Fascism

Fascism (pronounced fash-iz-uhm)

(1) A system of government led by a dictator (nominally with total power), forcibly suppressing opposition and criticism, regimenting (to various degrees) industry, commerce, the arts etc and emphasizing an aggressive nationalism, often with an overtly racist emphasis (often used with an initial capital letter).

(2) The philosophy, principles or methods of fascism.

(3) A political movement that employs the principles and methods of fascism (based at least nominally on the model established in Italy in 1922 but the variations within implementations were numerous (often used with an initial capital letter).

(4) A now generalized term used to describe certain regimes based on their behavior rather that the labels formerly adopted.

(5) A general term of disparagement nominally based on alleged political or other behavior but now very loosely applied.

(6) As a slang modifier, (grammar-fascism, eco-fascism, fashion-fascism et al), a term of derision aimed at those thought excessively focused on rules and regulations.

1915–1920: From the Italian fascismo, the construct being fasc(io) (bundle of sticks; political group) + -ismo (the noun-forming suffix (the plural –ismi)) from the Latin -ismus.  The significance of the connection between what came to be known as political fascism and fascio (bundle of sticks) was the use of the symbol in ancient Rome where it was part of the standard (flag) of the magistracy, symbolizing the authority of the state.  Certain political organizations in modern Italy thus came to be known as fasci and the fasces was adopted as the symbol of the Italian Fascist party which took power in 1922).  Fasces dates from 1590–1600 and was from the Latin fasces (bundle of rods containing an axe with the blade projecting), the plural of fascis (bundle or pack of wood), from the Proto-Italic faski- (bundle) possibly from the primitive Indo-European bhasko- (band, bundle), (the source also of the Middle Irish basc (neckband), the Welsh baich (load, burden) and possibly the Old English bæst (inner bark of the linden tree)).  In Ancient Rome, the bundle was carried by a functionary before a lictor (a senior Roman magistrate) as a symbol of the judiciary’s power over life and limb (the sticks symbolized the use of corporal punishment (by whipping or thrashing with sticks) while the axe-head represented execution by beheading.  From this specific symbolism, in Latin the word came to be used figuratively of “high office, supreme power”.  Fasces is a noun (usually used with a singular verb); the noun plural is fascis but fasces is used as both a singular & plural.  For this reason, some in the field of structural linguistics suggest fascis remains Latin while fasces has been borrowed by English.  Fascism is a noun, fascistic is an adjective and fascist is a noun & adjective; the noun plural fascists is in much more frequent use then fascisms.

Fascism as a label has been so over-used in casual political discourse that it has become devalued.  However forms like anti-fascism and pro-fascism (with many variations) remain in use and the US left-wing collective “antifa” (pronounced an-tee-fah) is a non-hyphenated clipping of anti-fascism (or anti-fascist).  In some cases where actual fascism is in more recent living memory, the word is more established in political “discussions” and in post-Franco Spain, some such “debates” can probably be reduced to “You’re a fascist!” vs “No, you’re a fascist!”.  It can be quite entertaining.

Le Serment des Horaces (Oath of the Horatii (1784-1785)), oil on canvas by Jacques-Louis David (1748–1825), the Louvre, Paris.  Le Serment des Horaces is a work often used as a case-study in the teaching of art theory because it so exemplifies the techniques of those painting in the Neoclassical style, both in the use of classical motifs and the way in which it represents the reaction against the Rococo.  As a tool of academic study, it’s useful too because its large size (3298 mm × 4248 mm (129.8 in × 167.2 inches) permits close examination of detail.

The scene it depicts is based on the Roman legend of an episode (dated usually to the reign of Tullus Hostilius (third King of Rome between 672–642 BC) in the wars between the cities Rome and Alba Longa in which the decision was taken to select three men from each to fight to the death, the victorious survivor(s) determining which city would be declared the winner.  The advantage was it was an alternative to each sending their whole armies, thereby avoiding mass slaughter, the drawback from a military point of view being the result would not necessarily reflect how a full scale battle would have been resolved.  The way the curious dual of the triumvirates unfolded is of interest to students of battlefield tactics but the political implications cast a longer shadow, providing some of the underpinnings of twentieth century fascism will all of its bloody consequences. In Le Serment des Horaces, a father is shown offering three swords to his sons who eagerly reach to take them, signifying their willingness to fight and, if need be, die for their city.  To reinforce the message, at the conclusion of the battle, a sister of the sole surviving victor (shown in the painting to the right), was killed by him for the sin of mourning the death of one of the slain opponents to whom she’d been betrothed.  Not only must one be loyal in body and ted to the state but also in mind and soul and although pre-dating the French Revolution (1789) by half a decade, such sentiments were common in many circles at the time as the idea gaining currency that “being French” should mean being loyal to the nation rather than the church or some sectional identification.  It was this notion of the supremacy of the state and the subordination of the individual to it that formed the basis of twentieth century fascism.

It was fashionable for much of the late twentieth century to dismiss the idea that Fascism had no intellectual or philosophical underpinnings and it was a thing based wholly on personalities and spectacle which captured the imagination of political scientists and others only because it genuinely did seem new, something of a novelty in a field where everything else had a literature dating back hundreds or thousands of years.  However, even if there was nothing like the wealth of work associated with doctrines like liberalism, conservatism or Marxism and while attempts to construct something like a “theory of fascism” have never been wholly convincing, much work has been done distilling the experience of fascism to a list or recognizable characteristics.  Independent commentator Laurence Britt published a number of pieces exploring the nature of the experience of fascism in power and provided one widely shared list of 14 fundamental characteristics:

Powerful and Continuing Nationalism: Fascist regimes tend to make constant use of patriotic mottos, slogans, symbols, songs, and other paraphernalia. Flags are seen everywhere, as are flag symbols on clothing and in public displays.

Disdain for the Recognition of Human Rights: Because of fear of enemies and the need for security, the people in fascist regimes are persuaded that human rights can be ignored in certain cases because of "need." The people tend to look the other way or even approve of torture, summary executions, assassinations, long incarcerations of prisoners, etc.

