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.

Escutcheon

Escutcheon (pronounced ih-skuhch-uhn)

(1) In heraldry, an individual or corporate coat of arms.

(2) In heraldry, a shield or shield-like surface upon which is depicted a coat of arms (a small shield used to charge a larger one).

(3) An ornamental or protective plate around a keyhole, door handle, drawer pull, light switch etc.

(4) In admiralty and other nautical architecture, a panel on the stern of a vessel bearing the registered name and port of registry.

(5) In medicine, the pattern of distribution of hair upon the pubic mound.

(6) In medicine as escutcheonectomy, the surgical removal of tissue from the pubic mound, a treatment for the unfortunate condition of "buried penis".

(7) In veterinary history, a marking upon the back of a cow's udder and the space above it (the perineum), formed by the hair growing upward or outward instead of downward.  It was once (apparently erroneously) used as an index of milking qualities and known informally among dairy farmers as the "milk mirror".

(8) The depression behind the beak of certain bivalves (a class of marine and freshwater mollusks); the ligamental area.

(9) As escutcheon pin, a decorative nail with a round, domed head, usually made of, or plated with, brass or copper, and used for fastening escutcheons, label-card holders, or other decorative surface hardware to wood surfaces.

(10) A decorative and/or protective plate or bezel which fills any gap between a switch, pipe, valve, control knob etc and the surface from which it protrudes.

(11) The insignia around a doorknob's exterior hardware or a door lock's cosmetic plate.

1470-1480: From the Middle English scochon (shield on which a coat of arms is depicted), from the Anglo-Norman (and the Old Northern French) escuchon, from the Old French escusson (half-crown (coin); coat of arms, heraldic escutcheon) (which endures in modern French as écusson), from the from Vulgar Latin scutionem, ultimately from the Latin scūtum (shield), from the primitive Indo-European skoito- (piece of wood, sheath, shield) (and the source also of the Old Irish sciath, the Welsh ysgwyd, the Breton scoed (shield), the Old Prussian staytan (shield) and the Russian ščit (shield), probably a noun derivative of a variant of primitive Indo-European root skei- (to cut, split) on the notion of "board".  The curious use of the term in dairy farming sounds medieval but was not documented until 1867 although it's possible it had long been in oral use.  The alternative spellings escocheon & scutcheon are both long obsolete.  Escutcheon is a noun and escutcheoned is an adjective (and has been used as a (non-standard) verb; the noun plural is escutcheons.

In heraldry, the technical term "an escutcheon of pretense" describes a shield or emblem displayed alongside the shield of a married woman to indicate her husband's family name and coat of arms.  It is also sometimes referred to as an "impalement" because the two coats of arms are "impaled" or joined together side by side.  The purpose of the escutcheon of pretense is to indicate the woman's marital alliance and to ensure her husband's family name and coat of arms are displayed alongside hers.  In cases where the woman has a higher rank or a more prestigious coat of arms than her husband, the escutcheon of pretense may be used to display her own coat of arms in a more prominent position.  Between heraldic systems there are various rules and conventions which dictate the exact design and in some cases there are no precise rules.  The most common designs are (1) the escutcheon may divided vertically down the center-line with the husband's coat of arms to the left and the wife's to the right & (2) the escutcheon being quartered, this affording the advantage of both sets of arms appearing more prominently.  In centuries past, an escutcheon of pretense was also evidence of the assertion of a legal claim to some distinction or an estate, armorial bearings etc to which he was not entitled by strict right of descent, something which often arose in marriages to heiresses.  It was known also as the inescutcheon.

Escutcheons of the Holy See (left) and the Secret Society of the Les Clefs d’Or (right).

The international association of hotel concierges is the Secret Society of the Les Clefs d’Or (The Golden Keys) and the similarities between their escutcheon and that of the Holy See are quite striking.  According to the Roman Catholic Church's Inquisition (the old Holy Office, now officially known as the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith (DDF)), the crossed keys are a symbol of the Papacy's authority and power. The keys represent the "keys of heaven" that were in the New Testament passed from Jesus Christ to Saint Peter.  In Roman Catholic tradition, Peter was appointed by Jesus as the first Pope and given the keys to symbolize his authority to forgive sins and to make decisions binding on behalf of the Church (this the theological basis of what in canon law was codified in the nineteenth century as papal infallibility).  The two keys thus symbolize the pope's two powers: (1) spiritual power (represented by the silver key) and (2) temporal power (represented by the gold key).  The latter power manifested in a most temporal manner during the thousand-odd years (between the eighth & nineteenth centuries) when the authority of the papal absolute theocracy extended to rule and govern the Papal States (which were interpolated into the modern state of Italy upon Italian unification (1859-1870).

