Solecism

Solecism (pronounced sol-uh-siz-uhm or soh-luh-siz-uhm)

(1) In language, a non-standard or ungrammatical usage.

(2) A breach of good manners or etiquette.

(3) Any error, impropriety, absurdity or inconsistency.

1570-1580: From the Latin soloecismus, from the Greek soloikismos, from soloikos (speaking incorrectly), the construct being Sólo(i) + -ic (from the Middle English -ik, from the Old French -ique, from the Latin -icus, from the primitive Indo-European -kos, formed with the i-stem suffix -i- and the adjectival suffix –kos.  The Ancient Greek form was -ικός (-ikós), the Sanskrit श (śa), क (ka) and the Old Church Slavonic -ъкъ (-ŭkŭ); doublet of –y; on noun stems, it carried the meaning “characteristic of, like, typical, pertaining to” and on adjectival stems, it acted emphatically) + -ism (ultimately from either the Ancient Greek -ισμός (-ismós), a suffix that forms abstract nouns of action, state, condition, doctrine; from stem of verbs in -ίζειν (-ízein) (from which English gained -ize), or from the related suffix Ancient Greek -ισμα (-isma), which more specifically expressed a finished act or thing done).  Solecism & solecist are nouns, solecistic & solecistical are adjectives and solecistically is an adverb; the noun plural is solecisms.

A solecism in sandals & socks.

The meaning "gross grammatical error" or "any absurdity or incongruity" dates from the 1570s, a borrowing directly from the sixteenth century Middle French solécisme which came from the Latin soloecismus (mistake in speaking or writing), which gained the word from the Greek soloikismos (to speak (Greek) incorrectly), from soloikos (an ungrammatical utterance), the literal translation of which was "speaking like the people of Sóloi, an Athenian colony in Cilicia (Mezitli in the modern-day Republic of Türkiye), whose dialect, a corrupt form of Attic Greek, Athenians considered barbarous.  The English, perhaps predictably, later extended the meaning to matters of etiquette, thus the sense of “awkward or rude in manners” and, by the late twentieth century, sins against fashion and good taste.

A solecism in blusher: Lindsay Lohan in court, Los Angeles October 2011.

The zombie-like look presumably wasn't intentional and it attracted some comment from professional make-up techs.  Speculation about how this happened ranged from the blusher being applied (1) in less than ideal lighting conditions, (2) in a car with only the rear-vision mirror available and (3) with bare fingers because a brush couldn't be found.  The consensus was the goal was a contoured blush look which, if applied with some delicacy, can accentuate the cheekbones but this was heavy handed and ended up as a smear across the cheeks.

Papilla

Papilla (pronounced puh-pil-uh)

(1) In anatomy, (1) a nipple-like protuberance on a part or organ of the body, (2) a vascular process of connective tissue extending into and nourishing the root of a hair, feather, or developing tooth, (3) any of the vascular protuberances of the dermal layer of the skin extending into the epidermal layer and often containing tactile corpuscles & (4) any of the small protuberances on the upper surface of the tongue often containing taste buds.

(2) In botany, a small fleshy projection on a plant; any minute blunt hair or process occurring in plants.

(3) In engineering and related fields, any small, nipple-like process or projection.

1400-1450: From the late Middle English, from the Latin papilla (a nipple, teat), the construct being papula (a pustule, pimple; a swelling) +‎ -illa (the diminutive nominal suffix).  Source of all was the primitive Indo-European imitative root pap (to swell).  From the anatomical beginnings, the meaning was extended to botany and mechanical engineering, the generalized meaning of a "nipple-like protuberance" attested from 1713, the sense of "a nipple of a mammary gland" documented from the 1690s.  The noun plural is papillae.

The derived forms include the noun papilloma (a tumor resembling a nipple) from 1866, a modern Latin hybrid, the construct being papilla (nipple) + the Ancient Greek oma (tumor), the adjective papillary (of, pertaining to, or resembling a nipple) from the 1660s, the noun papilledema (also papilloedema) (a non-inflammatory swelling of the optic disc) from 1908, from papilla + edema, from the New Latin edema, from Ancient Greek οἴδημα (oídēma) (swelling), from οἰδέω (oidéō) (I swell) and the noun pap (nipple of a woman's breast), a creation of the late twelfth century, a truncation of pappe, first attested in Northern and Midlands writing, probably from a Scandinavian source (not recorded in Old Norse but noted in the dialectal Swedish as pappe), from the primitive Indo-European imitative root pap (to swell), source also of the Latin papilla and the Lithuanian papas (nipple).  It’s speculative but pap is thought to be ultimately of infantile origin.

