Phreak

Phreak (pronounced freek)

(1) Illicitly to tamper with or connect to various systems using telephones (in the sense of phone phreaking.

(2) To act as a phone phreak.

1972: An altered spelling of freak, applied by and to the phone phreaks, constructed by blending the ph of phone with freak.  Phone is from the Ancient Greek φωνή (phōnḗ) (sound).  Freak was first used circa 1560 in the sense of a "sudden change of mind or something done on a whim" and is of uncertain origin but thought probably from a dialectal word related to the Middle English frekynge (capricious behaviour; whims) and friken & frikien (briskly or nimbly to move) from the Old English frician (to leap, dance) or Middle English frek (insolent, daring) from the Old English frec (desirous, greedy, eager, bold, daring).  The ultimate root may be the Proto-Germanic frekaz & frakaz (hard, efficient, greedy, bold, audacious) in which case, it would be related to the phreak as a noun.  Related were the Old High German freh (eager) and the Old English frēcne (dangerous, daring, courageous, bold).  In linguistics, words like phreak are known as a sensational spelling and the trend continued in the post-web world from the 1990s onwards with creations such as phat and phishing.  Phreak is a noun & verb, phreaker is a noun and phreaked & phreaking are verbs; the noun plural is phreaks.

The phone phreakers

Digilog Systems Telecomputer II (315), circa 1976, a briefcase-housed acoustic coupler.

Phone phreaking was a term coined to describe the activities of the sub-culture of people who explored and exploited public telephone networks.  The term first referred to groups which, since the late 1950s, had reverse engineered the analogue system of audio tones used to route long-distance calls.  By re-creating these tones, phreaks could switch calls from the handset, allowing free calls to be made around the world; this at a time when even local calls could cost money and long distance or international calls could cost hundreds of dollars per hour.  Electronic tone generators known as blue boxes soon became available, making phreaking possible even for those without much technical knowledge.  This early aspect of phreaking effectively ended by the 1980s as most phone networks switched from acoustic tones to digital computer systems.  The phone phreaks are best remembered for their early hacks into the big mainframes of operations like NASA, the Pentagon and the CIA.  The phreaks were pleased to find a military mainframe might be in a secure facility with industrial strength air-conditioning and power supply systems with armed guards on the doors yet be connected directly to the public telephone network.

The idea of phone phreaking has survived phonetically as the phone freak-out; there are are public freak-outs and private freak-outs.

Eschew

Eschew (pronounced es-choo)

To abstain or keep away from; to refuse to use or participate in; stand aloof from; shun; avoid.

1300–1350: From the Middle English eschewen from the Old French eschiver & eschever (shun, eschew, avoid, dispense with (which in the third-person present was eschiu), from the Frankish skiuhan (to dread, shun, avoid), from the Proto-Germanic skeukhwaz (source also of the Old High German sciuhen (to avoid, escape) and the German scheuen (to fear, shun, shrink from), from scheu (shy, timid).  In German the evolution produced the Old High German sciuhen & skiuhan (to frighten away) and the German scheuchen (shoo, shoo away, drive away).  The Italian schivare (to avoid, shun, protect from) from schivo (shy, bashful) are both related loan words from the Germanic.  Eschew, eschewed & eschewing are verbs and eschewal & eschewance are nouns; the most common noun plural is eschewals.

Orson Wells (1915-1985) as Sir John Falstaff, Chimes of Midnight (1965).

The convention of use has evolved to suggest the verb eschew should not be applied to the avoidance or shunning of a person or specific physical object but only to the ideas, concepts, or other intangibles and William Shakespeare (1564–1616), in Sir John Falstaff and the Merry Wives of Windsor (1602), though the concept a binary: “What cannot be eschew'd must be embrac'd”.  Avoid is the most often used synonym, similar but not quite in the same sense are “circumvent”, “boycott” and “forgo”.  Eschew is a verb, the nouns are eschewment, eschewal & eschewer.

Lindsay Lohan eschewing some underwear and the fastening of a couple of buttons, Los Angeles, 2010.