Claiming (officially) only temporal dominion, the Secret Society of the Les Clefs d'Or logo depicts both their keys in gold, one said to symbolize the concierge's role in unlocking the doors to the world for their guests, the other their ability to unlock the secrets of their destination and provide insider knowledge and recommendations (restaurant bookings, airport transfers, personal service workers of all types etc).  However, neither the Vatican nor the Les Clefs d’Or have ever denied intelligence-sharing, covert operations, common rituals or other links.

The escutcheon of Lindsay Lohan's family crest.

The Lohan family motto is Hoc majorum virtus (This is the valour of my ancestors) but it wasn't until well into the seventeenth century it because at all common for mottos to appear on coats of arms.  Older coats of arms therefore never originally included a motto and in most jurisdictions they remain still optional (some European registries actually proscribe their use) and technically are separate from the grant, the inclusion the choice of the family or individual concerned.  Coats of arms however are legally registered designs and must conform to certain rules whereas a motto can on a whim be changed.

CONELRAD

CONELRAD (pronounced kon-ill-rad or kon-ill-rid)

The short form of CONtrol of ELectromagnetic RADiation.

Exclusive to the US, CONELRAD was a nationally standardized system of emergency public broadcasting (on the AM (amplitude modulation) medium-wave band at 640 & 1240 KHz) intended to operate in the event of enemy attack during the Cold War.  The original specifications for what emerged as CONELRAD was first discussed in March 1951 at the Informal Government-Industry Technical Conference and later published by the FCC (Federal Communications Commission):

"The primary plan for alerting broadcast stations that is currently being considered by the FCC Study Group is known as the Key Station System.  The arrangement requires certain telephone circuits (private wire or direct line to Toll Board) between the Air Defense Control Centers (ADCC) and specified radio stations to be known as Basic Key Stations & Relay Key Stations”.

The essence of the system was each Basic Key Station upon receiving an alert or warning signal from the ADCC would, upon instruction, broadcast a predetermined message and also relay the message by telephone to all Relay Key Stations assigned to each Basic Key Station.  As a diversified network designed to be able to continue functioning even if various parts were destroyed, it was conceptually similar to a later US military project which would later evolve into the internet.  Intended to be simple, robust and able to reach as wide a possible audience in the shortest possible time, CONELRAD used simple protocols for alerting the public and other "downstream" stations, consisting of a sequence of shutting the station off for five seconds, returning to the air for five seconds, again shutting down for five seconds, and then transmitting a tone for 15 seconds.  Key stations would be alerted directly and all other broadcast stations would monitor a designated station in their area.

In the event of an attack on the US, all domestic television and FM (frequency modulation) radio stations were required instantly to cease broadcasting and upon alert, all most AM stations shut down, those remaining on-air transmitting either on 640 or 1240 kHz.  No transmission would last more than a few minutes and upon one going “off-air” another would take over the frequency on a ”round robin” chain, this to confuse enemy aircraft which might be navigating using Radio Direction Finding (RDF), a technique first widely used in the early days of World War II (1939-1945).  In the US, all radio sets manufactured between 1953-1963 were required to have the two frequencies marked by the triangle-in-circle (CD Mark), the symbol of Civil Defense organizations.

Duet

Duet (pronounced doo-et or dyoo-et (non-U))

(1) In music, a composition for two voices or instruments.

(2) An action or activity performed by a pair of closely connected individuals.

(3) A pair or couple, especially one that is harmonious or elegant.

1730–1740: From the Italian duet (a short musical composition for two voices), from duo (two) and a diminutive of the earlier duett & duetto, the construct being du(o) (duet) + -etto (from the Late Latin -ittum, accusative singular of –ittus, an alternative suffix used to form melioratives, diminutives, and hypocoristics).  The ultimate source was the Proto-Italic duō, from the primitive Indo-European dwóh.  The French adopted duet before the English in 1740 although the noun may have been used in English from circa 1724; as a verb (to perform a duet), use was first noted in 1822.  The technical form duettino (short, unpretentious duet) emerged by 1839.  Duet is a noun & verb, duetting & duetted are verbs and duettist is a noun; the noun plural is duets.