Variations of grease nipples.

Designed as entry points for lubricating oils, grease nipples are permanently installed by a threaded connection to which a grease gun attaches, the pressure supplied by the gun forcing a small captive bearing ball in the fitting to move back against the force of its retaining spring.  The valve that opens under pressure allows lubricant to pass through a channel and be forced into the voids of a bearing or whatever is to be lubricated and, when pressure ceases, the ball returns to its closed position.  The ball excludes dirt and functions as a check valve to prevent grease escaping back out of the fitting, functioning thus as a one-way, non-return valve.  The ball is almost flush with the surface of the fitting so that it can be wiped clean, reducing the debris which would otherwise be carried with the grease.  The convex shape of the fitting allows the concave tip of the grease gun to seal from many angles, yet with a sufficiently tight seal to force the pressured grease to move the ball and enter the fitting, rather than simply oozing past this temporary annular (ring-shaped) seal.  Grease nipples are commonly made from zinc-plated steel, stainless steel, or brass.

Lindsay Lohan static.

The patent for the first grease nipple was granted in 1929.  Before grease nipples existed, bearings were lubricated in ways that tended to be maintenance-intensive and often provided less effective lubrication.  For example, a typical machinery bearing of the nineteenth and early centuries was a plain bearing with a cross-drilled hole to receive oil or grease, with no fitting at its mouth, or at best a cap or cup.  Often lubricant was delivered under no more pressure than gravity or a finger push might provide; oil flowing into the hole, grease pushed in.  While grease guns existed to feed the grease with higher pressure, fittings were not as good and didn’t seal as well as those used than today, nor were they as widely used.

Lindsay Lohan moving.

Since the 1920s, the ever-growing dissemination of sealed bearings has made the use of grease fittings less common.  Sealed bearings are lubricated for life at the factory, sealed so lubricant is not lost or contaminated by fluids or anything abrasive.  Grease nipples however are far from obsolete; much machinery is built with them because, provided what is usually minimal maintenance is attended to, this type of bearing and lubrication setup is cost-effective, simple, and long-lasting.  However, neglect of maintenance does shorten a lifespan.  Grease fittings are rarely found on today's consumer goods because maintenance-free products have more sales appeal but they still exist on many automobiles and are more common still on industrial, agricultural, and mining equipment where shaft diameters exceed ¾ inch (19 mm) and in electric motors with an output greater than about 5 kw.  Grease nipples are particularly numerous on marine engines because, in addition to providing lubrication, pumping grease into a fitting on a motor or other unit exposed to water expels moisture that would otherwise cause corrosion.  This can be of critical importance in machinery exposed to salt-water.

Frazil

Frazil (pronounced frey-zuhl, fraz-uhl, fruh-zeel, frey-zil, fraz-il or fruh-zil (regionally variable)).

Ice crystals formed in turbulent water, as in swift streams or rough seas (moving enough to prevent the formation of a sheet of ice).

1885-1890: A borrowing in US English, from the Canadian French frasil, frazil & fraisil, from the French fraisil (forge (or coal) cinders), from the Old French faisil, ultimately from the Latin fax (torch, firebrand; fireball, comet; cause of ruin, incitement), from the primitive Indo-European ǵhwehk- (to shine) and cognate with facētus (elegant, fine; courteous, polite; witty, jocose, facetious) and the Lithuanian žvakė (candle) and there’s also a speculative link to the Etruscan word for face (which may also have meant torch).  Frazil is a noun and adjective and has been used as a (non-standard) verb; the noun plural is frazils.

The freezing point of water is 273.15 K (32^o F (0^o C)), but it can be super-cooled to almost 231 K if there are no nuclei for the ice crystals (ie the water is very pure).  Frazil ice forms in turbulent, very cold water and consists of small discs of ice as small as 1-4 millimeters in diameter and 1-100 microns in thickness (there can be one million ice crystals per m3 of water).   As the crystals grow, they will stick to objects in the water, tending to accumulate on the upstream side of objects and this can cause ice dams to form and serious flooding can result in unpredictable places because creeks and other waterways can change directions in response to the movement and accumulation of frazil ice.  Lovely to watch, frazil ice can pose a problem for hydroelectric power-plants because, in bulk, it can block turbine intakes or freeze open gates.   Fish can also suffer and in oceans, frazil ice forms around coastlines or ice packs found in open seas and the behavior of the substance (in this context an aspect of fluid dynamics) has required the development of protocols by the oil and gas industry for use when working in arctic regions.  For those who struggle to visualize frazil, it’s something like the slushies sold in convenience stores.