The surviving dialectical variation is the Scots umbechew (umschew & umchew now extinct), the construct being umbe- +‎ eschew.  As a transitive, it meant “to avoid; shun” and as an intransitive “to get away; escape”.  The prefix umbe- is from the Middle English um-, umbe- & embe-, from Old English ymb- & ymbe- (around), from the Proto-Germanic umbi- (around, about, by, near), from the primitive Indo-European hzmbhi (round about, around).  It was cognate with the Dutch om- (around), the German um- (around), the Latin amb- (around, about), the Latin ambi- (both), the Ancient Greek ἀμφί (amphí) (around, about), the Sanskrit अभि (abhi) (against, about).  The prefix (meaning around; about) is no longer productive, obsolete outside mostly Scots dialects.

Chelengk

Chelengk (pronounced kel-legge)

A headdress or turban ornament traditionally worn by Ottoman and the Mughal rulers in South Asia and Asia Minor.

Circa 1740: From the Ottoman Turkish چـلنك (Çelenk) (wreath or garland).

First awarded during the reign of Mahmud I (Mahmud the Hunchback, 1696–1754; Sultan of the Ottoman Empire from 1730-1754), the model for the Çelenk was the tradition of attaching a bird's feather to one’s turban as a symbol of bravery and by 1798 it had become a stylized decoration awarded for military merit (ranking above the Gallipoli Star and below the Order of Osmanieh in the Ottoman order of precedence) as late as the 1820s.  Çelenks were awarded as a gift to honor distinguished military commanders or other high-ranking officials and, worn usually on a turban or cap, were a noted symbol of honor and prestige in the Ottoman court.  Çelenks were crafted from gold or silver (the most illustrious of which were diamond-studded) and consisted of a central flower with leaves and buds, topped by upward-facing rays and although no longer part of military tradition, the motif remains popular in modern Türkiye where it’s rendered as a wreath or garland, a circular decoration made from flowers and leaves, usually for ornamental purposes.

Lemuel “Francis” Abbott’s (circa 1760–1803) classic portrait of Nelson (1799) with Chelengk pinned to hat; oil on canvas and completed after his victory in the Battle of the Nile.  Historians of art suspect Abbott painted his work despite having never seen the Chelengk because his depiction is far removed from the actual jewel. 

One of the most famous Chelengks was that awarded to the Royal Navy’s Admiral Lord Nelson (1758-1805) by Selim III (1761–1808; Sultan of the Ottoman Empire 1789-1807) after the Battle of the Nile in 1798, the thirteen diamond encrusted rays representing the French ships captured or destroyed during the engagement.  A clever aspect of the engineering was that the central diamond star was connected to a clockwork mechanism so it would rotate while being worn and it was a particular distinction, being the first Çelenk awarded to a non-Ottoman and the thirteen rays were a departure from the traditional seven.  The admiral wore the Chelengk on his naval hat in much the same manner as Ottoman officers adorned their turbans and he turned out to be a trend-setter, sparking a demand in England for similar jewels and they became one of the most fashionable accessories of the era.  Selim III also awarded a Çelenk  to Russian Admiral Fyodor Ushakov (1745-1817) after the capture of Corfu from the French in 1799.  After Nelson’s death in the Battle of Trafalgar (1805), the Chelengk passed to his family and was frequently seen at the royal court until it was sold at auction in 1895, purchased eventually by the Society for Nautical Research in 1929 and placed on display at the National Maritime Museum in Greenwich where it was a star exhibit.  In 1951 the piece was by “an infamous cat-burglar” and has not since been seen.

Lindsay Lohan as she would appear if wearing the replica of Lord Nelson’s chelengk, Paris, March 2015 (digitally altered image).  The replica is said exactly to have duplicated the appearance of the original and features a central flower made of sixteen petals with leaves and buds.  The stalk of the flower is tied by a bow, extending from which are the thirteen rays.  The replica was made for the film Bequest to the Nation (1973) and was subsequently presented to the National Maritime Museum by the production house.

