Discreet & Discrete

Discreet (pronounced dih-skreet)

(1) Judicious in conduct or speech, especially with regard to respecting privacy or maintaining silence about delicate matters; prudent; circumspect.

(2) Showing prudence and circumspection; decorous.

(3) Modestly unobtrusive; unostentatious.

1325–1375: From the Middle English discret, from the Anglo-French & Old French discret (prudent, discerning), from the Medieval Latin discrētus (separated), past participle of discernere (to discern), the construct being dis- + crē- (separate, distinguish (variant stem of cernere)) + -tus, the Latin past participle suffix.  The dis prefix was from the Middle English dis-, from the Old French des from the Latin dis, from the proto-Italic dwis, from the primitive Indo-European dwís and cognate with the Ancient Greek δίς (dís) and the Sanskrit द्विस् (dvis).  It was applied variously as an intensifier of words with negative valence and to render the senses “incorrect”, “to fail (to)”, “not” & “against”.  In Modern English, the rules applying to the dis prefix vary and when attached to a verbal root, prefixes often change the first vowel (whether initial or preceded by a consonant/consonant cluster) of that verb. These phonological changes took place in Latin and usually do not apply to words created (as in Modern Latin) from Latin components since the language was classified as “dead”.  The combination of prefix and following vowel did not always yield the same change and these changes in vowels are not necessarily particular to being prefixed with dis (ie other prefixes sometimes cause the same vowel change (con; ex)).  The Latin suffix –tus was from the Proto-Italic -tos, from the primitive Indo-European -tós (the suffix creating verbal adjectives) and may be compared to the Proto-Slavic –tъ and Proto-Germanic –daz & -taz.  It was used to form the past participle of verbs and adjectives having the sense "provided with".  Latin scholars caution the correct use of the –tus suffix is technically demanding with a myriad of rules to be followed and, in use, even the pronunciation used in Ecclesiastical Latin could vary.  Discreet, discreeter, discreetest & discretionary are adjectives, discreetness & discretion are nouns and discreetly is an adverb; the noun plural is discretions.  Such is the human condition, the derived form "indiscretion" is in frequent use.

Discrete (pronounced dih-skreet)

(1) Apart or detached from others; separate; non-continuous; distinct; that which can be perceived individually and not as connected to, or part of something else.

(2) Consisting of or characterized by distinct or individual parts; discontinuous; that which can be perceived individually, not as connected to, or part of, something else.

(3) In mathematics, of a topology or topological space, having the property that every subset is an open set; defined only for an isolated set of points; using only arithmetic and algebra; not involving calculus.

(4) In mathematics, consisting of or permitting only distinct values drawn from a finite, countable set.

(5) In statistics (of a variable), having consecutive values not so infinitesimally close, so that its analysis requires summation rather than integration.

(6) In electrical engineering, having separate electronic components (diodes, transistors, resisters etc) as opposed to integrated circuitry (IC).

(7) In audio engineering, having separate and independent channels of audio, as opposed to multiplexed stereo, quadraphonic (also as quadrasonic) or other multi-channel sound.

(8) In linguistics, disjunctive, containing a disjunctive or discretive clause.

(9) In angelology, the technical description of the hierarchies and orders of angels.

1350–1400: Middle English from the Latin discrētus (separated; set apart) past participle of discernō (divide), the construct being dis- + cernō (sift); a doublet of discreet.  The Middle English adoption came via the Old French discret.  The common antonym is indiscrete (never hyphenated) but nondiscrete (also non-discrete), while synonymous in general used, is often used with specific meanings in mathematics & statistics.  Discrete is an adjective, discreteness is a noun and discretely is an adverb.  

Strange words

An etymological tangle, it was the influence of the Middle French discret (prudent, discerning) which saw discreet evolve to mean “wise person” in Anglo-French.  The Latin source was discrētus (past participle of the verb discernere (to discern; to separate, distinguish, mark off, show differences between)) and in post-Classical Latin discrētus also acquired the sense “prudent, wise,” possibly arising from association with the noun discrētiō, which shows a similar semantic development: physical separation, to discernment, to capacity to discern, the the notion of a "discreet person" being able to "pick" their way, setting "apart" the good from the bad, (dis- being "apart" & cerno "pick").

Discrete (apart or detached from others; separate; distinct) was originally a spelling doublet of discreet, sharing meanings, both derived from the same Latin source.  The spelling discrete is closer in form to the Latin discrētus and was probably a deliberate attempt to differentiate "discreet" from "discrete" (a courtesy to users English doesn't always extend) and one has always been more prolific than the other, dictionaries for centuries tending to offer some five times the citations for “prudent, circumspect” compared with the sense “separate or distinct” although the history of the latter is long in statistics, angelology, astronomy, and mathematics.  It wasn’t until the late sixteenth century that discrete became restricted to the now familiar meanings, leaving the spelling discreet to predominate in its own use.  In a way not uncommon in English, pre-modern spellings proliferated: discreyt, discrite, discreit, discreete and others existed but, by the late sixteenth century, the standard meanings became discrete in the sense of “individual” and discreet in the sense of “tactful”.  Had the usual convention been followed it would have been the other way around because in English the Latin ending –etus usually becomes –ete.  Even into the mid-twentieth century, there were style & usage guides which recommended different pronunciations for discrete & discreet the former accented dĭ'-krē’t rather than dĭs-krē’t, the rationale being it was both “natural in English accentuation” (the example of the adjectival use of “concrete” cited) and helpful in distinguishing the word from “discreet”.  The modern practice however is to use the same pronunciation for both, leaving the labor of differentiation to context.