Available in more than a dozen flavors, Frazil is a brand-name of the slushie sold by US frozen drinks company Freezing Point.

As the crystals grow, they will stick to objects in the water, tending to accumulate on the upstream side of objects and this can cause ice dams to form and serious flooding can result in unpredictable places because creeks and other waterways can change directions in response to the movement and accumulation of frazil ice.  Lovely to watch, frazil ice can pose a problem for hydroelectric power-plants because, in bulk, it can block turbine intakes or freeze open gates.   Fish can also suffer and in oceans, frazil ice forms around coastlines or ice packs found in open seas and the behavior of the substance (in this context an aspect of fluid dynamics) has required the development of protocols by the oil and gas industry for use when working in arctic regions.  The actions of waves and currents creates a turbulent state which causes the water column to become super-cooled by the process of heat exchange between air and water, the temperature dropping below its freezing point.  In rivers and creeks, the vertical mixing induced by the turbulence generates sufficient energy to overcome the crystals' buoyancy, thus keeping them from floating to the surface while in oceans, the winds, waves and cold air combine to create a super-cooled layer.

Frazil ice, Yosemite National Park.

Hang

Hang (pronounced hang)

(1) To fasten or attach a thing so that it is supported only from above or at a point near its own top; to attach or suspend so as to allow free movement.

(2) To place in position or fasten so as to allow easy or ready movement.

(3) To put to death by suspending by the neck from a gallows, gibbet, yardarm, or the like; to suspend (oneself) by the neck until dead.

(4) To fasten to a cross; crucify.

(5) To furnish or decorate with something suspended.

(6) In fine art, to exhibit a painting or group of paintings.

(7) To attach or annex as an addition.

(8) In building, to attach (a door or the like) to its frame by means of hinges.

(9) To make an idea, form etc dependent on a situation, structure, concept, or the like, usually derived from another source.

(10) As hung jury, hung parliament etc, where deliberative body is unable to achieve a majority verdict in a vote.

(11) In informal use, to cause a nickname, epithet etc to become associated with a person

(12) In nautical use, to steady (a boat) in one place against a wind or current by thrusting a pole or the like into the bottom under the boat and allowing the wind or current to push the boat side-on against the pole.

(13) To incline downward, jut out, or lean over or forward.

(14) To linger, remain, or persist; to float or hover in the air.

(15) In informal use (to get the hang of), the precise manner of doing, using, etc, something; knack.

(16) In computing, as “to hang”, usually a synonym for “freeze”.  Nerds insist a hang refers only to a loss of control by manual input devices (mouse; keyboard etc) while the machine remains responsive to remote control whereas a freeze is a total lock-up.

(18) In chess (transitive) to cause a piece to become vulnerable to capture and (intransitive) to be vulnerable to capture.

(19) As “hang up”, to end a phone call, a use which has continued even though many phone handsets no longer physically “hang up”.

Pre 900:  A fusion of three verbs: (1) the Middle English and Old English hōn (to hang; be hanging) (transitive), cognate with the Gothic hāhan (originally haghan); (2) the Middle English hang(i)en & Old English hangian (to hang) (intransitive), cognate with the German hangen; and (3) the Middle English henge from the Old Norse hanga & hengja (suspend) (transitive), cognate with the German hängen & hangēn (to hang).  The ultimate source of all forms was the Proto-Germanic hanhaną (related to the Dutch hangen, the Low German hangen & hängen, the German hängen, the Norwegian Bokmål henge & Norwegian Nynorsk henga), root being the primitive Indo-European ḱenk- (to waver, be in suspense).  Etymologists compare the evolution with the Gothic hāhan, the Hittite gang- (to hang), the Sanskrit शङ्कते (śáṅkate) (is in doubt; hesitates), the Albanian çengë (a hook) and the Latin cunctari (to delay).  From the Latin cunctari, Modern English retains the very useful cunctator (a procrastinator; one who delays).