Identification of Enemies & Scapegoats as a Unifying Cause: The people are rallied into a unifying patriotic frenzy over the need to eliminate a perceived common threat or foe: racial, ethnic or religious minorities; liberals; communists; socialists, terrorists, etc.

Supremacy of the Military: Even when there are widespread domestic problems, the military is given a disproportionate amount of government funding, and the domestic agenda is neglected. Soldiers and military service are glamorized.

Rampant Sexism: The governments of fascist nations tend to be almost exclusively male-dominated. Under fascist regimes, traditional gender roles are made more rigid. Opposition to abortion is high, as is homophobia and anti-gay legislation and national policy.

Controlled Mass Media: Sometimes to media is directly controlled by the government, but in other cases, the media is indirectly controlled by government regulation, or sympathetic media spokespeople and executives. Censorship, especially in war time, is very common.

Obsession with National Security: Fear is used as a motivational tool by the government over the masses.

Religion and Government are Intertwined: Governments in fascist nations tend to use the most common religion in the nation as a tool to manipulate public opinion. Religious rhetoric and terminology is common from government leaders, even when the major tenets of the religion are diametrically opposed to the government's policies or actions.

Corporate Power is Protected: The industrial and business aristocracy of a fascist nation often are the ones who put the government leaders into power, creating a mutually beneficial business/government relationship and power elite.

Labor Power is Suppressed: Because the organizing power of labor is the only real threat to a fascist government, labor unions are either eliminated entirely or severely suppressed .

Disdain for Intellectuals and the Arts: Fascist nations tend to promote and tolerate open hostility to higher education, and academia. It is not uncommon for professors and other academics to be censored or even arrested. Free expression in the arts is openly attacked, and governments often refuse to fund the arts.

Obsession with Crime and Punishment: Under fascist regimes, the police are given almost limitless power to enforce laws. The people are often willing to overlook police abuses and even forego civil liberties in the name of patriotism. There is often a national police force with virtually unlimited power in fascist nations.

Rampant Cronyism and Corruption: Fascist regimes almost always are governed by groups of friends and associates who appoint each other to government positions and use governmental power and authority to protect their friends from accountability. It is not uncommon in fascist regimes for national resources and even treasures to be appropriated or even outright stolen by government leaders.

Fraudulent Elections: Sometimes elections in fascist nations are a complete sham. Other times elections are manipulated by smear campaigns against or even assassination of opposition candidates, use of legislation to control voting numbers or political district boundaries, and manipulation of the media. Fascist nations also typically use their judiciaries to manipulate or control elections.

It’s a helpful list and what many noted was the extend of the overlap of those characteristics into countries in which the governments are inclined to self identify as “liberal” or “democratic” but then the prime imperative in politics is always regime survival so some duplication of tactics should not be unexpected.  That does emphasize how the labels of political science are useful only to an extent.  World War II (1939-1945) has often been called the great conflict between democracy and fascism but its bloodiest theatre was Europe’s eastern front where in what Moscow styled the “Great Patriotic War” (1941-1945), the battle was between communism and fascism yet even if one finds Laurence Britt’s list of 14 in some way flawed, there’s an extraordinary degree to which it can be mapped onto both comrade Stalin’s (1878-1953; Soviet leader 1924-1953) “communist” system and Adolf Hitler’s (1889-1945; Führer (leader) and German head of government 1933-1945 & head of state 1934-1945) fascist regime.  To synthesize the factors for the list, assessed not on the constructs of Hitler and Benito Mussolini (1883-1945; Duce (leader) & prime-minister of Italy 1922-1943) but also those built by General "Muhammad" Suharto (or Soeharto) (1921-2008; president of Indonesia 1967-1998), Generalissimo Francisco Franco (1892-1975; Caudillo of Spain 1939-1975) and General Augusto Pinochet (1915-2006; dictator of Chile 1973-1990).

Another obvious mapping now is probably the People’s Republic of China (PRC), run since 1949 by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP).  Early in September 2023, it was reported the CCP intended to ban clothes which “hurt national feelings” and a draft law outlawing speech and dressing “detrimental to the spirit of Chinese people” is already under consideration.  It has been confirmed that under the proposed statute, people found guilty could be fined or jailed and the move to crack down on subversive clothing is one of a number of proposed changes to public security laws, the first substantive reform in decades.  No details have yet been released beyond it being said those who wear or force others to wear clothing and symbols which “undermine the spirit or hurt the feelings of the Chinese nation” could be detained for up to 15 days and fined up to 5,000 yuan (US$680).  In parallel, anyone who creates or disseminate articles or speech with the same effect would face the same punishment and in that aspect the CCP was more specific, indicating the proposed laws will prohibit “insulting, slandering or otherwise infringing upon the names of local heroes and martyrs” as well as vandalism of the memorials of their lives.

How to "hurt national feelings": Lindsay Lohan in costume as Suicide Squad’s Harley Quinn (a comic book character created by DC Comics), “Halloween bash”, Albert's Club, South Kensington, London, October 2016.  Any young Chinese lady wearing this might risk being accused of being dressed in a manner “detrimental to the spirit of Chinese people” and be fined or sent to “re-education” camp. 