Artistic angelology: The Assumption of the Virgin (1475-1476), by Francesco Botticini (1446–1498), tempera on wood panel, National Gallery, London.  Commissioned as the altarpiece for a Florentine church, it portrays Mary's assumption and shows the discrete three hierarchies and nine orders of angels.

The noun discretion means (1) the power or right to decide or act according to one's own judgment; freedom of judgment or choice and (2) the quality of being discreet, especially with reference to one's own actions or speech; prudence or decorum.  Discretion dates from 1250–1300 and was from the Middle English discrecioun, from the Anglo-French & Old French discrecion, from the Late Latin discrētiōnem-(stem of discrētiō (separation)).  The special use in English law as the “age of discretion” began in the mid-fourteenth century as dyscrecyounne (ability to perceive and understand) meaning one was deemed to have attained “moral discernment, ability to distinguish right from wrong”.  It thus implied “prudence, sagacity regarding one's conduct”.  The meanings of the later forms came from the Medieval Latin (discernment, power to make distinctions), which evolved from the use in Classical Latin (separation, distinction).

The Age of Discretion

The familiar phrase “at one’s discretion” seems not to have been in use until the 1570s although “in one's discretion” was documented by the late fourteenth century.  The use in English common law meaning “power to decide or judge; the power of acting according to one's own judgment” was reflected in the legal principle “the age of discretion which was part of law since the late fourteenth century when the age was deemed to be fourteen years, the age William Shakespeare (1564–1616) chose for the star-cross'd lovers in Romeo and Juliet (1597).

Historically, the “age of discretion” referred to the age at which a child was considered to be capable of making certain decisions and understanding the consequences of their actions.  Typically, was typically around seven years old, the point at which a child was deemed to have enough understanding to be responsible for certain actions, such as committing a crime or making religious decisions.  Gradually, the age crept up, especially as it applied to doli incapax (the age under which a child was presumed incapable of committing a crime) until it became established law a child between seven and fourteen was presumed not to have criminal intent unless it could be proven otherwise, the evidential onus of proof resting wholly with the prosecutor (almost always the Crown (ie some agent of the state)).  The generalized idea of an “age of discretion” influenced later developments in law such as the age of criminal responsibility, at which one could enter into legally enforceable contracts, enjoy a testamentary capacity or (lawfully) have sex.  Between jurisdictions the relevant age for this and that does vary and changes are not always without controversy: under the Raj, when Lord Lansdowne (1845–1927; Viceroy of India 1888-1894) raised the age of sexual consent for girls from ten to twelve, the objections from men united the castes like few other issues.

Lindsay Lohan and her lawyer in court, Los Angeles, December 2011.

For their purposes, the Church preferred seven and habitually declared children this age were capable of making their own decisions regarding religious practices, such as confession and communion and the phrase “give me the child until the age of seven and I will give you the man” is attributed usually to the Spanish priest Saint Ignatius of Loyola 1491-1556) who founded the religious order of the Society of Jesus (the Jesuits).  It’s no longer thought wise to leave children alone with priests but the social media platforms well-understood the importance of gaining young converts and for years did nothing to try to enforce their minimum age requirements for account creation.  The consequences of this have of late become understood and the debate about the wisdom of “giving children access to the internet” is now being framed as the more ominous “giving the internet access to children”.

Discreet Allure: “Discreet” is here used in the sense of “modestly unobtrusive; unostentatious” and was in reference to the displayed clothing lines which were designed to be acceptable (halal (حلال)) under the Sharia (شَرِيعَة).  Lindsay Lohan at London Modern Fashion Week, February 2018.

Shemozzle

Shemozzle (pronounced sch-moz-il)

(1) In slang, a state of chaos or confusion (especially if noisy); an uproar.

(2) In slang, a quarrel (especially if noisy).

(3) In slang, to run away; to flee; to scarper (rare).

Late 1800s (in English and some sources cite 1889 as the first known instance of use): From the Yiddish שלימזל (shlimazl) (bad luck; difficulty; misfortune), the construct being shlim (bad, ill), from the Middle High German slimp (awry, not right) + the Hebrew מַזָּל (mazzāl), from the Late Hebrew mazāl (luck, fate, (one’s) star) and cognate with the US English schlimazel (an unlucky person).  There are many variations of the German joke (such things really exist, even in Prussia) to explain the related nouns shlemiel & shimazl but all are in the flavor of: “A shlemiel is the fellow who climbs to the top of a ladder with a bucket of paint and then drops it and a shimazl is the fellow on whose head the bucket falls.”  The colloquial German noun Schlamassel (plural Schlamassel) (trouble, difficult situation, misfortune) was from the same Yiddish source.  The gender of Schlamassel is usually masculine in Germany except in the southern state of Bavaria where, like the neighboring Austria it can also be neuter, this prevalent in the latter.  Because from the ninth century Yiddish evolved from its West-Germanic origins as a vernacular tongue which a number of forks & parallel streams in Europe, the Middle East and North America before being (sort of) standardized in the mid-twentieth century in “Western” and “Eastern” variants, many words spread by oral use and the a variety of spellings was not unusual and other spellings of shemozzle included: chemozzle, chermozzle, chimozzle, schemozzle, schimozzle, schlemozzle, schmozzle, shamozzle, shimozzel, shimozzle, shlemozel & shlemozzle.  The modern alternative spelling is schmozzle.  Schmozzle is a noun & verb and shemozzled & shemozzling are verbs; the noun plural is schmozzles (which is sometimes used also as a singular).  In humorous use, shemozzle is used also as a collective noun.