Squirrel

Squirrel (pronounced skwur-uhl, skwuhr or skwir-uhl (UK))

(1) Any of numerous arboreal, sciurine, bushy-tailed rodents of the genus Sciurus, of the family Sciuridae.  Most common are the red (S. vulgaris) and grey (S. carolinensis).

(2) Sometimes applied to any of various other members of the family Sciuridae, as the chipmunks, flying squirrels, and woodchucks.

(3) The meat of such animals.

(4) The pelt or fur of such an animal.

(5) A coat trimmed with squirrel.

(6) To store or hide money, valuables etc, usually for the future (often followed by away).  Used informally to refer to a person who hoards things.

(7) In Scientology, a person, usually a freezoner (who practices Scientology outside of the official structures of the organization), who applies L Ron Hubbard's (1911-1986) technology in a heterodox manner (usually derogatory).

(8) One of the small rollers of a carding machine which work with the large cylinder.

(9) In LGBTQQIAAOP slang, as "squirrel friend" a trans-female friend or associate who still has functioning testicles (the pun based on the idea of "squirreling away their nuts").

1325–1375:  From the Middle English squirel & squyrelle, a borrowing from the Anglo-French escuirel (derived from the Old French escuireul), from the Vulgar Latin scūrellus or scūriolus, representing the Classical Latin sciurus.  Root was the Greek σκίουρος (skíouros) (shadow-tailed), the construct being ski(á) (shadow) + ouros (the adjectival derivative of ourá (tail); apparently because the tail was large enough to provide shade for the rest of the animal.  It was used with the diminutive suffixes ellus and olus.  Squirrel soon displaced the native Middle English aquerne, from the Old English ācweorna; in the Modern French, word is écureuil.  The use to describe hoarders was first noted in 1939 but, based on the notion of those who "squirrel thing away", it may long have been in informal oral use.  Squirrel is a noun & verb and squirrelly is an adjective (although squirrel-like seems more commonly used; the noun plural is squirrels.

A squirrel squirreling away nuts for the winter.  Most English dictionaries accept this spelling (although some prefer a single l) which makes squirrelled the longest word in English pronounced in one syllable.

In March 2023, Lindsay Lohan posted a "coming soon" picture confirming her rumored pregnancy.  Although it's not known how far advanced is her state, traditionally such announcements are made as a mother-to-be enters the second trimester so she should thus be three-months pregnant.  This means she can use the expression "with squirrel", one of the more curious adaptations of the word.  The origins of "with squirrel" are mysterious but etymologists seem convinced it was used from about the point at which the baby was expected to be delivered in six months, the implication presumably as soon as the "baby bump became apparent".  There are references to it being used at various points in the nineteenth century and it seems to have been restricted to rural communities in the Ozark mountains in the US.  Seemingly one of the many euphemisms employed to avoid saying the confronting word "pregnant", the last known reference to use dates from 1953.

Parabola

Parabola (pronounced puh-rab-uh-luh)

(1) In geometry, a plane curve formed by the intersection of a right circular cone with a plane parallel to a generator of the cone; the set of points in a plane that are equidistant from a fixed line and a fixed point in the same plane or in a parallel plane. Equation: y2 = 2px or x2 = 2py.

(2) In rhetoric, the explicit drawing of a parallel between two essentially dissimilar things, especially with a moral or didactic purpose; a parable.

1570s: From the Modern Latin parabola, from the Late Greek παραβολή (parabolḗ) (a comparison; a setting alongside; parable (literally "a throwing beside" hence "a juxtaposition") so called by Apollonius of Perga circa 210 BC because it is produced by "application" of a given area to a given straight line.  The Greek parabolḗ was derived from παραβάλλω (parabállō) (I set side by side”), from παρά (pará) (beside) + βάλλω (bállō) (I throw); a doublet of parable, parole, and palaver.  It had a different sense in Pythagorean geometry.  The adjectival form parabolic (figurative, allegorical, of or pertaining to a parable) from the Medieval Latin parabolicus from the Late Greek parabolikos (figurative) from parabolē (comparison) is now probably the most widely used.  In geometry, in the sense of “pertaining to a parabola”, it’s been in use since 1702.  A parabola is a curve formed by the set of points in a plane that are all equally distant from both a given line (called the directrix) and a given point (called the focus) that is not on the line.  It’s best visualised as a shape consisting of a single bend and two lines going off to an infinite distance.