On the vibrant, if by Western standards still respectful, Chinese social media, concerns were expressed that the notion of “detrimental to the spirit of Chinese people” was so vague and allow police officers and others a broad scope of personal interpretation about what the words meant that it would be impossible for people to be certain if they were complying.  One commentator cited the example of a Chinese woman who had been detained (even before any such law was passed) at a music concert because she was wearing a kimono, a classic style of Japanese attire.  Given that, it was asked whether wearing a suit & tie, a style which originated in the capitalist West would on the same basis be thought likely to “hurt national feelings”.  Given it’s the apparently compulsory uniform for the upper echelons of the CCP (including the Central Committee), that seems unlikely but does indicate how difficult it would be to codify such a rule.  One UK cartoonist once invented the imaginary offence “Being dressed in a manner likely to cause a breach of the peace” to illustrate how UK police might take advantage of such a law.  The woman in the kimono has actually been told exactly that she was dressed in a manner likely to cause a breach of the peace, the authorities in Suzhou accusing her of “picking quarrels and provoking trouble”.  Good, hard crackdowns of displays of individuality are a hallmark of fascist regimes and of late there’s been much attention paid to those wear rainbow colors and other symbols of “Western decadence and depravity” and in his decade at the top, Xi Jinping (b 1953; general secretary of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) and paramount leader of the People's Republic of China (PRC) since 2013) has paid much attention to social engineering, re-defining what makes the model Chinese citizen and sartorial matters are the latest to be added to the “morality guidelines” the CCP issued in 2019 which included making compulsory “politeness”, “lowering one’s carbon footprint” and “having faith in Mr Xi and the CCP”.

Regalia

Regalia (pronounced ri-gey-lee-uh or ri-geyl-yuh)

(1) The emblems, symbols, or paraphernalia indicative of royalty or any other sovereign status; such as a crown, orb, sceptre or sword.

(2) The decorations, insignia, or ceremonial clothes of any office or order.

(3) A casual term for fancy, or dressy clothing; finery.

(4) Royal rights, prerogatives and privileges actually enjoyed by any sovereign, regardless of his title (emperor, grand duke etc).

(5) Sumptuous food (obsolete except in the odd literary novel).

(6) A large cigar of the finest quality (obsolete except in the odd literary novel). 

1530–1540: From the Medieval Latin rēgālia (royal privileges; things pertaining to a king), noun use of neuter plural of the Latin rēgālis (regal).  The word stems from the Latin substantivation of the adjective rēgālis, itself from rex (king).  Regalia is a Latin plurale tantum (plural as such, plural only) word that has different definitions. In one ancient (but now rare) definition, it refers to the exclusive privileges of a sovereign, a concept which remains codified in Scots law as Inter regalia (something inherently that belongs to the sovereign) and this may include property, privileges, or prerogatives.  The term is a direct borrowing from the Latin inter (among) and regalia (things of the king).  In Scots law, the division is between (1) regalia majora (major regalia), which are inseparable from the person of the sovereign and (2) regalia minora (minor regalia), which may be conveyed to a subject.  The word originally referred to the formal dress of a sovereign, but is now used of any type of elaborate formal dress or accessories and is applied especially to academic and ecclesiastical robes.  Although regalia is a Latin plurale tantum (plural as such, plural only) which, in the grammar of Latin is a noun (in any specific sense) that has no singular form (eg scissors) in most usage, in Modern English, it’s sometimes used in the singular: regale.  Further to complicate, the plural form of the grammatical descriptor is pluralia tantum.  Regalia is a noun and regalian is an adjective; the noun plural is regalias.

Cardinal George Pell (1941-2023) in ecclesiastical regalia (left) and a deconstruction of the layers (right).  The nature of the garments' layers assumed significance in the matter of the cardinal's trial on charges of sexual abuse of a minor, a discussion about the ease and speed with with "accessibility" was physically possible (within the constraints of time and place) being among the evidence offered in defense.

In his original trial the cardinal was convicted, the verdict upheld on appeal to a full bench of the Court of Appeal.  However, upon final appeal to the High Court of Australia (HCA), the conviction was quashed, the judges ruling that the Crown had not beyond reasonable doubt proved the acts alleged happened as described, in the circumstances, in the place and at the time mentioned in the indictment.  Quash means to nullify, void or declare invalid and is a procedure used in both criminal and civil cases when irregularities or procedural defects are found.  In a unanimous (7-0) judgment (Pell v The Queen [2020] HCA 12)) quashing Cardinal Pell’s conviction in the Supreme Court of Victoria (Pell v The Queen [2019] VSCA 186), the High Court set aside the verdict and substituted an acquittal; in a legal sense it is now as if the original verdict never happened. 

Lindsay Lohan being adorned with prom queen regalia (Mean Girls (2004)).

A depiction of Peter Dutton (b 1970; leader of the opposition and leader of the Australian Liberal Party since May 2022) in the regalia of a Freemason Grand Master (digitally altered image).

Although no documentary evidence has ever emerged, Mr Dutton has never denied being a Freemason.  Masonic Grand Masters wear specific regalia signifying their high rank within the cult.  The details of the garments & accessories vary between the sects of Freemasonry but the core elements are:

Apron: The Grand Master wears an ornate apron which historically was fabricated from natural fibres such as silk or lambskin but it may be some now use modern synthetics which offer some advantages although they lack the same quality of tactility.  The aprons feature intricate embroidery, including Masonic symbols such as the Square and Compasses and may feature gold or silver fringes are common.

Collar: A grand and elaborate collar made of a wide ribbon is worn around the neck, often with a grand master's jewel or other symbol of office attached.  Most ribbons are still the traditional blue with gold or silver embroidery & embellishments.

Jewel: A grand master's jewel is a distinctive medallion or emblem (usually attached to the collar) which includes symbols denoting the authority of the office such as the square, compass, eye or other Masonic insignia.

Gloves: White gloves are a standard part of Masonic regalia (worn not only by a grand master).  The origin of the white gloves was their (alleged) use by stone masons when working on porous materials such as marble, symbolizing purity and the craftsman's clean hands.

Sash or Girdle: In some Masonic temples, grand Masters wear a sash or girdle around the waist, again, often adorned with the cult’s symbols and colors.  Some temples don’t use sashes as part of the regalia because it’s said to be a modern addition with no real link to Masonic tradition.

Hat: The hats, while distinctive, seem to be a fashion choice more than a general tradition.  The most popular seem to be tricorn, bowler or top-hats although evidence suggest regional factors may influence the choice, a wide array of ceremonial caps existing in the photographic record.  In some sects, a specific, unique hat is reserved for use by the Grand Master who may wear it only during ceremonies and rituals.