Past tense: hung and hanged

Hang has two forms for past tense and past participle, “hanged” and “hung”.  The older form hanged is now used exclusively in the sense of putting to death on the gallows by means of a lawful execution, sanctioned by the state.  Even in places where capital punishment is no longer used, it remains the correct word to use in its historical context.  There are two forms because the word “hang” came from two different verbs in Old English (with a relationship to one from Old Norse).  One of these Old English verbs was considered a regular verb and this gave rise to “hanged”; the other was irregular, and ended up as “hung”.  Hanged and hung were used interchangeably for hundreds of years but over time, hung became the more common.  Hanged retained its position when used to refer to death by hanging because it became fossilized in both statute and common law; it thus escaped the development of Modern English which tended increasingly to simplified forms.  Even the familiar phrase hung, drawn and quartered originally used “hanged”, a change reflecting popular use.  The only novel variation to emerge in recent years has been to use hanged to describe executions ordered by a state and hung when referring to suicides by hanging although this remains still a trend rather than an accepted convention of use.  Henry Fowler (1858–1933) in his A Dictionary of Modern English Usage (1926) held it wasn't necessarily erroneous to use "hung" in the case of executions but in standard English it was certainly less customary although most style guides acknowledge the distinction still exists while noting the use of hung is both widespread and tolerated.  The consensus seems to be it’s best to follow the old practice but not get too hung up about it.

Portraits: hung and not hung

Most politicians, usually by virtue of uninterest, leave the arts to others but there are exceptions and while Adolf Hitler (1889-1945; Führer (leader) and German head of government 1933-1945 & head of state 1934-1945) wasn't unique among politicians in regarding himself as “an artist” he was untypical and his credentials were reasonable because in pre-World War I (1914-1918) Vienna he’s earned a modest living as a painter of the streetscapes in which there’s now a somewhat controversial trade.  Critics seem prepared to concede Hitler was a competent artist when depicting buildings and even the natural environment but all concurred with the examiners who denied him entry to art school on the basis he had not enough talent to handle the human form, a judgment some historians, political scientists and amateur psychoanalysts have over the years mapped onto his political career.  With that he may even have agreed because the people in his paintings are almost always small, un-detailed blotches there merely to lend scale to the buildings which were his real love but, after taking power in 1933, he didn’t let that stop establishing himself as the Reich’s chief art critic and he’d judge portraiture as harshly as any landscape.  He certainly thought an “artistic temperament” was vital for a politician to achieve greatness, rejecting the idea of Heinrich Himmler (1900–1945; Reichsführer SS 1929-1945) succeeding him as Führer because the head of the SS was “totally unartistic” and it was Hitler’s self-identification as “an artist” which in the first decade of his rule protected many painters, sculptors and others from persecution.  In his clandestine prison diary (Spandauer Tagebücher (Spandau: The Secret Diaries) (1975)) Albert Speer (1905–1981; Nazi court architect 1934-1942; Nazi minister of armaments and war production 1942-1945) noted that for Hitler their political views were “…a matter of supreme indifference…” because “…he regarded them one and all as politically feeble-minded.”  Speer recalled a lunch in 1938 at Hitler’s favorite Italian restaurant, Munich’s Osteria Bavaria, when a senior Nazi functionary brought to the Führer’s attention a Communist Party proclamation (pre-dating the regime) which had been signed by a large number of artists; the apparatchik wanted all these artists banned from any government work but Speer recoded how “Hitler replied disdainfully, ‘Oh, you know I don’t take any of that seriously. We should never judge artists by their political views.  The imagination they need for their work deprives them of the ability to think in realistic terms. Artists are simple-hearted souls. Today they sign this, tomorrow that; they don’t even look to see what it is, so long as it seems to them well-meaning.’”  It was an indulgence to freedom of expression Hitler granted few others and a contrast also with what would have been the likely reaction of comrade Stalin (1878-1953; Soviet leader 1924-1953) to revelations of dissent.  Comrade Stalin’s three preferred ways of dealing with such problems were (1) have them murdered, (2) have them sent to the Lubyanka (KGB headquarters on Moscow's Lubyanka Square) to be tortured to death or (3) have them sent to the Gulag to be worked to death.

Portrait of Oliver Cromwell (1650), oil on canvas by Samuel Cooper.

Even if it’s something ephemeral, politicians are often sensitive about representations of their image but concerns are heightened when it’s a portrait which, often somewhere hung on public view, will long outlive them.  Although in the modern age the proliferation and accessibility of the of the photographic record has meant portraits no longer enjoy an exclusivity in the depiction of history, there’s still something about a portrait which conveys, however misleadingly, a certain authority.  That’s not to suggest the classic representational portraits have always been wholly authentic, a good many of those of the good and great acknowledged to have been painted by “sympathetic” artists known for their subtleties in rendering their subjects variously more slender, youthful or hirsute as the raw material required.  Probably few were like Oliver Cromwell (1599–1658; Lord Protector of the Commonwealth 1653-1658) who told Samuel Cooper (1609-1672) to paint him “warts and all”.  The artist obliged.