Monza

On the Monza banking: Maserati 250F (left), Ferrari F555 Supersqualo (centre) & Vanwall VW2 (right).

The Autodromo Nazionale di Monza (National Automobile Racetrack of Monza) is now the fastest circuit still used in Formula One, the highest recorded speed the 231.5 mph (372.6 km/h) attained during qualifying for the 2005 Italian Grand Prix by a McLaren-Mercedes MP4-20 (in qualifying trim) on the long straight between the Lesmo corners and the Variante del Rettifilo.  Built in 1922, the Italian Grand Prix has been held there every year since 1949 except in 1980 when the track was being modernised and it’s a wonder the track has survived the attention of the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (the FIA; the International Automobile Federation).  Once an admirable body, the FIA has in recent decades degenerated into international sport’s dopiest regulatory body and has for some yers attempted to make motorsport as slow, quiet and processional as possible, issues like DEI (diversity, equity and inclusion) now apparently more important than quality of racing.  Set in the Royal Villa of Monza park and surrounded by forest, the complex is configured as three tracks: the 3.6 mile (5.8 kilometre) Grand Prix track, the 1.5 mile (2.4 kilometre) short circuit and the 2.6 mile (4.3 kilometre) high speed oval track with its famous steep bankings which was unused for decades left to fall into disrepair before it was restored in the 2010s.  The major features of the main Grand Prix track include the Curva Grande, the Curva di Lesmo, the Variante Ascari and the famous Curva Parabolica.

On the parabolica: 1966 Italian Grand Prix.

The Curva Parabolica (universally known as “the parabolica”) is the circuit’s signature corner, an increasing radius, long right-hand turn and the final corner before the main straight so the speed one can attain on the straight is determined essentially by the exit speed from the the parabolica; a perfect execution is thus essential for a quick lap.  Although in motorsport it’s common to discuss the lengths of straights, one notable statistic is that even at close to 150 mph (200 km/h) speed with with the fastest cars take the curve, to transit the the parabolica takes just over 7.6 seconds.  Improvements to both the cars and the circuit means it’s now a less dangerous place but many drivers have died in accidents at Monza, some on or approaching the parabolica including Wolfgang (Taffy) von Trips (1928–1961) and Jochen Rindt (1942-1970).  In 2021, the Monza authorities announced the parabolica officially would be renamed “Curva in honor of former Ferrari factory driver Michele Alboreto (1956-2001) who to date remains the last Italian driver to win a Formula One Grand Prix for Scuderia Ferrari.  It’s likely most will still refer to the curve as “the parabolica”.

The Monza circuit in its configuration for the 1955 Italian Grand Prix (left) and a Mercedes-Benz W196R (streamliner) exiting the parabolica ahead of two W196Rs in conventional open-wheel configuration.  The 1955 Italian Grand Prix was the seventh and final round of the World Championship of Drivers, the French, German, Swiss and Spanish events all cancelled in the aftermath of the disaster at Le Mans.  It was the fourth and last appearance of the Mercedes-Benz W196R streamliners which, after some bad experiences on the relatively tight Silverstone circuit, were restricted to the fast, open tracks.  Mercedes-Benz also withdrew from top-level competition after 1955 and, as a constructor, it would be half a century before they returned to Grand Prix racing.

The parabolic arc: A wheel drops off a Boeing Dreamlifter on take-off, describing a a classic parabolic arc.  The Boeing 747-400 Large Cargo Freighters (LCF) were created using a modified 747-400 airline frame and were most associated with their use carrying Boeing 787 Dreamliner parts between the US, Italy & Japan.  It was an unusual configuration in that it was required to carry components which while large, weren't particularly heavy.

Appurtenance

Appurtenance (pronounced uh-pur-tn-uhns)

(1) Something subordinate to another, more important thing; adjunct; accessory.