Strumpet

Strumpet (pronounced struhm-pit)

A woman of loose virtue (archaic).

1300–1350: From the Middle English strumpet and its variations, strompet & strumpet (harlot; bold, lascivious woman) of uncertain origin.  Some etymologists suggest a connection with the Latin stuprata, the feminine past participle of stuprare (have illicit sexual relations with) from stupere, present active infinitive of stupeo, (violation) or stuprare (to violate) or the Late Latin stuprum, (genitive stuprī) (dishonor, disgrace, shame, violation, defilement, debauchery, lewdness).  The meanings in Latin and the word structure certainly appears compelling but there is no documentary evidence and others ponder a relationship with the Middle Dutch strompe (a stocking (as the verbal shorthand for a prostitute)) or strompen (to stride, to stalk (in the sense suggestive of the manner in which a prostitute might approach a customer).  Again, it’s entirely speculative and the spelling streppett (in same sense) was noted in the 1450s.  In the late eighteen century, strumpet came to be abbreviated as strum and also used as a verb, which meant lexicographers could amuse themselves with wording the juxtaposition of strum’s definitions, Francis Grose (circa 1730-1791) in his A Classical Dictionary of the Vulgar Tongue (1785) settling on (1) to have carnal knowledge of a woman & (2) to play badly on the harpsichord or any other stringed instrument.  As a term in musical performance, strum is now merely descriptive.

Even before the twentieth century, among those seeking to disparage women (and there are usually a few), strumpet had fallen from favour and by the 1920s was thought archaic to the point where it was little used except as a device by authors of historical fiction.  Depending on the emphasis it was wished to impart, the preferred substitutes which ebbed and flowed in popularity over the years included tramp, harlot, hussy, jezebel (sometimes capitalized), jade, tart, slut, minx, wench, trollop, hooker, whore, bimbo, floozie (or floozy) and (less commonly) slattern skeezer & malkin.

There’s something about trollop which is hard to resist but it has fallen victim to modern standards and it now can’t be flung even at white, hetrosexual Christian males (a usually unprotected species) because of the historic association.  Again the origin is obscure with most etymologists concluding it was connected with the Middle English trollen (to go about, stroll, roll from side to side).  It was used as a synonym for strumpet but often with the particular connotation of some debasement of class or social standing (the the speculated link with trollen in the sense of “moving to the other (bad) side”) so a trollop was a “fallen woman”.  Otherwise it described (1) a woman of a vulgar and discourteous disposition or (2) to act in a sluggish or slovenly manner.  North of the border it tended to the neutral, in Scotland meaning to dangle soggily; become bedraggled while in an equestrian content it described a horse moving with a gait between a trot and a gallop (a canter).  For those still brave enough to dare, the present participle is trolloping and the past participle trolloped while the noun plural (the breed often operating in pars or a pack) is trollops.

Floozie (the alternative spellings floozy, floosy & floosie still seen although floogy is obsolete) was originally a corruption of flossy, fancy or frilly in the sense of “showy” and dates only from the turn of the twentieth century.  Although it was sometimes used to describe a prostitute or at least someone promiscuous, it was more often applied in the sense of an often gaudily or provocatively dressed temptress although the net seems to have been cast wide, disapproving mothers often describing as floozies friendly girls who just like to get to know young men.

Strum and trollop weren’t the only words in this vein to have more than one meaning.  Harlot was from the Middle English harlot, from Old French harlot, herlot & arlot (vagabond; tramp), of uncertain origin but probably from a Germanic source, either a derivation of harjaz (army; camp; warrior; military leader) or from a diminutive of karilaz (man; fellow).  It was an exclusively derogatory and offensive form which meant (1) a female prostitute, (2) a woman thought promiscuous woman and (3) a churl; a common person (male or female), of low birth, especially who leading an unsavoury life or given to low conduct.

Lord Beaverbrook (1950), oil on canvas by Graham Sutherland (1903–1980).  It’s been interesting to note that as the years pass, Rupert Murdoch (b 1931) more and more resembles Beaverbrook.

Increasing sensitivity to the way language can reinforce the misogyny which has probably always characterized politics (in the West it’s now more of an undercurrent) means words like harlot which once added a colorful robustness to political rhetoric are now rarely heard.  One of the celebrated instances of use came in 1937 when Stanley Baldwin’s (1867–1947; leader of the UK’s Tory Party and thrice prime-minister 1923 to 1937) hold on the party leadership was threatened by Lord Rothermere (1868-1940) and Lord Beaverbrook (1879-1964), two very rich newspaper proprietors (the sort of folk Mr Trump would now call the “fake news media”).  Whether he would prevail depended on his preferred candidate winning a by-election and three days prior to the poll, on 17 March 1931, Baldwin attacked the press barons in a public address:

“The newspapers attacking me are not newspapers in the ordinary sense; they are engines of propaganda for the constantly changing policies, desires, personal vices, personal likes and dislikes of the two men.  What are their methods?  Their methods are direct falsehoods, misrepresentation, half-truths, the alteration of the speaker's meaning by publishing a sentence apart from the context and what the proprietorship of these papers is aiming at is power, and power without responsibility, the prerogative of the harlot throughout the ages.”

The harlot line overnight became a famous quotation and in one of the ironies of history, Baldwin borrowed it from his cousin, the writer Rudyard Kipling (1865-1936) who had used it during a discussion with the same Lord Beaverbrook.  Like a good many (including his biographer AJP Taylor (1906-1990) who should have known better), Kipling had been attracted by Beaverbrook’s energy and charm but found the inconsistency of his newspapers puzzling, finally asking him to explain his strategy.  He replied “What I want is power. Kiss ‘em one day and kick ‘em the next’ and so on”.  “I see” replied Kipling, “Power without responsibility, the prerogative of the harlot throughout the ages.”  Baldwin received his cousin’s permission to recycle the phrase in public.