Although certain about the afterlife, Cromwell was a practical politician with few illusions about life on earth.  Once, when being driven in a coach through cheering crowds, his companion remarked that his popularity with the people must be pleasing.  The lord protector replied he had no doubt they’d be cheering just as loud were he being taken to the gallows to be hanged.

Exhibition of images of Lindsay Lohan by Richard Phillips (b 1962), hung in the Gagosian Gallery, 555 West 24th Street, New York, 11 September-20 October 2012.  Described by the artist as an installation, the exhibition was said to be "an example of the way Phillips uses collaborative forms of image production to reorder the relationship of Pop Art to its subjects, the staging and format of these lush, large-scale works said to render them realist portraits of the place-holders of their own mediated existence."

Bad Teddy and Good Theodore: Portrait of Theodore Roosevelt (1903), oil on canvas by Théobald Chartran (left) and Portrait of Theodore Roosevelt (1903) oil on canvas by John Singer Sargent.

Nobel Peace Prize laureate Theodore Roosevelt (1858–1919; US President 1901-1909), famous also for waging small wars and shooting big game, after being impressed by Théobald Chartran’s (1849–1907) portrait of his wife (Edith, 1861-1948), invited the French artist to paint him too.  So displeased was he with the result (which he thought made him look effete), he refused to hang the work.  Later, he would have it destroyed, turning turned instead to expatriate American artist John Singer Sargent (1856–1925).  The relationship didn’t start well as the two couldn’t agree on a setting and during one heated argument, the president suddenly, hand on hip, took on a defiant air while making a point and Sargent had his pose, imploring his subject not to move.  This one delighted Roosevelt and prominently it was hung in the White House.

Side by side: Portraits of Barak Obama (2011) and Donald Trump (2018), both oil on canvas by Sarah A Boardman, on permanent display, Gallery of Presidents, Third Floor, Rotunda, State Capitol Building, Denver, Colorado.

In March 2025 it was reported Donald Trump (b 1946; US president 2017-2021 and since 2025) was not best pleased with a portrait of him hanging in Colorado’s State Capitol; he damned the work as “purposefully distorted” and demanded Governor Jared Polis (b 1975; governor (Democratic) of Colorado since 2019) immediately take it down.  In a post on his Truth Social platform, Mr Trump said: “Nobody likes a bad picture or painting of themselves, but the one in Colorado, in the State Capitol, put up by the Governor, along with all the other Presidents, was purposefully distorted to a level that even I, perhaps, have never seen before.  The artist also did President Obama and he looks wonderful, but the one on me is truly the worst. She must have lost her talent as she got older.  In any event, I would much prefer not having a picture than having this one, but many people from Colorado have called and written to complain. In fact, they are actually angry about it!  I am speaking on their behalf to the radical left Governor, Jared Polis, who is extremely weak on crime, in particular with respect to Tren de Aragua, which practically took over Aurora (Don’t worry, we saved it!), to take it down. Jared should be ashamed of himself!”

At the unveiling in 2019 it was well-received by the Republicans assembled.  If Fox News had an art critic (the Lord forbid), she would have approved but presumably that would now be withdrawn and denials issued it was ever conferred.  

Intriguingly, it was one of Mr Trump’s political fellow-travellers (Kevin Grantham (b 1970; state senator (Republican, Colorado) 2011-2019) who had in 2018 stated a GoFundMe page to raise the funds needed to commission the work, the US$10,000 pledged, it is claimed, within “a few hours”.  Ms Boardman’s painting mush have received the approval of the Colorado Senate Republicans because it was them who in 2019 hosted what was described as the “non-partisan unveiling event” when first the work was displayed hanging next to one of Mr Trump’s first presidential predecessor (Barack Obama (b 1961; US president 2009-2017), another of Ms Boardman’s commissions.  Whether or not it’s of relevance in the matter of now controversial portrait may be a matter for professional critics to ponder but on her website the artist notes she has “…always been passionate about painting portraits, being particularly intrigued by the depth and character found deeper in her subjects… believing the ultimate challenge is to capture the personality, character and soul of an individual in a two-dimensional format...”  Her preferred models “…are carefully chosen for their enigmatic personality and uniqueness...” and she admits some of her favorite subjects those “whose faces show the tracks of real life.”

Portrait of Winston Churchill (1954) by Graham Sutherland.