(2) In property law, a minor right, interest or privilege, or improvement belonging to and passing with a principal property upon transfer of title.

(3) The apparatus or instruments of a trade, art or profession.

(4) In classical grammar, a modifier that is appended or prepended to another word to coin a new word that expresses belonging (obscure to the point it's used in this context only between consenting grammar Nazis).

1350-1400: From the Middle English appurtenance, from the Anglo-Norman appurtenance (right, privilege or possession subsidiary to a principal one (especially in law); a right, privilege, or "an improvement belonging to a property), from the twelfth century Old French apartenance & apertenance; present participle of apartenir (be related to), from the Late Latin appertinere (to pertain to, belong to), the construct being ad (to) + pertinere (belong; be the right of (and related to the Modern English pertain)), the ultimate root the Latin appertineō (I belong, I appertain).  In the late fourteenth century (in the plural appurtenances) it acquired the meaning "apparatus, gear; tools of the trade", used in the sense now "kit" is often applied.  The adjective appurtenant emerged also in the late fourteenth century in the sense of "belonging, incident, or pertaining to", from the Anglo-French apurtenant, from the Old French apartenant & apertenant, present participle of apartenir (be related to).  Appurtenance is a noun and appurtenant is a noun & adjective; the noun plural is appurtenances.

Even in the twenty-first century, the matter of what is or is not appurtenant to a property can end up in court.  Typically the cases involve certain things being removed from the property after the agreement to purchase was executed.  The case law on these matters document where sellers have removed things like rose bushes, curtains, a decorative letter-box, garden gnomes and wall-hung ceramic ducks.

There’s long been general understanding about the general meaning of appurtenance but, at the margins, there are always lawyers prepared to test the waters.  In Attorney General of Canada v Western Higbie ([1945] Supreme Court of Canada 385), Thibaudeau Rinfret (1879–1962; Chief Justice of Canada 1944-1954) proposed as a definition: “Things belonging to another thing as principal, and which pass as incident to the principal thing.”  The effect he suggested, world be “In general everything which is appendant or appurtenant to land will pass by any conveyance of the land itself, without being specified, and even without the use of the ordinary form with the appurtenances at the end of the description."  Rinfert CJ appeared to suggest the appendix of appurtenances appended usually to the form of transfer either need not exist or need not be wholly inclusive, the implication being it could be used as a place to list those items not thought appurtenances, although, given even his helpful definition didn’t descend to specifics, lengthy appendices might still be expected.

Lindsay Lohan photographed by Life & Style magazine "at home" during one of her court-ordered stays "at home", June 2011.

In this photograph, of that which is "easily" removable, probably only the downlight, stair-rail and electrical switches would be thought appurtenant to the property whereas the the painting, furniture & items on the shelves (as "mere chattels") would not.  Light-fittings are a good example of how the distinction is drawn.  As a general principle, a light fitting is appurtenant if permanently installed and "wired into" the property's wiring system while a free-standing lamp which plugs into a wall-socket is not.  However, disputes can arrive and courts have had to decide, on the facts of each case, if a chandelier is appurtenant.  They've had to adjudicate too in instances where a property is sold "fully furnished" and might thus be called upon to rule on something like the fruit bowl.  Few would doubt the fruit would not be covered by the doctrine but, depending on the circumstances, the fruit bowl might be found so; it would depend on the facts of the case (representations made; photographs or videos in which "fully-furnished" was mentioned etc).  However, the doctrine of appurtenance need not be absolute and is subject at contract to agreement between the parties.  Provided the usual rules of contract are followed, (certainty of terms, lack of coercion etc) either within the documents of sale or as a collateral contract, buyer & seller can agree to exclude items which would usually be held appurtenant or explicitly include "mere chattels" on that basis.  Properly constructed, courts will enforce such contracts.

Cherry

Cherry (pronounced cher-ee)

(1) The fruit of any of various trees belonging to the genus Prunus, of the rose family, consisting of a pulpy, globular drupe enclosing a one-seeded smooth stone.

