender: a gender that used to exist but is now 'dead' or nonexistent.

Nightshadegender: when your gender feels ominous and dangerous if wrongly handled.

Noirgender: an aesthetic gender based on being goth.

Noxnidorian: A gender that’s related to the night and specifically the smell of the night.

Nymphetic: genders relating to the nymphet/doelette/coquette/faunlet aesthetic & fashion, without k!nk attatched

Ophthalmogender: a gender described by your own eye and its characteristics at some point.

Opscugender: a dark, murky gender, hard to describe or see.

Pastelgothcoric: a gender related to pastel gothcore, or just pastel goth in general!

Petrichic: a xenic-alignment with rain, storms, and water.

Pictogender: a gender that can only be described through imagery. A pictogender individual might only be able to describe their gender with icons, symbols, emojis, color gradients, or some other visual.

Pinkcoric: A gender related to pinkcore.

Punque: a gender characterized by the punk aesthetic, fashion, culture, music and attitude.  Can be used as a descriptor or as a noun.

Puppetic: A xenogender related to puppets/marionettes.

Sadcoric: A gender related to sadcore

Sapphiregender: A gender that is aesthetically related to sapphires, a gender that is feminine, non-binary, and vaguely fluid.

Savmysterius: a masculine xenogender that feels shrouded in fog and is hard to define. It’s slightly fluid, golden and ancient, and draws influence from many sources, including: crystals & forests, stars & death, old gods & demons, angels and the fae.

Sexygender: a gender that is very, very sexy

Shampooium: a dermagender that feels sudsy like shampoo, and makes other genders feel healthy as well.

Shipwreckian: a gender somehow connected to shipwrecks, the deep sea, shades of blue and warm ocean waters.

Sliwarmasix: a slightly warm gender, it hovers slightly above other genders and never flares up.

Somnigender: a gender identity related to, dependent upon, or inexorably connected to a feeling of sleepiness or tiredness. Alternately, it can refer to a gender that is difficult or impossible to perceive or identify due to feelings of sleepiness or tiredness.  Not a narcolepsy/insomnia-based neurogender, just general sleepiness.

Squishyic: a xenogender related to squishies.

Starboy: A gender related to boasting, cyberpunk, and crime.

Tenebric: a gender that feels cold and dark; it smells of moss and nature.

Traumacoric: A gender related to traumacore.

Urbisgender: a gender built like a city, composed of many, many parts that all function to help one another; full of many small parts and things to discover.

Vampcoric: a coric gender related to vampirecore.

Wanderlust Gender: a labyrinthine, eerie gender that’s impossible to navigate or map, but which causes no anxiety.  This gender is fun to explore even if it’s easy to get lost in.

Windowgender: a gender feeling like the space between the glass and the screen of the window thus either a free-flowing gender or for those who feel their genders are transparent!

Wingphinaec: a gender related to wings or having wings!

Witchcoric: a xenogender related to witchcore.

Xenoirgender: A gender based in emo, scene and other offshoots of goth.

Zombiecoric: a masculine, feminine or neutral gender based around zombiecore; feels decayed & dark, which isn’t necessarily a bad thing.

Peanut

Peanut (pronounced pee-nuht)

(1) The pod or the enclosed edible seed of the plant, Arachis hypogaea, of the legume family, native to the tropical Americas (and probably of South American origin).  During the plant’s growth, the pod is forced underground where it ripens.  The edible, nut-like seed is used for food and as a source of oil (historically known variously also as the pinder, pinda and goober (used south of the Mason-Dixon Line (originally as “goober pea)), earthnut, groundnut & monkey nut (pre-World War II (1939-1945) UK use).

(2) The plant itself.

(3) Any small or insignificant person or thing; something petty.

(4) In US slang, a very small clam.

(5) In slang, barbiturates (recorded also of other substances delivered in small pills).

(6) In slang, small pieces of Styrofoam used as a packing material (known also as the “packing peanut”).

(7) Of or relating to the peanut or peanuts.

(8) Made with or from peanuts.

1790–1800: The construct may have been pea (in the sense of the small green vegetable) + nut but may etymologists think it was more likely a folk etymology of pinda or pinder, both forms still in dialectal use south of the Mason-Dixon Line.  The plant is apparently native to South America and it was Portuguese traders who early in the sixteenth century took peanuts from Brazil and Peru to Africa by 1502.  Its cultivation in Chekiang (an eastern coastal province of China) was recorded as early as 1573 and the crop probably arrived with the Portuguese ships which docked there.  According to the broadcaster Alistair Cooke (1908–2004), The spellings pea nut & pea-nut are obsolete.  Peanut is a noun & verb. Peanutted & peanutting are verbs and peanutty & peanutlike are adjectives; the noun plural is peanuts.