While not exactly respectable but having not descended to prostitution, there was also the hussy (the alternative spellings hussif, hussiv & even hussy all obsolete).  Hussy was a Middle English word from the earlier hussive & hussif, an unexceptional evolution of the Middle English houswyf (housewife) and the Modern English housewife is a restoration of the compound (which for centuries had been extinct) after its component parts had become unrecognisable through phonetic change.  The idea of hussy as a housewife or housekeeper is long obsolete (taking with it the related (and parallel) sense of “a case or bag for needles, thread etc” which as late as the eighteenth century was mention in judgements in English common law courts when discussing as woman’s paraphernalia).  It’s enduring use is to describe women of loose virtue but it can be used either in a derogatory or affectionate sense (something like a minx), the former seemingly often modified with the adjective “shameless”, probably to the point of becoming clichéd.

“An IMG Comrade, Subverts, Perverts & Extroverts: A Brief Pull-Out Guide”, The Oxford Strumpet, 10 October 1975.   

Reflecting the left’s shift in emphasis as the process of decolonization unfolded and various civil rights movements gained critical mass in sections of white society, anti-racist activism became a core issue for collectives such as the International Marxist Group.  Self-described as “the British section of the Fourth International”, by the 1970s their political position was explicitly anti-colonial, anti-racist, and trans-national, expressed as: “We believe that the fight for socialism necessitates the abolition of all forms of oppression, class, racial, sexual and imperialist, and the construction of socialism on a world wide scale”.  Not everything published in The Oxford Strumpet was in the (evolved) tradition of the Fourth International and it promoted a wide range of leftist and progressive student movements.

Lindsay Lohan in rather fetching, strumpet-red underwear.

The Oxford Strumpet was an alternative left newspaper published within the University of Oxford and sold locally.  It had a focus on university politics and events but also included comment and analysis of national and international politics.  With a typically undergraduate sense of humor, the name was chosen to (1) convey something of the anti-establishment editorial attitude and (2) allude to the color red, long identified with the left (the red-blue thing in recent US politics is a historical accident which dates from a choice by the directors of the coverage of election results on color television broadcasts).  However, by 1975, feminist criticism of the use of "Strumpet" persuaded the editors to change the name to "Red Herring" and edition 130 was the final Strumpet.  Red Herring did not survive the decline of the left after the demise of the Soviet Union and was unrelated to the Red Herring media company which during the turn-of-the-century dot-com era published both print and digital editions of a tech-oriented magazine.  Red Herring still operates as a player in the technology news business and also hosts events, its business model the creation of “top 100” lists which can be awarded to individuals or representatives of companies who have paid the fee to attend.  Before it changed ownership and switched its focus exclusively to the tech ecosystem, Red Herring magazine had circulated within the venture capital community and the name had been a playful in-joke, a “red herring” being bankers slang for a prospectus issued with IPO (initial public offering) stock offers.

Bride

Bride (pronounced brahyd)

(1) A woman on her wedding day, both before and after the ceremony of marriage.

(2) In needlework, a connection consisting of a thread or a number of threads for joining various solid parts of a design in needlepoint lace (also called a bar, leg or tie).

(3) An ornamental string used to tie a bonnet.

(4) Figuratively, an object ardently loved (obsolete).

(5) In theology, an expression to describe a woman who has devoted her life to some calling (eg “a bride of Christ”) which precludes marriage.

Pre 1000: From the Middle English bride, from the Old English brȳd (bride, betrothed or newly married woman), from the Proto-Germanic brūdiz (bride; woman being married).  It was cognate with the Old High German brūt, the Old Norse brūthr, the Gothic brūths (daughter-in-law), the Saterland Frisian breid & bräid (bride), the West Frisian breid (bride), the German & Low German Bruut (bride), the Dutch bruid (bride), the German Braut (bride), the Danish brud (bride), the Swedish brud (bride).  The use to describe the bonnet tie dates from 1865-1870, from the French bride (bonnet-string (literally “bridle”)), from the Middle French bride, from the Old French bride (rein, bridle), from the Middle High German brīdel (rein, bridle), from the Old High German brīdil (rein, bridle) and related to the Old High German brittil (rein, strap) and the French bretelle (from the Proto-Germanic brigdilaz (bridle)), the Spanish brida and the Italian briglia.  Restricted almost exclusively to needlework, the present participle is briding and the past participle brided; the noun plural is brides.  The spellings brid, bryd, bryde & brude persisted in English but are all long obsolete.

Lindsay Lohan in costume as a bride for an episode of the TV series Two Broke Girls, 2014.  It was in June 2022 confirmed that Lindsay Lohan had married Bader Shammas (b 1987), a vice-president with Credit Suisse, the couple based in Dubai.  Describing herself as the "...luckiest woman in the world", she added she was "...stunned that this is my husband. My life and my everything.  Every woman should feel like this every day".  Although the details haven't be finalized, it seems that to mark the event, there will be a ceremony in the United States.

The Gothic cognate bruþs meant "daughter-in-law" and the form of the word borrowed from the Old High German into Medieval Latin (bruta) and Old French (bruy) had only this sense.  In ancient Indo-European custom, a married woman would live with husband's family so the only "newly wedded” female in such a household would have been the daughter-in-law.  In a similar structralist analysis, some etymologists linked the word to the primitive Indo-European verbal root bhreu-, from which are derived words for cooking and brewing, the basis for this the (not wholly unfounded) speculation that such would be the household tasks of the daughter-in-law job.  In what may be a similar vein was the Old Frisian fletieve (bride (but literally "house-gift”)) but it may have been used in the sense of welcoming a new family member rather noting the addition of an economic unit.

In praise of older men

Wedding day of actors Johnny Depp (b 1963) and Amber Heard (b 1986), Bahamas, 2015.  Ms Heard filed for divorce in May 2016.