(2) The tree bearing such a fruit.

(3) The wood of such a tree.

(4) Used loosely, any of various fruits or plants resembling the cherry.

(5) A bright red color; cerise (often termed cherry red).

(6) In vulgar slang (1) the hymen & (2) a female state of virginity (as in “to pop her cherry”).

(7) Something new, unused or in immaculate condition.

(8) A novice; a neophyte.

(9) In underworld slang, a first offender.

(10) In ten-pin bowling, the striking down of only the forward pin or pins in attempting to make a spare.

(11) Of food and beverages, made with or containing cherries or cherry-like flavoring (cherry pie, cherry soda, cherry bomb, cherry cola, cherry brandy et al).

(12) Of furniture, timberwork etc, items made of or covered or decorated with a veneer of wood from the cherry tree.

(13) In graph theory, a sub-tree consisting of a node with exactly two leaves.

(14) In the slang of cricket, the ball (the traditional red variety used in first-class & test matches).

(15) In slang, the traditionally rounded, flashing red lights used on police cars, ambulances, fire engines etc.

(16) In slang, the burning tip of a cigarette (no rare).

1300–1350: From the Middle English chery, cherie, chirie & cheri, a back formation from the from Anglo-Norman cherise (a variant of chirie and mistakenly thought to be plural), from the Late Latin ceresium & cerasium, from the Latin cerasum, from the Ancient Greek κεράσιον (kerásion) (cherry fruit), from κερασός (kerasós) (bird; cherry), and perhaps ultimately of Anatolian origin (etymologists citing the intervocalic σ as a hint of a pre-Greek origin for the word and noting also that “…as the improved cherry came from the Pontos area... the name is probably Anatolian as well”.  The word cherry originates in the northern French dialect word cherise (a variant of the standard modern French cerise), which was adopted into English after the Norman Conquest of 1066.  Because it ended in an “s”, it was taken to be a plural form and so, as a back formation, the “singular” cherry was coined.  In Old English there had been ċiris & ċirse (cherry), from a West Germanic borrowing of the Vulgar Latin word (and cognate with German Kirsch which did survive), but it went extinct after the Norman invasion, supplanted by the French word.  Cherry is a noun & adjective and cherrier & cherriest are adjectives; the noun plural is cherries.

1955 Mercedes-Benz 300 SLR (Uhlenhaut) coupé.  This is "red" with cherry red trim.

The factory produced only two gullwing versions of the 300 SLR (technically the W196S) and neither were ever used in competition because of the race for which they were designed (the Carrera Panamericana) was cancelled in the moral panic which followed the 1955 Le Mans disaster and in the wake of that, Mercedes-Benz also withdrew from top-flight motorsport, not returning for decades.  The two were nicknamed “red” and “blue”, an allusion to the cherry red and Prussian blue interiors (the factory insists the colors are just “red” & “blue” but “cherry” seems right and few can resist "Prussian", even if the things were built in the south).  In 2022, the “cherry red” 300 SLR coupé was sold at private auction for €135 million (US$143 million), setting the mark as the most expensive car ever.

Always choose a dark cherry.

The color cherry red is not exactly defined and even a little misleading because it’s applied usually to bright shades which others might describe as blood red (also misleading) cardinal, carmine, carnation, cerise, crimson, fire engine red, flame, flamingo, fuchsia, geranium, pillar-box red, scarlet or other imaginative forms.  It’s misleading because the fruit comes in many shades of red from bright to a shade so dark they’re actually called “black cherries”.  It’s probably only on color charts the distinction matters but what one manufacturer calls “cherry red” might be very different from the products of others.  In cricket, some get it.  Prior to the 1970s, all cricket balls were red (there are now white ones & pink ones)so the slang “cherry” was common but the New Zealand fast bowler Sir Richard Hadlee (b 1951) wasn’t content with any ball, insisting that one of the secrets to his success was when offered a choice of cherries by the umpire was not to be bothered by details like the seam (which interested so many bowlers) but to always pick “a good dark one”.  He said the darker “cherries” could be made to move much more through the air.