Because there’s rarely been reluctance by English-speakers to adopt words from other languages if they’re useful, better than what’s in use or just an attractive alternative, there no compelling reason to use shemozzle because there are so many other words and phrases to describe states of noisy chaos or confusion.  Obvious candidates include frenzy, mess, fiasco, snafu, chaos, clusterfuck (often sanitized as the clipped “cluster”), commotion, hubbub, kerfuffle, débacle, disarray, confusion, turmoil, ado, affray, altercation, argument, battle, bickering, brawl, brouhaha, bust-up, bustle, clash, combat, commotion, competition, conflict, contention, controversy, debate, discord, dispute, muddle, dissension, disturbance, dustup, fracas, quarrel, row, ruction, scandal, strife, struggle, tiff, tumult, uproar, wrangle, disorganized, disorder, mayhem, pandemonium, uproar, havoc & bedlam.  That the list is long suggests shemozzles are a significant and not infrequent feature of human interaction and the choice of which to use is one of nuance, the connotation one wishes, some of the words emphasizing the chaos, some the conflict.  Shemozzle is an attractive choice because (1) most know what it means, (2) it’s not commonly heard so has some novelty value and (3) it's a "fun" word to say.

A media shemozzle snapping Lindsay Lohan walking into LA Superior Court, Los Angeles, February 2011.

A shemozzle can be used to illustrate chaos theory, a conceptual model of the phenomenon of an event’s ultimate trigger being something distant and apparently unconnected with its consequences.  Physicists illustrate the idea by speculating that waving one’s hands in the air might, some billions of years hence, alter the Earth’s speed of rotation and the most commonly quoted thought experiment is the metaphor for the behavior: “Can a butterfly flapping its wings in Brazil cause a tornado in Texas?”  It’s an intriguing topic for those building big-machine models which can both explore and reveal patterns in what was once thought randomness.

The shemozzle of reporters and photographers clustered when Lindsay Lohan in February 2011 walked to one of the well-publicized (and not infrequent) court appearances of her “troubled Hollywood starlet” phase wasn’t unexpected and nor would she have found it an unfamiliar environment, the yellow & black plastic “Police Line: DO NOT CROSS” tape strung between the bollards vaguely reminiscent of the velvet rope & stanchions which define the limits for photographers at red-carpet events.  What was unpredicted was the almost immediate effect in commerce, the white Kimberly Ovitz (b 1983) Glavis Albino bandage dress from the houses pre-fall collection reported as “sold out worldwide” within hours of the images appearing on-line, a reasonable achievement for a piece listed at US$575 made in a run of a few hundred.

The matter before the court raised no novel legal points and thus attracted little analysis but the re-purposing of the walk to the arraignment as an impromptu catwalk strut triggered a shemozzle of its own as women around the world clamoured to buy their own Glavis Albino and media companies sought comment from Kimberly Ovitz, anxious to learn if the appearance was some sort of “sponsored promotion”.  A representative from the company was soon quoted as saying “Kimberly had no role in Lindsay Lohan wearing the dress” which Ms Lohan had purchased.  Apparently disappointed, the journalists resorted to dutifully noting her “signature Chanel 5182 sunglasses.”

Ms Lohan that evening tweeted: “What I wear to court shouldn’t be front page news. It’s just absurd” although her choice of wardrobe for subsequent court appearances hinted she may have concluded absurdity has its place and at Kimberley Ovitz’s corporate headquarters the reaction was equally pragmatic, the company offering retailers a “re-cut” (the industry term for a second production run, a la a “second printing” in the publishing world) of the Glavis Albino in response to the phones “ringing off the hook”.  “It’s been a frenzy!” CBS News quoted an Ovitz sales associate as saying.  So that’s a case study in how the choice should be made: A rabble of photographers milling behind the bollards while shouting questions is “a shemozzle” while desperate fashionistas and boutiques besieging a designer for a frock is “a frenzy”.  Now we know.

Compliment & Complement

Compliment (pronounced kom-pluh-muhnt (noun) or kom-pluh-ment (verb))

(1) An expression of praise, commendation, or admiration.

(2) A formal act or expression of civility, respect, or regard.

(3) A courteous greeting; good wishes; regards.

(4) To pay a compliment to.

(5) To show kindness or regard for by a gift or other favour.