Madam Butterfly

One of opera’s most memorable duets is the long and rapturous love aria in Giacomo Puccini's (1858–1924) Madama Butterfly (1905).  Among the most performed works in the canon, a number are available on disc, the most radiant surely Herbert von Karajan's (1908–1989) 1974 recording for Decca (Decca 417 577-2DH3).  The lustre of the cast Karajan assembled to perform with the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra and State Opera Chorus has not since been matched; with Mirella Freni (1935-2020) as Butterfly, Luciano Pavarotti (1935–2007) as Pinkerton and Christa Ludwig (1928–2021) as Suzuki, expectations were high but Karajan conducted a lush, high-drama which disappointed few.  Freni was of course a standout but Pavarotti, though not yet the superstar he would soon become, was at his peak and took to the role in a way that influences tenors to this day; Ludwig’s Suzuki remains unsurpassed in its style and by then, Karajan had been forgiven for everything.

Although Maria Callas (1923-1977) seemed even then an improbable Butterfly, her 1955 appearance at La Scala (Warner B00NMQTE4C) must have been extraordinary but, because of the mono technology of the age and some unsympathetic cutting, the recording can only hint at the power and passion of what critics at the time hailed a classic performance; Callas at her brilliant best, diction of cut crystal.  She may never have been the most refined of sopranos but she brought to her roles a thrilling intensity; just as other singers have delivered a more technically accomplished Lucia di Lammermoor, it’s the Callas version all remember because it was spine-chilling and her Butterfly is similarly unique.

Maria Callas (1923-1977), backstage after appearing as Madam Butterfly, Civic Opera House, Chicago, 17 November 1955.  Had Cio-Cio-San been this feisty, she'd have kept Pinkerton. 

Bud Daley’s famous AP (Associated Press) photograph of diva Maria Callas, still in her Cio-Cio-San’s kimono, caught her snarling at US Federal Marshal Stanley Pringle, one of eight process servers there to serve her with two summonses.  The image was shot just after she'd left the stage, following her third and final performance in Giacomo Puccini's (1858–1924) Madama Butterfly (Madam Butterfly, 1904) and appeared the next morning on the front page of the Chicago Sun-Times with the headline: “Not So Prim a Donna”.  The article reported her words as: “Chicago will hear about this!  I will not be sued!  I have the voice of an angel!  No man can sue me.”  It transpired however at least one man could sue, the action brought by one Edward “Eddy” Bagarozy, who claimed to be the singer’s agent, an assertion based on a contract dating from 1947; the plaintiff sought (1) specific performance of the contract and (2) in the alternative, damages of US$300,000 (depending on the metrics chosen, equivalent to between US$4-6 million in 2025).  As in many such matters, ultimately, things were settled out of court.

1969 Alfa Romeo Spider Veloce 1750 with coda lunga (round tail).

Although The Alfa Romeo (type 105/115) Spider was continuous production between 1966-1993, it was only during the first three years the bodywork featured the memorable Osso di Seppia (round-tail, literally “cuttlefish”) coachwork.  After 1970, the Spider gained a Kamm tail which increased luggage capacity and presumably also conferred some aerodynamic advantage but purists have always coveted the cigar-shaped original.  One often misunderstood aspect of the Kamm tail is that the aerodynamic benefits are realized only if the flat, vertical surface created was no more than about 50% of the total area of the vehicle (as viewed directly from the back).  That’s why even designs which don’t conform to the requirements are often casually referred to as “Kamm tails”.

Two famous reality TV stars performing a "long and rapturous" love duet in a 2016 production.

The Kamm tail (also known as the Kammback) was named after German engineer & aerodynamicist Professor Wunibald Kamm (1893–1966) who during the 1930s pioneered the shape, his work assisted greatly by some chicanery within the Nazi military-industrial complex which enabled the FKFA (Forschungsinstituts für Kraftfahrwesen und Fahrzeugmotoren Stuttgart (Research Institute of Automotive Engineering and Vehicle Engines Stuttgart) institute he established in 1930s to secure funding to construct a full-sized wind tunnel equipped with a two-part steel treadmill in the floor and an 8.8 metre (350 inch) diameter axial fan, able to drive air at up to 400 km/h (250 mph).  What the two concentric floor turntables allowed was that as well as enabling turbulence to be studied from the side on the running steel belt, but slip angles were also possible.   At the time, it was the most modern structure of its kind on the planet and its very existence was owed to the priority afforded by the Nazis to re-armament, especially the development of modern airframes, most of the money eventually coming from the Reichs-Luftfahrt-Ministerium (RLM, the State Air Ministry).