Another subject turned disappointed critic was Sir Winston Churchill.  In 1954, a committee, funded by the donation of a 1000 guineas from members of both houses of parliament, commissioned English artist Graham Sutherland (1903–1980) to paint a portrait of the prime minister to mark his 80^th birthday.  The two apparently got on well during the sittings, Churchill himself a prolific, if undistinguished, amateur painter (in 1948 he published the book Painting as a Pastime) and it’s said he enjoyed their discussions.  He was unimpressed though with the result, telling Sutherland that while he acknowledged his technical prowess, he found the work “not suitable”.  To his doctor he was less restrained, calling it "filthy" and "malignant".

Portrait of Laurence Olivier in the role of Richard III (1955) by Salvador Dalí.

It had been intended the painting would be hung in the House of Commons but Churchill had no intention of letting it be seen by anyone.  An unveiling ceremony had been arranged and Churchill demanded it not include the painting, relenting only when a compromise was arranged whereby both subject and artwork would appear together but rather than being hung in the Commons, it would instead be gifted to him to hang where he pleased.  Both sides appeased (if not pleased), the ceremony proceeded, Churchill making a brief speech of thanks during which he described his gift as “…a remarkable example of modern art..”, praise not even faint.  It was never hung, consigned unwrapped to the basement of the prime minister’s country house where it remained for about a year until Lady Churchill (Clementine, 1885–1977)), sharing her husband’s view of the thing, had a servant take it outside where it was tossed on a bonfire, an act of practical criticism Sutherland condemned as “vandalism”.  Not anxious to repeat the experience of his brush with modernism, Churchill declined the offer of a sitting before the Spanish surrealist Salvador Dalí (1904–1989), the result of which might have been interesting.  It's not known if Churchill ever saw Dali's interpretation of Laurence Olivier (1907-1989).

Two photographs of Winston Churchill (1941) by Yousuf Karsh.

Roosevelt’s pose is one favored by politicians but the expression adopted matters too.  The famous photograph taken in Ottawa in December 1941 by Armenian-Canadian Yousuf Karsh (1908-2002) was actually one of several but those where Churchill shows a more cheerful countenance are not remembered; they didn’t so well suit those troubled times.  The scowl, although immediately regarded as emblematic of British defiance of the Nazis, had a more prosaic origin, the photographer recalling his subject had appeared benign until it was insisted the ever-present Havana cigar be discarded lest it spoil the photograph.  That changed the mood but, the moment captured, he relented and permitted a couple more, including the now obscure ones with a smile.

Piquant

Piquant (pronounced pee-kuhnt, pee-kahnt or pee-kahnt)

(1) Agreeably pungent or sharp in taste or flavor; pleasantly biting or tart.

(2) Agreeably lively or stimulating to the mind; interesting or attractive (someone who may attract “a piquant glance”).

(3) Of an interestingly provocative or lively character (someone sometimes described as “a piquant wit”.

(4) In food, producing a burning sensation due to the presence of chilies or similar spices; spicy, hot (sometimes applied figuratively (of remarks, concepts et al).

(5) Sharp or stinging, hurtful of one’s feelings (archaic).

1520s: From the Middle French piquant (stimulating, irritating (literally “pricking”)), present participle of piquer (to prick; sting, nettle) which replaced pickante from the Italian piccante.  The ultimate source in French may have been the Old French pikier (to prick, sting, nettle).  The original sense in the 1520s was “something said that was scathing, sharp or stinging, hurting one’s feelings”, a use now obsolete.  By the 1640s the word was being used of an “agreeable pungency or sharpness of taste or flavor”, that by the 1690s extending to someone or something “smart, lively or racy in nature” which, under poetic influence, was from the early seventeenth century generalized to mean “stimulating to the senses; engaging; charming” and in parallel with this the foodies used it to mean “favorably stimulating to the palate; pleasantly spicy; tangy”.  That latter use still exists although some (especially in commerce) use piquant as a synonym merely for “very hot or spicy”; the comparative is “more piquant”, the superlative “most piquant”.    Piquant is an adjective, piquantness & piquancy are nouns and piquantly is an adverb; the noun plural is piquancies.

Piquant glances: Lindsay Lohan & Bader Shammas (b 1987).