1570–1580: From the French compliment from the Italian complimento, a borrowing from the Spanish cumplimiento from cumplir (to complete, do what is proper or fitting, be polite).  The construct was compli- (from complir) + -miento (from the Old Spanish, from the Late Latin -mentum, from the Classical Latin -menta. A doublet of –mento (and used as the suffix –ment in Modern English), it formed nouns from verbs with the sense of the action or process.  Compliment is a doublet of complement and the synonyms include admiration, applause, commendation, homage, ovation, blessing, courtesy, adulation, endorsement, tribute, congratulate, applaud, laud, commend, cajole, endorse, extol, acclaim, bouquet and confirmation.  Compliment is a noun, complimenter is a noun, complimenting & complimented are verbs and complimentary, complimentable & complimentative are adjectives; the noun plural is compliments.  Complimentarity is a misspelling of complementarity.

Human nature being what it is, there are sincere compliments and “backhanded compliments”, the latter best understood in the portmanteau word "complisult", the construct of the blend being compl(iment) +‎ insult.  In the language of nineteenth century diplomacy it was known as the “Chinese compliment” (a pretense of deference; a veiled or subtle insult), based on the practice at the time for the Chinese to do thing like allocate foreign delegations lower chairs at the table when signing treaties.  China was then a weak power and compelled to make some unsatisfactory agreements but what also annoyed them was the Western diplomats seems not to mind, instead going away happy with their lucrative treaties in hand.  This was interpreted as the “foreign devils” being too stupid to comprehend the Middle Kingdom’s subtleties.  Other forms, all in some way variations on “damning with faint praise” include the “dubious compliment”, the “left-handed compliment”, the “poisonous compliment” and the “pseudo-compliment”.  For those prepared to take the risk, there’s the art (a calling for some) of “compliment fishing” (the act of self-deprecating for the purpose of baiting other people into giving praise or compliments).

Complement (pronounced kom-pluh-muhnt (noun) or kom-pluh-ment (verb))

(1) Something which completes, something which combines with something else to make up a complete whole (ie makes perfect); loosely, something perceived to be a harmonious or desirable partner or addition.

(2) The quantity or amount that completes anything.

(3) Either of two parts or things needed to complete the whole; counterpart.

(4) To complete something by some addition.

(5) The totality, the full amount or number which completes something.

(6) In nautical use, the whole working force of a vessel.

(7) In astronomy & geometry, an angle which, together with a given angle, makes a right angle.

(8) In formal grammar & linguistics, a word or group of words which completes a grammatical construction in the predicate and that describes or is identified with the subject or object.

(9) In music, an interval which, together with the given interval, makes an octave.

(10) In optics, the color which, when mixed with the given color, gives black (for mixing pigments) or white (for mixing light).

(11) In set theory, given two sets, the set containing one set's elements that are not members of the other set (whether a relative complement or an absolute complement)

(12) In immunology, one of several blood proteins that work with antibodies during an immune response.

(13) In formal logic, an expression related to some other expression such that it is true under the same conditions that make other false, and vice versa.

(14) In electronics, a voltage level with the opposite logical sense to the given one.

(15) In computing, a bit with the opposite value to the given one; the logical complement of a number.

(16) In computing & mathematics, the diminished radix complement of a number; the nines' complement of a decimal number; the ones' complement of a binary number; the numeric complement of a number.

(17) In genetics, a nucleotide sequence in which each base is replaced by the complementary base of the given sequence: adenine (A) by thymine (T) or uracil (U), cytosine (C) by guanine (G), and vice versa (a DNA molecule is formed from two strands, each of which is the complement of the other).

(18) In biochemistry, a synonym of alexin (a protective substance that exists in the serum or other bodily fluid and is capable of killing microorganisms).

(19) In economics, a clipping of complementary good (a good, the appeal of which increases with the popularity of its complement).

(20) Someone or something which completes; the consummation (archaic).

(21) The act of completing something, or the fact of being complete; completion, completeness, fulfilment (obsolete).

(22) Something which completes one's equipment, dress etc; an accessory (obsolete).

(23) An alternative spelling of compliment (obsolete although misspellings persist).

1350–1400: From the fourteenth century French complément, from the Old French compliement (accomplishment, fulfillment), from the Latin complēmentum (something that completes; that which fills up or completes) from compleō (I fill up, I complete) from complēre (fill up), the construct being com- (thought most likely used as an intensive prefix) + plere (to fill) from the primitive Indo-European root pele- (to fill).  The construct of the Latin complēmentum was complē(re) + -mentum (from the Latin suffix -menta (in collective nouns like armenta (herd, flock)); the Latin -menta was from the primitive Indo-European -mnthe.  Complement is a doublet of compliment.  From the early seventeenth century, the meaning "full quality or number," was assumed while the musical sense of "simple interval that completes an octave from another simple interval" dates from 1873.  During the sixteenth century, the word was used also in the senses taken up between circa 1650-circa1725 by compliment.  The verb in the sense of "make complete" was in use by the 1640s and was derived from the noun.  The evolution of use is illustrated by the long-obsolete sense of "exchange courtesies" (in use in the 1610s) which came from the noun complement, a hint of the sixteenth century sense "that which is added, not as necessary, but as ornamental".  Complement & complementary are nouns & verbs, complementarity is a noun, complementing & complemented are verbs and complemental is an adjective; the noun plural is complements.

Lindsay Lohan in an Alice Temperley (b 1975) gown, complemented with silver and diamond cluster jewelry, front at back, Montecito, California August 2011.