The noun bridesmaid (young girl or unmarried woman who attends on a bride at her wedding) began in the 1550s as the construct bridemaid (bride + maid). The interpolated “s” is thought un-etymological but emerged in the late eighteenth century and in succeeding decades became the standard form, the “s” presumably indicating a possessive although it may have evolved simply because that’s how the word had come to be pronounced; bridemaid & bridemaids less kind to the tongue.  A bridesman was in the early nineteenth century a "male attendant on a bridegroom at his wedding" although the modern practice is for a groom to be attended by a best man and several groomsmen, matching the bride’s entourage of a maid or matron of honor (the difference being a maid of honor is unmarried while a matron of honor (even if for whatever reason legally single) has already had a wedding of her own (and matron of honor supplanted the earlier bridematron)) and bridesmaids.  Done properly, the numbers should align; the maid of honor and best man acting as chiefs of staff; the groomsmen and bridesmaids paired-off for ceremonial purposes.

Wedding day of Rupert Murdoch (b 1931) and Jerry Hall (1956), London, 2016.  It was recently announced the couple are to divorce.

Brideman & bridegroom (man newly married or about to be) date from the early seventeenth century although the short form groom later prevailed.  The noun bridegroom was from the Old English brydguma (suitor), the construct being from bryd (bride) + guma (man (though also used to mean “boy”)), from the Proto-Germanic gumon- (source also of the Old Norse gumi and the Old High German gomo), literally "an earthling, an earthly being" (as opposed to “of the gods”), from a suffixed form of the primitive Indo-European root dhghem- (earth).  In the sixteenth century, the ending was altered by folk etymology, the noun groom (boy, lad) preferred, a hint at the youthfulness which then characterized marriage.  Bridegroom was also a common compound in Germanic languages including the Old Saxon brudigumo, the Old Norse bruðgumi, the Old High German brutigomo and the German Bräutigam.  However, in Gothic, it was bruþsfaþs, literally "bride's lord", the possessive sense of which presumably worked either way depending on the dynamics of the marriage.

The phrase “give away the bride”, whereby the father of the bride “gives away” his daughter to the groom persists and seems, surprisingly, to have escaped serious feminist criticism; perhaps they really are romantics at heart.  The meaning was once literal in that at common law, the bride and all her worldly goods (save for her paraphernalia) passed upon marriage to her husband as real property or mere chattels, the legal significance of “give away” being that the father’s ownership of daughter and goods was at that point unconditionally sundered.  Legislative reform has done away with all that but the ceremonial tradition endures, as does the phrase “always a bridesmaid, never a bride” a lament for one for whom spinsterhood seems a fate.  Other constructions include "war bride" (which can mean either a woman who marries someone going away to war or one who marries (in a variety of circumstances) during a conflict and “bride of the sea” “bride of the fields” etc, on the model of “bride of Christ” and suggesting an exclusive attachment to something or (more commonly) the idea of sharing the attention of a husband with their vocation (seafaring, farming etc).

Wedding day of Boris Johnson (b 1964) and Carrie Symonds (b 1988), London 2021.  Although it was his third marriage, Mr Johnson was married by the Roman Catholic Church, the ceremony conducted at no less than Westminster Cathedral.  Although a  baptized Catholic, the history meant a few eyebrows were raised but under canon law, it was an uncontroversial matter, both previous marriages invalid by reason of lack of canonical form.  The wedding was private but a ceremony of some description has been planned for Chequers in September 2022, the country house of the prime-minister in Buckinghamshire, the invitations said to have been posted before the events of early July which compelled Mr Johnson to announce he'd be leaving office "when the party has elected a successor".  Chequers in early autumn sounds a charming place for a party so it's hoped the Tories don't too quickly find their next leader.  

A “bride price” was money or other valuables paid in some cultures by a bridegroom or on his behalf) to the family of the bride.  Technically, it was the same idea the dowry (from the Middle English dowarye & dowerie, from the Anglo-Norman dowarie & douarie, from the Old French douaire, from the Medieval Latin dōtārium, from the Classical Latin dōs (from the Proto-Italic dōtis, from the primitive Indo-European déh₃tis, from deh₃- (give) and a doublet of dosis.  It was cognate with the Ancient Greek δόσις (dósis) & the Sanskrit दिति (díti)) and was paid to the family of the groom although dowry became a generalized term for the transaction irrespective of the direction.  In some cultures the dowry remains an important component of the structure of society although the practice is not free from controversy.

Remembering the laughter: Bill Clinton (b 1946) and crooked Hillary Clinton (b 1947) at the wedding of Donald Trump (b 1946) and Melanija Knavs (b 1970), Mar-a-Lago, Palm Beach, Florida, 2005.

The adjective bridal (belonging to a bride or a wedding) appeared circa 1200, derived from the noun bridal (wedding feast), from the Old English brydealo (marriage feast), from bryd ealu, (literally "bride ale"), the evolution an example of an imperfect echoic, the second element later (especially after circa 1600) confused with the adjectival suffix –al.  Similar forms were the mid thirteenth century Middle English scythe-ale (drinking celebration for mowers, as compensation for a particular job) and constructions in a similar vein in Scotland.  The first bridal-suite was advertised in 1857, offered as part of a package deal when hiring a venue for a wedding reception.

Cutting the cake: Silvio Berlusconi (b 1936) and Marta Fascina (b 1990) at their "symbolic" wedding ceremony, Lesmo, Italy, March 1922.

Wedding planners estimated Mr Berlusconi's "symbolic" wedding would have cost some €400,000 (US$415,000) the bride's lace gown by Antonio Riva said to have absorbed some 5% of the budget.  Although it certainly looked like a wedding, it actually had no status before Church or state, apparently because of what was described as "an inheritance row between the families" a reference to objections said to have been raised by the groom's five adult children, concerned by the possibility Ms Fascina might gain a right of claim against the 85-year-old's reputed billions of Euros.  The reception was held over lunch at the Da Vittorio restaurant, the menu including veal mondeghili with lemon, ricotta gnocchi and potatoes with saffron and paccheri 'alla Vittorio' as well as sliced ​​beef in red wine with dark potato and cinnamon flavored carrot cream, the entertainment provided by Mr Berlusconi himself who reprised his early career as a cruise ship singer, accompanied by a friend on piano.