The noun piquancy (created by appending the abstract noun suffix -cy) has endured while the companion noun piquantness is now rare.  The synonyms (applied variously to food, drink, ideas, music, literature, people etc) include spicy, pungent, poignant, racy, savory, peppery, tangy, zesty, interesting, lively, provocative, sharp, snappy, sparkling, spirited, stimulating, tart, intriguing & zestful while the most common antonyms seem to be insipid, bland & vapid.  The most neglected synonym is probably sapid (tasty, flavorsome or savory), from the Latin sapidus (savoury, delicious, tasty (and in the Late Latin “prudent, wise”) the construct being sap(iō) (to taste) +‎ -idus (the suffix used to form adjectives in the sense of “tending to”), from the Proto-Italic -iðos, from the primitive Indo-European -dhos, a thematized formation from dheh- (to put, place).  The attraction of reviving “sapid” is one can compliment another on their sapidity or tell them how admirable is their sapidness; as a pick-up line in a bar, it would have some novelty and sapid is an anagram of “iPads” which may appeal to some.

Hellfire Piquant Herbal Gin.

The Hellfire Distillery is located at Boomer Bay, on the east coast of Tasmania, Australia’s island state.  Despite the modern association of the word, the name of the place has nothing to do with the post-war “baby boom” (“boomer” (as an ellipsis of “baby boomer”) now an often disparaging term applied to those born between 1946-1964).  The source of the name is obscure but the most supported theory is as a reference to the large waves which crash ashore, the geography of the place lending a acoustic quality which amplifies the sound under certain climatic conditions.  “Boomer” is also old Australian slang for heavy waves which produce the loud “crashing” sounds.  There’s less support for the notion the name could be tied to the kangaroo; that the marsupial also is in some places known by the slang “boomer”, this is thought a coincidence.  The Hellfire Distillery provided the recipe for a Sloe gin (a gin made from blackthorn fruits) slushie:

Ingredients

2 tablespoons fresh mint leaves, shredded
250 grams fresh strawberries
¼ cup sugar syrup
500 grams watermelon, cubed and frozen
¼ cup Hellfire's Sloe Gin

Instructions

(1) Place strawberries, mint and sugar syrup in a blender; blitz until really smooth.
(2) Strain to remove seeds and pour the mixture into ice cube moulds; then freeze.
(3) In blender, add strawberry ice cubes, watermelon and gin; blend until smooth and slushy.
(4) Spoon into glasses and garnish with extra mint leaves (if desired).

The word “piquant” is widely used in the products of the industrial food industry.  It’s an exotic or gentrified way of denoting something as “pungent”, “hot” or “spicy”.

Lush

Lush (pronounced luhsh)

(1) Of vegetation, plants, grasses etc, luxuriant; succulent; tender and juicy; characterized by luxuriant vegetation.

(2) Of fruit (especially tropical varieties), succulent and fleshy; of food in general, savory, delicious (now rare).

(3) Characterized by luxuriousness, opulence etc.

(4) A habitual drinker of alcohol who is frequently intoxicated, applied usually as disparaging and offensive term and applied disproportionately to women.

(5) Alcoholic drink (archaic).

(6) In musical criticism (of sopranos in Opera), a notably rich, expressive voice; in music generally an antonym for austere or sparse, a use also extended to literature.

(7) In internet slang (of the young of any gender), beautiful, sexy; used also as a synonym generally for amazing, cool, fantastic, wicked (should be used only by the youthful).

(8) Of ground or the soil, in dialectal use, mellow; soft; easily turned; fertile.

1400–1450: From the late Middle English lusch (slack, relaxed, limp, loose), from the Proto-Germanic laskwaz (weak, false, feeble), from the primitive Indo-European lēy- (to let; leave behind).  It was akin to the Old English lysu (bad) & lǣc (lax), the Middle Low German las & lasch (slack), the Middle High German erleswen (to become weak), the Middle Low German lasch (slack, languid, idle),the Low German lusch (loose), the Old Norse lǫskr (weak, feeble) and the Gothic lasiws (weak, feeble).  A doublet of lusk.  Source was probably the Old French lasche (lax, lazy) from the Latin laxus (loose), from the Late Latin laxicare (become shaky) from the primitive European root sleg- (be slack, be languid).

Lindsay Lohan, on holiday in the tropical lushness of Thailand, 2017.