The word appears in many aspects of modern culture including “circus peanut” (a type of commercial candy), “cocktail peanuts” (commercially packaged salted nuts served (for free) in bars to heighten thirst and thus stimulate beverage sales (also known generically as “beer nuts”)), “peanut butter” (a spread made from ground peanuts and known also as “peanut paste”), “peanut butter and jelly” (a sandwich made with jelly (jam or conserve) spread on one slice and peanut butter on the other), “small peanuts” (very small amount (always in the plural), “peanut milk” (a milky liquid made from peanuts and used as a milk substitute), peanut brittle (a type of brittle (confection) containing peanuts in a hard toffee), “peanut butter cup” (a chocolate candy with peanut butter filling), “peanut bunker” (a small menhaden (a species of fish)), “hog peanut” (a plant native to eastern North America that produces edible nut-like seeds both above & below ground (Amphicarpaea bracteata)), “peanut worm” ( sipunculid worm; any member of phylum Sipuncula. (Sipuncula spp), “peanut cactus” (a cactus of species Chamaecereus silvestrii), “peanut ball” (in athletics & strength training, an exercise ball comprised of two bulbous lobes and a narrower connecting portion), “peanut marzipan” (a peanut confection made with crushed peanuts & sugar, popular in Central & South America), “peanut whistle” (in the slang of the ham radio and citizens band (CB) radio communities, a low-powered transmitter or receiver, “peanut tree” (A tree of the species Sterculia quadrifida), “peanut-headed lanternfly” (In entomology, a species of Neotropical fulgorid planthopper (Fulgora laternaria)) and peanut tube (in electronics, a type of small vacuum tube).

Herbert (HW) Horwill’s (1864-1943) A Dictionary of Modern American Usage (1935) was written as kind of trans-Atlantic companion to Henry Fowler’s (1858–1933) classic A Dictionary of Modern English Usage (1926) and was one of the earliest volumes to document on a systematic basis the variations and dictions between British and American English.  The book was a kind of discussion about the phrase “England and America are two countries separated by one language” attributed to George Bernard Shaw (GBS; 1856-1950) although there are doubts about that.  Horwill had an entry for “peanut” which he noted in 1935 was common in the US but unknown in the UK where it was known as the “monkey nut”.  According to the broadcaster Alistair Cooke (1908–2004), the world “peanut” became a thing in the UK during the early 1940s when the US government included generous quantities of the then novel peanut butter in the supplies of foodstuffs included in the Lend-Lease arrangements.

In idiomatic use, the phrase “if you pay peanuts, you get monkeys” is used to suggest that if only low wages are offered for a role, high quality applicants are unlike to be attracted to the position.  The phrase “peanut gallery” is one of a number which have enter the language from the theatre.  The original Drury Lane theatre in London where William Shakespeare’s (1564–1616) were staged was built on the site of a notorious cockpit (the place where gamecocks fought, spectators gambling on the outcome) and even before this bear and bull-baiting pits had been used for theatrical production of not the highest quality.  That’s the origin of the “pit” in this context being the space at the rear of the orchestra circle, the pit sitting behind the more desirable stalls.  By the Elizabethan era (1558-1603), the poor often sat on the ground (under an open sky) while the more distant raised gallery behind them contained the seats which were cheaper still; that’s the origin of the phrase “playing to the gallery” which describes an appeal to those with base, uncritical tastes although “gallery god” (an allusion to the paintings of the gods of antiquity which were on the gallery’s wall close to the ceiling) seems to be extinct.  The “peanut gallery” (the topmost (ie the most distant and thus cheapest) rows of a theatre) was a coining in US English dating from 1874 because it was the habit of the audience to cast upon to the stage the shells of the peanuts they’d been eating although whether this was ad-hoc criticism or general delinquency isn’t known.  The companion phrase was “hush money”, small denomination coins tossed onto the stage as a “payment” to silence an actor whose performance was judged substandard.  “Hush money” of course has endured to be re-purposed, now used of the payments such as the one made by Donald Trump (b 1946; US president 2017-2021; president elect 2024) to Stormy Daniels (stage name of Stephanie Gregory, b 1979).

Chairman Mao Zedong (left) and Generalissimo Chiang Kai-shek (right), celebrating the Japanese surrender, Chongqing, China, September 1945.  After this visit, they would never meet again.

Joseph "Vinegar Joe" Stilwell (1883–1946) was a US Army general who was appointed chief of staff to the Chinese Nationalist Leader, Generalissimo Chiang Kai-shek (1887-1975) (Generalissimo was a kind of courtesy title acknowledging his position as supreme leader of his armed forces; officially his appointment in 1935 was as 特級上將 (Tèjí shàng jiàng) (high general special class)).  Stilwell’s role was to attempt to coordinate the provision of US funds and materiel to Chiang with the objectives of having the Chinese Nationalist forces operate against the Imperial Japanese Army in Burma (now known usually as Myanmar).  Unfortunately, the generalissimo viewed the Chinese communists under Chairman Mao (Mao Zedong 1893–1976; chairman of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) 1949-1976) as a more immediate threat than that of Nippon and his support for US strategy was no always wholehearted. 