Lindsay Lohan in cherry-themed outfit in Get a Clue (2002).

The meaning “maidenhead, virginity” was originally US slang and in use by 1928 but some doubt the story that the source was the supposed resemblance to the hymen and suggest it was an allusion to the long-established use of cherries as a symbol of the fleeting quality of life's pleasures (and “cherry” was English underworld slang for “lovely young girl”, documents since at least 1899.  Forms of alcohol include cherry brandy and the cherry-bounce, the popular name of a cordial made from fermented cherries and known in one form or another since the 1690s.  Forms of food include just about anything possible, most famously including cherry strudel, cherry pie, cherry duck etc.  In idiomatic use, there’s “bite of the cherry” (a chance; an attempt at something), “life isn’t a bowl of cherries” (one must be realistic about the vicissitudes one will encounter in life), the cherry nose (the red noses of those too fond of strong drink), cherry on the cake (the same meaning as “icing on the cake”, (something that intensifies the appreciation of something already good), cherry-popping (to deflower a virgin), “cherry-pop” (a sweet, red-colored cordial) and to “cherry pick”(selfishly to select only the very best of something), a pejorative figurative sense dating from 1959 and based on a machine: the literal “cherry-picker” the name given to crane with a bucket for raising and lowering persons (for purposes such as pick cherries from a tree) although earlier it had been used in railroad maintenance.

Black Cherry Strudel

To ensure the finest product, pâtissiers often insist on using only fresh fruit but canned or frozen black cherries work equally well in strudels and can be much easier to work with because there’s no need to macerate the fruit which may instead immediately be cooked.  This recipe can also be used with sour cherries in which case the lemon juice is omitted in favor of 150 g (¾ cup) of sugar.  It can be served warm or cold according to preference and the variations are many; the cranberries and almonds can be replaced with other dried fruits and nuts and there are the purists who insist on nothing but black cherries (although a few do add apricot brandy).  Traditionally, it’s served with a dollop of thickened cream.

Ingredients

800 g (3½ cups) fresh black cherries, cleaned and pitted
100 g (½ cup) granulated sugar
3 tablespoons cornstarch
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
A dash of cinnamon
Juice and zest of 1 organic, un-waxed, scrubbed lemon
60 g (½ cup) dried cranberries
50 g (½ cup) slivered almonds
6 large sheets strudel or filo pastry
1 egg whisked with 1 tablespoon milk or water for brushing
Icing sugar for dusting

Instructions

Preparation: Preheat oven to 200°C (400°F).  Line a baking tray (or sheet) with baking (parchment) paper.

Cook cherry filling: In a small bowl, whisk together 3 tablespoons of sugar and cornstarch until no lumps of cornstarch remain.  Add the cherries and the remaining sugar into another bowl and allow them to let macerate for an hour (it will take this long for the sugar to draw some liquid from the fruit).  Add the cherries, cranberries, almonds, cornstarch mixture, vanilla extract, cinnamon, lemon zest and juice into a saucepan and simmer over medium-high heat until the mixture starts to thicken, which should take 7 to 10 minutes.  Set the mix aside to cool to room temperature.

Roll strudel (pastry): Place the sheets of strudel or filo pastry on a clean, dry tea-towel (one with some embossing does make rolling easier).  Arrange the cherry filling lengthwise on the pastry leaving a 25 mm (1 inch) border along bottom and sides and then fold in the edges.  Use the tea-towel to lift and roll the pastry tightly, enclosing all the filling.  Tuck the ends in and transfer the strudel seam-side down onto the prepared baking tray.  If using filo pastry, brush each sheet with melted butter to prevent it drying out during the cooking.

Bake strudel:  Brush the top of the strudel with egg wash and bake for 25-35 minutes, until the pastry has become golden brown and obviously flaky.  Slice the strudel while still warm and dust with icing sugar; it’s traditionally served with custard, ice cream or a dollop of thickened cream.

Biodata

Biodata (pronounced by-oh-dar-tah)

(1) A type of resume or curriculum vitae, regarding an individual's education and work history, especially in the context of a selection process.