Although not verified, reports in the Italian press suggested the "bride" was "offended and very angry about not having a proper wedding", having already had his initials tattooed somewhere (undisclosed).  Mr Berlusconi seemed however delighted with what had been styled a "festival of love" rather than a wedding, telling Ms Fascina she was "a gift from the heavens" and that "You complete me, I couldn't live without you, you fill my life".

Bucket

Bucket (pronounced buhk-it)

(1) A deep, cylindrical vessel, usually of metal, plastic, or wood, with a flat bottom and a semi-circular bail, for collecting, carrying, or holding water, sand, fruit etc; a pail.

(2) Any container related to or suggesting this.

(3) In earth-moving and related machinery, any of the scoops attached to or forming the endless chain in certain types of conveyors or elevators.

(4) The scoop or clamshell of a steam shovel, power shovel, or dredge.

(5) A vane or blade of a waterwheel, paddle wheel, water turbine, or the like.

(6) In dam design, a concave surface at the foot of a spillway for deflecting the downward flow of water.

(7) In basketball, an informal term for the field goal; the part of the keyhole extending from the foul line to the end line.

(8) In seat design, as "bucket seat", most associated with cars, an individual seat for one person (as opposed to the bench seat for two or more).

(9) In ten-pin bowling, a "leave" of the two, four, five, and eight pins, or the three, five, six, and nine pins.

(10) To lift, carry, or handle in a bucket (often followed by up or out).

(11) In slang, to ride a horse fast and without concern for tiring it; also, used as slang for driving fast, both mostly UK use.

(12) To handle (orders, transactions, etc.) in or as if in a "bucket shop".

(13) In computer operating systems, as download bucket, a unit of storage on a direct-access device from which data can be stacked and retrieved; a storage space in a hash table for every item sharing a particular key.

(14) A unit of measure equal to four (Imperial) gallons (UK archaic).

(15) In Canadian (mostly Toronto) disparaging slang, a suggestion someone uses crack cocaine.

(16) In slang, an old vehicle that is not in good working order (often as rust bucket).

(17) In variation management, a mechanism for avoiding the allocation of targets in cases of mismanagement.

(18) As "bucket bag", the leather socket for holding the whip when driving (horses and sled-dogs), or for the carbine or lance when mounted (cavalry use).

(19) The pitcher in certain orchids.

(20) A type of narrow brimmed hat, and as slang, hats in general; the use as “brain bucket” is specific to crash helmets.

(21) In rowing, to make, or cause to make (the recovery), with a certain hurried or unskilful forward swing of the body.

(22) A pulley (a now obsolete Norfolk dialectical use).

(23) As "bucket bong", an improvised form of drug paraphernalia assembled for the purpose of smoking weed and consisting of a bucket filled with water and a plastic bottle with the bottom surface removed.  Social media platforms host instructional video clips for those who wish to hone their technique. 

(24) As "bucket list", (1) a list of tasks to be undertaken following discussions (the idea of them being put "in a bucket") and (2) a list of the things one wishes to have done before one dies (ie "kicks the bucket"). 

1250–1300: From the Middle English buket & boket, partly from the Anglo-Norman buket & buqet (tub, pail) and partly from the Old English bucc (bucket, pitcher), (a variant of būc (vessel, belly (cognate with the Old High German būh & the German Bauch)) + the Old French –et.  The suffix –et was from the Middle English -et, from the Old French –et & its feminine variant -ette, from the Late Latin -ittus (and the other gender forms -itta & -ittum).  It was used to form diminutives, loosely construed. The Anglo-Norman words (which in Norman had existed as boutchet & bouquet) were from the Old French buc (abdomen; object with a cavity), from the Vulgar Latin būcus (similar forms were the Occitan and Catalan buc, the Italian buco & buca (hole, gap), from the Frankish būk (belly, stomach).  Both the Old English and Frankish terms derive ultimately from the Proto-Germanic būkaz (belly, stomach).  The modern meaning "pail or open vessel for drawing and carrying water and other liquids" emerged by the mid-thirteenth century, the link to the idea conveyed by the Old English buc (pitcher, bulging vessel (originally "belly")) is that buckets were originally crafted from leather before being made of word and later metal.

Lindsay Lohan taking the #ALSIceBucketChallenge on the Jimmy Fallon show, August 2014.  The Ice Bucket Challenge was a viral event to promote awareness of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS, also known as motor neuron disease and in the United States as Lou Gehrig's disease) and raise money for research.

In idiomatic use, a “drop in the bucket” is a small, usually inadequate amount in relation to what is needed or requested.  To “kick the bucket” (dating from 1785) means “to drop dead” which may be from the unrelated (1570s) bucket (beam on which something may be hung or carried), from the French buquet (balance), a beam from which slaughtered animals were hung (by the heels or hooves).  This may also have been reinforced by the notion of suicide by hanging after standing on an upturned bucket (apparently once a most popular choice for the purpose).  The related “bucket list” is the list of things one should do before dropping dead dates only from 2007 but had earlier been used in coding to describe algorithm sorting.  To “drop the bucket on” is (mostly Australian slang) to implicate, incriminate, or expose, used also in the form to “give (someone) a bucketing”.  Showing a concern for public opinion (an under-researched aspect of the dynamics of totalitarian systems), comrade Stalin (1878-1953; Soviet leader 1924-1953) used the phrase in this sense in 1939 during the negotiations for the Nazi-Soviet Pact when he observed it would be wise to tone down the effusive language describing the friendship between the two dictatorships which were, at least on paper, ideologically opposed (although the various similarities between the two were, even then, acknowledged as quite striking): "For many years now, we have been pouring buckets of shit on each other's heads, and our propaganda boys could not do enough in that direction. And now, all of a sudden, are we to make our peoples believe that all is forgotten and forgiven? Things don't work that fast."  To say the rain is “bucketing down” suggests hard rain or anything in great quantity.  In that sense former National Party (Australia) leader Tim Fischer (1946-2019) in 1998 promised lease-holders of agricultural land the 1998 Native Title Amendment Act would include “bucket loads of extinguishment” (of native title) on those lands.  He was as good as his word.