So Stilwell didn’t have an easy task and in his reports to Washington DC referred to Chiang as “Peanut”.  Apparently, “peanut” had originally been allocated to Chiang as one of the army’s random code-names with no particular meaning but greatly it appealed to Stillwell who warmed to the metaphorical possibilities, once recorded referring to Chiang and his creaking military apparatus as “...a peanut perched on top of a dung heap...”  That about summed up Stillwell’s view of Chiang and his “army” and in his diary he noted a military crisis “would be worth it” were the situation “…just sufficient to get rid of the Peanut without entirely wrecking the ship…”  A practical man, his plans extended even to assassinating the generalissimo although these were never brought to fruition.  Eventually, Stilwell was recalled to Washington while Chiang fought on against the communists until 1949 when the Nationalists were forced to flee across the straits of Formosa to the Island of Taiwan, the “renegade province” defying the CCP in Beijing to this day.  Stillwell did have one final satisfaction before being sacked, in 1944 handing Chiang an especially wounding letter from Franklin Delano Roosevelt (FDR, 1882–1945, US president 1933-1945), the reaction so pleasing he was moved to write a poem:

I have waited long for vengeance,
At last I've had my chance.
I've looked the Peanut in the eye
And kicked him in the pants.
 
The old harpoon was ready
With aim and timing true,
I sank it to the handle,
And stung him through and through.
 
The little bastard shivered,
And lost the power of speech.
His face turned green and quivered
As he struggled not to screech.
 
For all my weary battles,
For all my hours of woe,
At last I've had my innings
And laid the Peanut low.
 
I know I've still to suffer,
And run a weary race,
But oh! the blessed pleasure!
I've wrecked the Peanut's face.

Phobias

One who suffers a morbid fear of peanut butter sticking to the roof of one's mouth is said to be an arachibutyrophobe.  Phobias need not be widely diagnosed conditions; they need only be specific and, even if suffered by just one soul in the world, the criteria are fulfilled.  In this sense, phobias are analogous with syndromes.  A phobia is an anxiety disorder, an unreasonable or irrational fear related to exposure to certain objects or situations.  The phobia may be triggered either by the cause or an anticipation of the specific object or situation.

Lindsay Lohan in The Parent Trap (1998) introduced the culinary novelty of peanut butter spread on Oreos; an allure appalled arachibutyrophobes avoid.

The fifth edition of the American Psychiatric Association's (APA) Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-5 (2013)) made some interesting definitional changes from the earlier DSM-4 (1994):  (1) A patient no longer needs to acknowledge their anxiety is excessive or unreasonable in order to receive a diagnoses, it being required only that their anxiety must be “out of proportion” to the actual threat or danger (in its socio-cultural context).  (2) Symptoms must now, regardless of age, last at least six months.  (3) The diagnostic criteria for social phobias no longer specify that age at onset must be before eighteen, a change apparently necessitated by the substantial increase in reporting by older adults with the DSM editors noting the six-month duration threshold exists to minimize the over-diagnosis of transient fears.

Whether it was already something widely practiced isn’t known but Lindsay Lohan is credited with introducing to the world the culinary novelty Oreos & peanut butter in The Parent Trap.  According to the director, it was added to the script “…for no reason other than it sounded weird and some cute kid would do it."  Like some other weirdnesses, the combination has a cult following and for those who enjoy peanut butter but suffer arachibutyrophobia, Tastemade have provided a recipe for Lindsay Lohan-style Oreos with a preparation time (including whisking) of 2 hours.  They take 20 minutes to cook and in this mix there are 8 servings (scale ingredients up to increase the number of servings).

Ingredients

2 cups flour
1 cup unsweetened cocoa powder (plus more for dusting)
¾ teaspoon kosher salt
1 ¼ cups unsalted butter (at room temperature)
¾ cup sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Powdered sugar, for dusting

Filling Ingredients

½ cup unsalted butter, at room temperature
¼ cup unsweetened smooth peanut butter
1 ½ cups powdered sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
A pinch of kosher salt (omit if using salted peanut butter)

Filling Instructions

(1) With a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, the butter & peanut butter until creamy.

(2) Gradually add powdered sugar and beat to combine, then beat in vanilla and salt.

Whisking the mix.

Instructions

(1) Preheat the oven to 325°F (160°C). Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.

(2) In small bowl, whisk together flour, cocoa powder & salt.