The gown attracted many compliments from the fashionistas, the details of the cutaway back especially admired, but many dwelt on the matter of whether a guest should wear white to a wedding, the occasion Kim Kardashian’s (b 1980) (second) marriage to Kris Humphries (b 1985).  However, there was a strict “black & white” dress code for the event and there was a lot of white on display and Ms Kardashian is anyway hard to upstage.  Ms Lohan’s gown had been seen a few months earlier, the also much complimented Pippa Middleton (b 1983) wearing one in emerald when attending the party after her sister married a prince.

Complement and compliment, which (noun & verb) are pronounced alike and originally shared some meanings, evolved to become separate words with entirely different meanings.  As a noun, complement means “something that augments, completes or makes perfect”.  As a verb, complement means “to add to or complete”.  The noun compliment means “an expression of praise, commendation, or admiration”.  The verb compliment means “to pay a compliment to”.  In the jargon of formal grammar, complement means “that which completes or helps to complete the verb, making with it the predicate (this the widest sense of the word, not the direct object of a transitive verb or adverbs.  In one of the paradoxes he delighted in recounting, Henry Fowler (1858–1933) in his A Dictionary of Modern English Usage (1926) noted this was “the most reasonable application of the term” while being also both the “least useful and the least used”.  Warming to the topic he pointed out that not infrequently the “direct object is excluded but all other modifications or appendages of the verb are called complements; a sense found convenient in sentence analysis but too wide to be precise and too narrow to be logical.”  Further to complicate complement, another restriction is the definitional net permits the catch only of those words or phrases so essential to the verb “that they form one notion with it and its meaning would be incomplete” were they to be omitted.  Examples are legion and so blatant it seems unnecessary to define certain forms as a complement and Henry Fowler took the view that some verbs are by their very nature incomplete and were the definition of what is a complement thus limited, it would be “a serviceable rule, especially if it were established as the only one.”  It’s not however the only one and the flavour which most pleases the pedants is the narrowest and most technical in which complement is applied only to the noun or adjective predicated by means of a conjunctive verb “(be, become etc) or of a factitive verb (make, call, think etc) of the subject (He is a fool; He grew wiser; He was made king) or of the object (Call no man happy); in such example as the last, the complement is called an objective or an oblique complement.  A sense frequent in Latin grammars.”

So, in formal grammar, a “complement” is a word, phrase or clause which is necessary to complete the meaning of a given expression.  What complements do is lend additional information about the subject or object in a sentence, often completing the thought or idea that the verb begins.  Complements are important (and often essential) essential because they complete the meaning of the predicate in a sentence, ensuring a sentence expresses a complete thought and in structural linguistics, they’re categorized thus:

(1) Subject Complements: These follow a linking verb (such as “be’ or “seem”) and provide information about the subject. They can be: (1a) predicate nominatives which are nouns or pronouns that rename or identify the subject (in “she is an actor”, “actor” is the predicate nominative that complements the subject “she”) or (1b) predicate adjectives which are adjectives that describe the subject (in “the sky is blue”, “blue” is the predicate adjective that complements the subject “the sky”).

(2) Object Complements: These follow and modify or refer to the direct object. They can be: (2a) noun phrases such as “We elected him president” (“president” the noun phrase that complements the direct object “him”) or adjective phrases such as “She dyed her hair blonde” (“blonde the adjective phrase that complements the direct object “he hair”).

(3) Adjective Complements: These provide additional information about an adjective, often introduced by prepositions such as “of”, “to”, “for”, or “that” such as in the phrase “I am happy that you came” (“that you came” is an adjective complement adding information about “happy”).

(4) Verb Complements: These can be objects or other structures that complete the meaning of a verb.  In "she wishes to leave", “to leave” is a verb complement providing more information about what "she wishes”.

Banister, Baluster & Balustrade

Banister (pronounced ban-uh-ster)

(1) The handrail on the side of a staircase.

(2) One of the vertical supports of a handrail; a baluster (often in the plural as banisters).

(3) The balustrade of a staircase (usually in the plural as banisters).

(4) To construct a banister.

(5) To act as a banister (only in the literal sense).

1660–1670: Of uncertain origin but thought most likely by dissimilation from the earlier ballester & the seventeenth century barrester, both corruptions of baluster.  As late a 1848 it was listed as “a vulgar term” but by the early twentieth century was an accepted part of the language of architecture and in the building trades. The surname Bannister was unrelated to the use in architecture and entered English from the Anglo-Norman Bannister, from the Old French banastre (basket); it was thus occupational and described a “basket-maker”.  Like many surnames, it also became a locality name.  The verb use in the sense of “to construct a banister” is a metal worker’s or carpenter’s term to describe “fabricating a banister” while the idea of “to act as a banister” is an allusion to some use of static uprights to support something.  There’s is no evidence it has been used figuratively in the way “pillar” or “buttress” are used metaphorically.  Minnie Bannister (voiced by Spike Milligan (1918–2002) & Henry Crun (voiced by Peter Sellers (1925–1980)) were two elderly characters in the BBC’s radio comedy series The Goon Show (1951-1960) which was, by the standards of the time, somewhat anarchic and a precursor to later ventures into surrealist television like Monty Python's Flying Circus (1969-1974).  The gags involving Henry Crun & “Modern Min” Bannister usually involved placing the two into roles wholly improbably for such a decrepit pair.  The spelling bannister (influenced presumably by the surname Bannister) is listed by most dictionaries as an alternative but it seems rare.  Banister is a noun & verb and banistering & banistered are verbs; the noun plural is banisters.