In most of the English-speaking world, bucket is the preferred term.  Both bucket and pail are used throughout the US, pail most popular in the north, bucket more common elsewhere, especially in the mid-west and the south.  Bucket is a noun, verb and (less commonly) an adjective, the present participle bucketing and the past and past participle bucketed; the noun plural is buckets.

Mercedes-Benz 220 SE Coupé (foreground) & cabriolet (background) with standard rear bench seats, Frankfurt, September 1961 (left) & 1965 220 SE coupé with safari seat option (right).

One rarely specified option on the early Mercedes-Benz W111 (1961-1971; 220 SE, 250 SE, 280 SE & 280 SE 3.5) & W112 (1962-1967; 300 SE) coupés and cabriolets was the fitting of two individual (bucket) seats in the rear instead of the usual bench.  Individual seats in a car’s rear compartment had actually been not uncommon in the early days of motoring but by 1961, when the W111 coupé was released at the Geneva Motor Show, except for a few coach-built rarities, the option was unique.  The factory called then “safari seats”, the source of that being their special metal frame which actually permitted them to be removed and placed on the ground outside, the implication presumably that this would be handy for those on safari who wished to sit outside and watch the zebras.  Whether many of these machines were taken on safari isn’t known but the concept was transferrable to those going on picnics or watching the polo.  On both sides of the Atlantic, the fitting of individual rear-seats caught on for some high-end models but other than in some utility vehicles intended mostly for off-road use, no manufacturer made them removable.

A full bucket of veep.

In the US during the nineteenth century there was a joke about two brothers: "One ran off to sea and the other became vice-president; neither were ever heard of again."  That was of course an exaggeration but it reflected the general view of the office which has very few formal duties and can only ever be as powerful or influential as a president allows although the incumbent is "a heartbeat from the presidency".  John Nance Garner III (1868–1967, vice president of the US 1933-1941), a reasonable judge of these things, once told Lyndon Johnson (LBJ, 1908–1973; US president 1963-1969) being VPOTUS was "not worth a bucket of warm piss" (which is polite company usually is sanitized as "warm spit").  In the US, a number of VPOTUSs (Vice-President of the United States) have become POTUS (President of the United States) and some have worked out well although of late the record has not been encouraging, the presidencies of Lyndon Johnson (LBJ, 1908–1973; VPOTUS 1961-1963, POTUS 1963-1968), Richard Nixon (1913-1994; VPOTUS 1953-1961, POTUS 1969-1974) and Joe Biden (b 1942; VPOTUS 2008-2017, POTUS 2021-2025 (God willing)) 1963-1968, all ending badly, in despair, disgrace and decrepitude respectively.

Microsoft Internet Explorer 1.0 (1995).

Microsoft's Internet Explorer (usually referred to as IE (IE7, IE8 etc by nerds) was in June 2022 officially retired.  It was released in 1995 as part of the Plus! package for Windows 95 which, remarkable as it now seems, shipped to an expectant and receptive market without any vision of it being a platform for internet access, Microsoft's preferred model their proprietary walled-garden the Microsoft Network (MSN).  The public’s reaction meant corporate belief in that model didn't last and MSN was soon re-positioned as just another place to go on the internet.  IE had its early controversies because of the use of code belonging to other companies and subsequently because it was given away or bundled with Microsoft's operating systems, thereby undermining the business model of competing companies which had developed browsers as shrink-wrap products to be sold for a profit.  With a few twists and turns, those issues worked their way (slowly) through US and European courts, Microsoft often using what had become the industry's preferred  solution: Throw money at the problem and it goes away.  That approach was applied too to product development and sometimes it needed to be, Windows 95, IE4 and the then mysterious “Active Desktop” ensemble resisting many attempts to secure stability.   

Lindsay Lohan in bucket hat.

Still, most competition thus eliminated, IE went on to great things and early in the century enjoyed a market-share which at its peak exceeded 90%, the penetration assisted greatly by IE being the choice of many corporations which began using the browser as their default interface for internal as well as external access.  However, this very success was what ultimately doomed IE as Microsoft was compelled to retain much legacy support within the browser to accommodate the corporations which generated so much of Microsoft’s revenue.  Newer competitors were able to offer faster, more flexible browsers with modernized interfaces and gradually gained critical mass, IE by 2020 confined mostly to those corporations using legacy applications with a specific dependence.  Indeed, although noting IE’s retirement, for the affected corporations Microsoft is retaining a small subset of software support on Windows Server 2019 and the Windows 10 LTSC (Long-Term Servicing Channel), the latter in five and ten year programmes.

Pol Roger Champagne ice bucket by Argit of France in nickel plated brass, circa 1920.

Unfashionable though it became, there was one aspect of IE which for years worked better than the implementation on other browsers: The handling of download buckets.  Download buckets are the places on operating systems which permit users to tag files for downloading as a batch, rather than having to download each individually.  For whatever reason, IE’s download buckets seemed for years always more stable than the newer entrants.  Even today, Microsoft’s own update catalogue offers support for a download bucket on IE but not on other browsers although, helpfully, Microsoft’s own (Chromium-based) Edge browser can be configured with an “IE mode” which continues to support the bucket, the “Add” and “Remove” options appearing as before.

Microsoft Update Catalog on IE (and Edge in IE mode).

Microsoft Update Catalog on Chromium-based browsers (and Firefox) in native mode.

Dry and wet: Lindsay Lohan takes the #ALSIceBucketChallenge on the Jimmy Fallon show, August 2014.