(3) In a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, cream together the butter and sugar until light and fluffy.  Mix in the vanilla extract. With the mixer running on low speed, add the flour mixture and beat until just combined (it should remain somewhat crumbly).

(4) Pour mixture onto a work surface and knead until it’s “all together”; wrap half in plastic wrap and place in refrigerator.

(5) Lightly dust surface and the top of the dough with a 1:1 mixture of cocoa powder and powdered sugar.

(6) Working swiftly and carefully, roll out dough to a ¼-½ inch (6-12 mm) thickness and cut out 2 inch (50 mm) rounds.  Transfer them to the baking sheets, 1 inch (25 mm) apart (using a small offset spatula helps with this step). Re-roll scraps and cut out more rounds, the repeat with remaining half of the dough.

(7) Bake cookies until the tops are no longer shiny ( about 20 minutes), then cool on pan for 5 minutes before transferring to wire rack completely to cool.

(8) To assemble, place half the cookies on a plate or work surface.

(9) Pipe a blob of filling (about 2 teaspoons) onto the tops of each of these cookies and then place another cookie on top, pressing slightly but not to the extent filled oozes from the sides.

(10) Refrigerate for a few minutes to allow the filling to firm up.  Store in an air-tight container in refrigerator.

The manufacturer embraced the idea of peanut butter Oreos and has released versions, both with the classic cookie and a peanut butter & jelly (jam) variation paired with its “golden wafers”.  As well as Lindsay Lohan’s contribution, Oreos have attracted the interest of mathematicians.  Nabisco in 1974 introduced the Double Stuf Oreo, the clear implication being a promise the variety contained twice crème filling supplied in the original.  However, a mathematician undertook the research and determined Double Stuf Oreos contained only 1.86 times the volume of filling of a standard Oreo.  Despite that, the company survived the scandal and the Double Stuf Oreo’s recipe wasn’t adjusted.

Scandalous in its own way was that an April 2022 research paper published in the journal Physics of Fluids wasn’t awarded that year’s Ig Nobel Prize for physics, the honor taken by Frank Fish, Zhi-Ming Yuan, Minglu Chen, Laibing Jia, Chunyan Ji & Atilla Incecik, for their admittedly ground-breaking (or perhaps water-breaking) work in explaining how ducklings manage to swim in formation.  More deserving surely were Crystal Owens, Max Fan, John Hart & Gareth McKinley who introduced to physics the discipline of Oreology (the construct being Oreo + (o)logy).  The suffix -ology was formed from -o- (as an interconsonantal vowel) +‎ -logy.  The origin in English of the -logy suffix lies with loanwords from the Ancient Greek, usually via Latin and French, where the suffix (-λογία) is an integral part of the word loaned (eg astrology from astrologia) since the sixteenth century.  French picked up -logie from the Latin -logia, from the Ancient Greek -λογία (-logía).  Within Greek, the suffix is an -ία (-ía) abstract from λόγος (lógos) (account, explanation, narrative), and that a verbal noun from λέγω (légō) (I say, speak, converse, tell a story).  In English the suffix became extraordinarily productive, used notably to form names of sciences or disciplines of study, analogous to the names traditionally borrowed from the Latin (eg astrology from astrologia; geology from geologia) and by the late eighteenth century, the practice (despite the disapproval of the pedants) extended to terms with no connection to Greek or Latin such as those building on French or German bases (eg insectology (1766) after the French insectologie; terminology (1801) after the German Terminologie).  Within a few decades of the intrusion of modern languages, combinations emerged using English terms (eg undergroundology (1820); hatology (1837)).  In this evolution, the development may be though similar to the latter-day proliferation of “-isms” (fascism; feminism etc).  Oreology is the study of the flow and fracture of sandwich cookies and the research proved it is impossible to split the cream filling of an Oreo cookie down the middle.

An Oreo on a rheometer.

The core finding in Oreology was that the filling always adheres to one side of the wafer, no matter how quickly one or both cookies are twisted.  Using a rheometer (a laboratory instrument used to measure the way in which a viscous fluid (a liquid, suspension or slurry) flows in response to applied forces), it was determined creme distribution upon cookie separation by torsional rotation is not a function of rate of rotation, creme filling height level, or flavor, but was mostly determined by the pre-existing level of adhesion between the creme and each wafer.  The research also noted that were there changes to the composition of the filling (such as the inclusion of peanut butter) would influence the change from adhesive to cohesive failure and presumably the specifics of the peanut butter chosen (smooth, crunchy, extra-crunchy, un-salted (although the organic varieties should behave in a similar way to their mass-market equivalents)) would have some effect because the fluid dynamics would change.  The expected extent of the change would be appear to be slight but until further research is performed, this can’t be confirmed.