Baluster (pronounced bal-uh-ster)

(1) In architecture, any of a number of closely spaced uprights supporting a railing.

(2) Any of various symmetrical supports, as furniture legs or spindles, tending to swell toward the bottom or top (rare in US use).

1595–1605: From the French baluster, from the Middle French balustre, from the Italian balaustro (pillar shaped like the calyx of the pomegranate flower), from balausta (wild pomegranate flower), ultimately from the Latin balaustium, from the Ancient Greek βαλαύστιον (balaústion), probably from a Semitic language.  Iin Aramaic (the language of Christ), a balatz was “a wild pomegranate flower” and in Classical Syriac ܒܠܳܨܳܐ (blāṣā) was “a pomegranate shoot”.  In Roman architecture, uprights with lyre-like double curves (resembling the swelling form of the half-opened pomegranate flower) were most fashionable.  The spellings ballister & balluster are both (obsolete) while balustre is listed as an alternative (though not used in the US).  Baluster is a noun and balustered & balusterlike are adjectives; the noun plural is balusters.

Balustrade (pronounced bal-uh-streyd)

A railing with supporting balusters.

1635-1645: An unadapted borrowing from the French balustrade, from the Middle French balustre, from the Italian balaustro (pillar shaped like the calyx of the pomegranate flower), from balausta (wild pomegranate flower).  Balustrade is a noun and balustraded & balustrading are verbs; the noun plural is plural balustrades.

Of staircases and such

Lindsay Lohan in glomesh, on staircase.

The terms “banister”, “baluster” & “balustrade” are all used in the language of architecture and design, usually in the context of staircases or railing systems but all refer to different elements.  Banister is now used more loosely than in earlier times.  Mostly, banister refers to the handrail of a staircase, the part one is supposed to hold to stabilize one’s self when ascending or descending (or slide down if one is a child or drunken under-graduate) but it’s also sometimes use of the uprights attached to the rail.  Banister and “handrail” can thus be interchangeable but the former is almost universal in the US while in other parts of the English-speaking world (even Canada, usually a part of the US sphere of linguistic influence), handrail has become common.  Interestingly, one piece of global linguistic standardization seems to be the WH&S (workplace health & safety) signage: It’s always something like “use the handrail when using stairs”, never “use the banister”.

Joe Biden (b 1942; US president since 2021) tripping up (for the second time that assent) while climbing the stairs of Air Force One (despite following the WH&S warning and gripping the handrail).  Since the motor manifestations of his descent into senility have become more obvious, Mr Biden is no longer allowed to use the “big stairs” and is directed to the “baby stairs” in the plane’s nose.  Whether the small, angled brackets (some might call them flanges) which affix the handrail to the structure can be called balusters is debatable but that’s certainly their function.

President Biden should have taken one step at a time.

“Baluster” is the correct technical term for the uprights (the vertical posts or spindles supporting the handrail (a few of which are actually decorative with no structural function).  Whether decorative or structural, balusters are almost always arrayed in a series, either a cluster of identical units or with some variations as an architectural flourish.  In style, balusters can simple or ornate and constructed from just about any materials including wood, metal, stone or composites.  In some cases, balusters and banisters (handrails) will be of the same material and in others they will differ.  Some materials have fallen from favor because of the maintenance factor.  Brass was once widely used but keeping it polished proved a labor intensive business and in the hotels which once dripped with the stuff, there's now much more aluminium and stainless steel visible.

She would blame the (missing) balustrades because there is always someone or something to blame: Crooked Hillary Clinton, slipping (twice) in India, March 2018.

Although often much admired for their intricacy, banisters, balustrades and such are an important safety feature of staircases.  In March 2018, while visiting (for some reason) the Jahaj Maha (Ship Palace) in Mandu, crooked Hillary Clinton (b 1947; US secretary of state 2009-2013), despite holding the arm of an aide, slipped while descending stone stairs.  Another aide quickly took the other arm to stabilize things and the descent resumed but she slipped again, illustrating the importance of handrails which weren’t so much of a thing in the sixteenth century when the palace was built.  Crooked Hillary might be used (at least when not slipping) as an example of the way Spaniards explain the meaning of the word “enigma”: “Were one to meet her on the stairs, one couldn’t be sure if she was going up, or coming down”.

Components of a staircase.

To an architect, a “balustrade” is the name for the whole apparatus (the handrail (banister) and the balusters assembled), added to which might be as base-rail below (although some balusters are mounted directly to the floor or the tread of the stairs.  So, the balustrade is the collective term for the whole railing system on a staircase, balcony, terrace, walkway, or other structure but a convention (by no means universal) seems to have evolved to use balustrade to describe structures other than those used on staircases (unless they’re outdoors).  A railing separating pedestrians from road traffic or a river would certainly be a balustrade and that might also be the term of choice for the apparatus on the staircase leading from the river.  Once inside however, it’s all banisters and handrails.

A glass "balustrade" is really a type of wall with the top-edge serving as a handrail.