(2) An semi-standardized document created to list the salient features of those in the Hindu marriage market.

1950s: A compound word, the construct being bio(graphical) + data.  Bio is from the Ancient Greek βίο (bío), combining form and stem of βίος (bios) (life).  Data is borrowed from the Latin data, nominative plural of datum (that is given), neuter past participle of dō (I give) and the doublet of date.  In English use, data is frequently used as both a singular & plural, datum now restricted almost entirely to technical writing by those for whom the distinction (or who fear being shamed by fastidious colleagues) matters although pedants do delight is pointing out what they insist remains an error.  This looseness isn't anything new; by the 1640s data meant "a fact given or granted" an organic evolution from the original use in Latin when it conveyed the sense of "a fact given as the basis for calculation in mathematical problems" and the connection with numbers has in the twentieth century become stronger.  In the early 1900s the predominant meaning was "numerical facts collected for future reference" and the meaning "transmittable and storable information by which computer operations are performed" seems first to have been documented in 1946.  Probably few words have been so associated as data & computers: Data-processing is from 1954 (although for years the industry seemed unable to decide if it was electronic data processing (EDP) or just data processing (DP) and the database (also as data-base) (a "structured collection of data stored in a manner it can be retrieved, analysed & and manipulated using a computer" was first described in 1958.  The data-entry operator (a person who transcribes data from physical sources (usually paper) into a computer, usually via keyboard entry) was distinct segment of the labor market by 1969 but was effectively extinct within less than two generations, a victim of technological advances.  Biodata is a noun; there is no accepted word biodatum and the plural of biodata is biodatas.

From HR to the marriage market

Biodata began life as part of the jargon of US industrial and organizational psychology.  To the HR professionals, it was a way of standardising the biographical data submitted in CVs but, being standardised, the information was inherently structured and thus suitable for storage and analysis, something which became increasingly interesting as big-machine databases became ubiquitous in corporations.  As early as the 1960s, corporate HR operations began applying the analytical techniques of psychology and criminology to their structured biodata sets, the predictive ability of the methods based on the axiom that past behavior is the best predictor of future behavior.  While crunching biodata does not predict all future behaviors, it does produce an indicative number, a measure of that to which future behaviors should tend.  Although claimed to be value-free, based as it is on the factual, not introspection and subjective judgements, biodata analysis has attracted criticism because of the bias inherent in the data chosen.

Extract from Lindsay Lohan's biodata.

Sample biodata for young lady from the Rajput caste.

In the twenty-first century, as the internet reached critical-mass in South Asian countries where the arranged marriage remains culturally embedded, biodata quickly became the preferred term to describe the résumé parents submit to other parents to permit unsuitable boys and girls to be culled from the list of prospective suitors.  Now often done through marriage sites (a specialised type of social media), the biodata typically includes such information as caste, education, work history, financial status, family background, height, weight, skin-tone and a photo.  However, although many sites offer structured templates, there's much variation although it's not clear whether there's any tendency towards a consistency of layout or content based on caste, geographical origin or anything else.  One thing that hasn't changed is that biodata documents are still formatted in a way inherently suited to the printed A4 page, though to reflect the cultural preference of parents.  Despite the mobile device use being high even among the older demographic in South Asia, when culling potential suitors, the big space of the A4 page seems still preferable to the small screen.

A cultural phenomenon which would be understood by structural functionalists is that despite the caste discrimination being outlawed in India for over seventy years, caste status and preferences remain frequently included in the biodata on Indian marriage sites.  Caste discrimination and untouchability were officially abolished in India with the adoption of the Constitution of India Act (26 January 1950), article 15 prohibiting discrimination on the basis of religion, race, caste, sex or place of birth.  Building on this, the (Congress) government of India passed the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) (1989), which provided additional protections for Dalits (formerly known as untouchables) and other marginalized groups. Despite this seventy-odd year tradition of structural equality, caste discrimination persists in India (as it does to some degree in probably every culture) and remains a significant element in biodata .