It began to be applied to dense vegetation circa 1600 when used that way by Shakespeare who was alluding to the languid appearance of foliage and the modern sense “luxuriant in growth" developed organically from there.  The Shakespearian origin is generally accepted but some etymologists have noted a link to a word in Gypsy (Romany) or Shelta (tinkers' jargon).  The use relating to alcoholic drink dates from circa 1790, the origin unknown but presumed to be a facetious link to the idea of juicy vegetation, saturated with liquid.  The early slang referred to the drink itself; in 1790 a “lush ken” was an alehouse but by 1890 had come to mean "drunkard" and as early as 1811 was used as a verb meaning “to drink heavily”, the adjective being lushey.    In 1823, Lushington was recorded as a humorous generic name for a heavy drinker which was perhaps unfortunate for some, it being a real surname.  It was in the twentieth century, perhaps in reaction to the greater social acceptability of women taking drink, that lush came to be an almost exclusively female descriptor; the linguistic shift part of the long (and continuing) tradition of men finding new ways to disparage women.  Lush is a noun & adjective, Lusher & lushest are adjectives, lushness is a noun and lushly an adverb.

Martha Mitchell, who got a bit of fun from life

John and Martha Mitchell, Washington DC, 1971.

Martha Mitchell (1918-1976) was the wife of John Mitchell (1913–1988; US attorney-general 1969–1972) who served under Richard Nixon (1913-1994; US president 1969-1974) as attorney general.  She gained a not undeserved reputation as a lush, Richard Nixon’s chief of staff (HR Halderman 1926-1993; chief of staff to the president 1969 1973) noting in his diary early in 1970 that “Martha’s behavior was sometimes outlandish, due to both emotional and drinking problems”.  More than once in the White House there was discussion about her being an embarrassment to her husband and the administration and a term emerged: "the Martha problem”.

Martha Mitchell, Time magazine cover, 30 November 1970.

The attorney-general’s wife being a lush not good but was tolerated, her husband actually attracting some sympathy, but, as the Nixon administration proceeded along its historic course, Martha’s drunken ramblings, including to journalists, raised real concerns.  Pillow-talk being a thing, she raised concerns about the dirty tricks and actual illegalities in which the administration was involved, especially the conduct of the 1972 election campaign which included the famous Watergate building break-in.  Figures in the administration then arranged to kidnap her so she could be kept incommunicado, the idea being the cover-up that was the Watergate affair would be better conducted without her around, part of the kidnapping having her forcefully sedated and locked up.  However, her accusations soon emerged and in little more than a year, Nixon would be forced to resign.  Martha had raised many of matters in an attempt to defend her husband who she believed was being set-up as the administration's “fall-guy” but, early in the scandal he resigned, later to be convicted of perjury, obstruction of justice, and conspiracy and jailed for some two years.  Soon after his resignation, the couple separated; they would never meet again.  To his dying day Nixon blamed Martha for the Watergate scandal, insisting she was such a distraction for the attorney-general that he neglected the oversight of the 1972 campaign, allowing others in the team to do bad things.

The Martha Mitchell Effect

The "Martha Mitchell Effect" is from the literature of psychiatry and refers to instances where a clinician labels a patient's accurate description of actual events as delusional, resulting in a misdiagnosis.  The significance of the Martha Mitchell Effect is that, strictly speaking, its application should be limited to those instances of misdiagnosis which arise because the clinician either relied upon or was unduly influenced by factors particular to the patient but not directly relevant to case being discussed.  Thus, because Martha was a notorious lush given to rambling, drunken accusations and claims of conspiracies, she was erroneously assumed to be displaying symptoms of mental illness.

New York Daily News, 26 June 1972.

In the profession, the Martha Mitchell Effect is something which can affect many (cognitive bias, misdiagnosis, diagnostic overshadowing, iatrogenic & over-diagnosis) of the circumstances which can produce false positives, a particular problem in psychiatry, where there are few objective clinical tests for most disorders, diagnosis relying so often on the subjectivity of both the patient report and interpretation of these symptoms by clinicians.  In real-world conditions, there’s no obvious way to create protocols to ensure the Martha Mitchell Effect doesn’t infect a diagnosis.  However, the fifth edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-5, 2013) did change some of the criteria for delusional disorders, notably no longer requiring that delusions must be non-bizarre, a change which while obviously not removing subjectivity from the process, did offer some equality between patient and clinician.  The specifier for bizarre type delusions carried over from DSM-IV (1994), the demarcation of delusional disorder from psychotic variants of obsessive-compulsive disorder and body dysmorphic disorder augmented with a new exclusion criterion, which required the symptoms must not be better explained by conditions such as obsessive-compulsive or body dysmorphic disorder with absent insight/delusional beliefs.  In DSM-5, a delusional disorder is no longer separated from a shared delusional disorder.  In theory, the changes in DSM-5 might have gained Martha a more sympathetic diagnosis, one she'd doubtless have celebrated with a drink.