"Glass balustrades" are a favorite of interior decorators and can be applied to both indoor and outdoor use.  In domestic use, there's sometimes some resistance because many people, understandably, associate glass with fragility but the glass used is a specialized tempered safety glass, rated at some 400% the strength of that typically used in windows.  An additional benefit is that other than cleaning, glass is an essentially zero-maintenance material and not susceptible to rot, rust or other forms of corrosion.  Depending on the desired effect, a hybrid approach can also be used in which there's a traditional banister (handrail) and base-rail with a small number of uprights (balusters), a glass panel taking the place of the rest.  This is essentially using the components as a window frame. 

Boomerang

Boomerang (pronounced boo-muh-rang)

(1) A bent or curved piece of tough wood used by some of the Indigenous peoples of Australian as a throwing stick (and for other purposes), one form of which can be thrown so as to return to the thrower.  Such throwing sticks have also been found in archaeological digs in other places.

(2) Based on the use Indigenous peoples of Australia, an object in the shape of a flat curved air-foil that spins about an axis perpendicular to the direction of flight, used for various purposes including sport, training and aeronautical purposes.

(3) In design, anything using the boomerang shape (not always symmetrically)

(4) Something which in flight assumes the shape of a boomerang, such as the “boomerang kick” in certain football codes.

(5) In theatre and other stage environments, a mobile platform (mobile and height-adjustable) used for setting or painting scenery.

(6) In theatre and other stage environments, a batten, usually suspended vertically in the wings, used for mounting lighting units.

(7) In theatre and other stage environments, a device for changing the color of a follow-spot(light).

(8) In psychology, as “boomerang effect”, a strong opposing response caused by attempts to restrict a person's freedom or change their attitudes.

(9) In pathology, as “boomerang dysplasia”, a lethal osteochondrodysplasia in which the bones of the arms and legs are congenitally malformed into the shape of a boomerang.

(10) In air force (originally Royal Air Force (RAF)) slang, the early return of an aircraft from an aborted mission, often attributer to mechanical or other technical problems.

(11) A cocktail made with rye whiskey and Swedish punsch.

(12) Figuratively, something or someone which come backs or returns (as the boomerang behaves when correctly thrown) and when applied to people used especially of those who habitually return (often as “serial boomeranger”).

(13) Something (physical and otherwise, such as a scheme, statement or argument) which causes harm to the originator (the idea of a “rebound” or “backfire”).

(14) The action of coming back, returning or backfiring:

1827: From būmariny (missile weapon used by Aborigines), the recorded phonetic form of a word in one of the now extinct languages spoken by the Dharuk people native to an area in New South Wales now known to geographers as the Sydent basin.  A word pronounced as wo-mur-rang was noted in NSW in 1798 which may have been related but there’s no documentary evidence.  Boomerang is a noun & verb; boomeranger is a noun, boomeranged & boomeranging are verbs, the noun plural is boomerangs.

Benson Microfibre Boomerang Pillow. The manufacturers claim the shape is adaptable to all sleeping positions and provides additional support for joints and relieves pressure points.  It’s also ideal for reading, tablet or laptop use in bed.

The verb use in the sense of “throw a boomerang” seems to have come into use in the 1800s while the figurative sense of “fly back or return to a starting point” was in use by the early twentieth century.  A “boomerang baby”, “boomerang child” or boomerang kid” is one who returns to live in the family home after a period of independent living and known collective as the “boomerang generation”, the phenomenon noted in many countries and associated with financial distress, related especially to the cost of housing.

Indigenous Australian boomerangs from the collections of the Australian National Museum: In pigmented wood (left), a hooked, "number 7" by Yanipiyarti Ned Cox (centre) and with carving of horse and cow (right).

For the Indigenous (Aboriginal) peoples of Australia, the boomerang is as old as creation and since white settlement it has become also a symbol of the enduring strength of Aboriginal culture.  Although no written form of language (in the structured sense used elsewhere) evolved among them, an oral tradition now known “the Dreaming” (apparently no longer “Dreamtime”) extends from the past into the present. In the Dreaming, many of the physical formations of the (lakes, rivers, rock structures, mountains etc) were created when Ancestors threw boomerangs and spears into the earth.  Although the boomerang of the popular imagination is the familiar chevron shape, during the nineteenth century almost 300 language groups were identified by anthropologists and the construction of boomerangs varied, the divergences dictated mostly by the prevailing environment: Larger, heavier boomerangs were associated with inland and desert people while the lighter versions were thrown by coastal and high-country inhabitants.  Despite the perceptions, most were of the non-returning variety and were used as hunting weapons for the killing of birds and game including emu, kangaroo and other marsupials.  Not only was the boomerang a direct-impact device but the technique was also noted of a hunter making a boomerang ricochet off the ground to achieve an ideal angle.  The early observers recorded in skilled hands (and over thousands of years those skills would have been well-honed) the boomerang could be effective when hunting prey at a range up to 100 yards (90 m).

Back To Me (Cavalier's Boomerang Club Mix, 2020) by Lindsay Lohan.

Combination tactics were also observed.  When hunting for birds, a returning boomerang might be thrown above a flock of ducks to simulate the effect of a hovering bird of prey, inducing fright which would make the birds fly into nets set up in their flight path or, if within range, a hunter could cast a non-returning boomerang in the hope of a strike.  A special application and one which relied on a design with none of the famous aerodynamic properties was in the harvesting of fish, heavy boomerangs effective killing weapons of in areas of high tidal variation where fish became trapped in rock pools.   They were also Battle-weapons, used both to throw from some distance and in close combat, the types seen including small, hand-held “fighting sticks” device and some even two yards (1.8 m) in length.  Remarkably, the much the same implements served also as digging sticks used to forage for root and could be used to make fire, the familiar idea of “rubbing sticks together”.  Although these practical may have declined in significance as Western technology has been absorbed, boomerangs remain a prominent feature in Aboriginal dance and music.

Since the techniques developed for the shaping of Perspex and other plastics were (more or less) perfected during World War II (1939-1945), they’ve been widely adopted in industrial mass-production, for better and worse.  One thing made possible was boomerang-shaped taillights on cars which for years were about the most avant-garde of their type although of late, designers have been unable to resist the contortions and complexity made possible by the use of LEDs (light emitting diode).  Some critics insist the “boomerang” tag should be applied only to something in the shale of the “classic” boomerang and that anything asymmetric is properly a “hockey stick” but most seem content with the label.

Top row, left to right: 1969 Pontiac Bonneville, 1970 Hillman Avenger and 1967 Plymouth Barracuda.  Those which point "up" probably work better than those pointing "down" because the latter imposes a "droopiness".

Middle row, left to right: 1967 Chrysler Valiant VE Safari (Wagon), 1967 Chrysler Valiant VE Sedan and 1962 Pontiac Bonneville.  Strangely, although the sedan and wagon versions of the VE Valiant both used the boomerang shape, the moldings were different.

Bottom row, left to right: 1958 Edsel Bermuda station wagon, 1960 Chrysler New Yorker and 1975 Mazda RX-5.  The Edsel's tail lights worked as indicators and because the boomerang shape had link with the detailing on the rear quarter panels, when flashing, they actually "point" in the direction opposite to which the car is turning.  It was a harbinger of the Edsel's fate.

Louis Vuitton’s Fall 2014 campaign shoot with 1972 Maserati Boomerang, Giardini della Biennale, Venice.

The photo-shoot for Louis Vuitton’s Fall 2014 campaign at Venice’s Giardini della Biennale featured the 1972 Maserati Boomerang concept car.  Coordinated by Nicolas Ghesquière (b 1971; LV's women's creative director since 2013) and shot by German photographer Juergen Teller (b 1964), it was a rare appearance of the Boomerang which, designed by Giorgetto Giugiaro (b 1938), had first appeared at the Turin Motor Show as a static mock-up in Epowood (a versatile epoxy used for forming shapes) before being engineered as a fully-finished and working vehicle, built on the underpinnings of a Maserati Bora (1971-1978).  In that configuration it was displayed at the 1972 Geneva show where it was understood as one of the “high-speed wedges” of an era which included the original Lancia Stratos, the Lotus Esprit and, most influentially of all, the Lamborghini Countach, the cluster defining the template around which exotic machines would for decades be built, the design motif still apparent in today’s hypercars.  Eye-catching from the outside, the interior also fascinated with a steering wheel and gauge cluster built as a single console emerging from a distant dashboard, the wheel rotating as the gauges remained stationary.

1972 Maserati Boomerang by Giorgetto Giugiaro.

It was Italdesign, founded by Giorgetto Giugiaro which designed the Maserati 3200 GT (Tipo 338; 1998-2002), a car which, although not exciting in a way many of the marque’s earlier models had been, was an important element in the establishing Maserati’s twenty-first century reputation for functionalism and quality.  Importantly, although in production for only four of the transitional years during which ownership of the brand passed from Fiat to Ferrari and the solid underpinnings would be the basis for the succeeding Coupé and Spyder (4200 GT, Tipo M138; 2001-2007).

Maserati 3200 GT (left) and 1973 Dino 246 GTS (C&F) by Ferrari.  Round lights are better than other shapes.

It was on the 3200 GT that Italdesign used tail-lights in the shape of a boomerang, much comment upon at the time but also a landmark in that they were the first production car to be sold with taillights which were an assembly of LEDs, the outer layer the brake lights, the inner the directional indicators (flashers).  Following the contours of the bodywork and integrated with the truck (boot) lid, they were the most memorable feature on what was otherwise an inoffensive but bland execution which could have come from any factory in the Far East.  They generated much publicity but it’s hard to argue they’re better looking than the classic four round lenses known from many of the best Italians.  Like architects, designers seem often drawn to something new and ugly rather than old yet timeless, the former more likely to attract the awards those in these professions award one-another.

Northrop YB-49 in flight, California, 1952.

The aerodynamic properties of the “flying wing” have long intrigued aircraft designers.  The USAF (United State Air Force) even contemplated putting into production on of Northrop’s design but in the mid-1940s, needing a delivery system for its nuclear bombs which was a known, reliable quantity, opted instead for the Convair B-36 which they acknowledged was obsolescent but would provide a serviceable stop-gap until wings of the upcoming Boeing B-52 could be formed.  That doubtlessly was the correct decision and in the decades since, neither a military or civilian case has been made for the “flying wings”, the machines which have entered service really variations on the proven delta-wing concept but the big Northrop YB-49 & XB-35 possessed an undeniable beauty and it’s a shame all were scraped by 1953.  The air force personnel actually preferred to call them “bat bombers”.