1969 Alfa Romeo Spider Veloce 1750 with coda lunga (round tail).

While Professor’s Kamm’s work on automobile shapes continued, increasingly the facility became focused on military contracts, contributing to the extraordinary range of novel aircraft designs, some revolutionary and most of which would never reach production.  All of this ceased in July 1944 when the facility was severely damaged in air-raids by Royal Air Force (RAF) Bomber Command, a costly campaign which one mission incurred a loss-ration of 20% and it wasn’t until the late 1940s that reconstruction began after it was acquired by Daimler-Benz AG which enlarged and modernized the machinery, the early fruits including the 300 SL (the W194, first gullwing coupé) which won the 1952 Le Mans 24 hour race and the W196R “streamliner” Grand Prix race cars which created such a sensation in 1954.  Although he wasn’t part of “Operation Paperclip” (the US project which secured (by various means including the military “smuggling” them into the country despite many being wanted by those investigating war crimes and crimes against humanity) Professor Kann was acknowledged as one of the world’s leading authorities on turbulence and between 1947-1953 was part of the team working at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base in Dayton, Ohio.  Some of what was undertaken then remains classified but it can be assumed it was all related to military projects and what would later become the space program.

Alfa Romeo in 1965 conducted a competition to find a suitable name for the little roadster and in those days that meant running advertisements in newspapers (which people actually paid for and read) to which readers responded by cutting out and filling in the coupon, writing in their suggestion, putting it in an envelope on which they wrote the address, buying and affixing a stamp and putting envelope in mailbox.  The winning entry was "Duetto" which Alfa Romeo's directors liked because it summed up the romantic essence of a machine definitely built for a couple.  Unfortunately, for some tiresome legal reason relating to an existing trademark, it couldn't officially be used but for decades, among the cognoscenti, it's always been called the Duetto.

Track of the Kamm, Alfa Romeo Spiders: 1973 Series 2 (1970-1983, left), 1984 (Series 3 (1983-1990, centre) and 1992 Series 4 (1990-1993, right).  Things got worse before they got better. 

To keep the tiresome lawyers at bay, when released at the Geneva Motor Show in March 1966, the car was known as the Spider 1600, the advertising making clear it was intended to be a practical sports car, usable year-round rather than something intended for competition.  Among those who like to call them Duettos, there’s a sub-set of pedants who like to point out that while all Duettos are round-tails, not all round-tails are Duettos because in 1967, Alfa Romeo introduced the more powerful 1750 Spider Veloce and the less potent 1300 Junior, the former positioned a notch above the original, the latter one below.  That’s too nerdy for most who prefer to form factions based upon the tail treatment and surprisingly perhaps, many do seem to prefer the appearance of the abbreviated Kamm-tail and, again surprisingly, that included even the editors of the US magazine Road & Track (R&T), a publication in the 1960s inclined to see anything Italian through a rose-tint, called the coda lunga (round tail) “a contrived design with meaningless styling gimmicks.”  Probably much of the appeal of the original is as a period piece in the same way the exaggerated fins on the early Sunbeam Alpines have some period charm although few would claim their pruning didn’t improve the look.

Lindsay Lohan duetting: On stage with Duran Duran (left) and spinning the vinyl with former special friend, DJ Samantha Ronson.

Dilettante

Dilettante (pronounced dil-i-tahnt, dil-i-tahnt, dil-i-tahn-tey or dil-i-tan-tee)

(1) A person who takes up an art, activity, or subject merely for amusement, especially in a desultory or superficial way; dabbler.

(2) A lover of an art or science, especially of a fine art.

1733: From the Italian dilettante (a lover of music or painting), noun use of present participle of dilettare (to delight) from the Latin dēlectāre (to delight; to allure, charm or please).  From this root, English gained delight, from the Middle English deliten, from the Anglo-French deliter, from Latin dēlectāre (to delight; to allure), frequentative of dēlicere (to allure), the construct being dē - (the Latin suffix “of”, “from”) + lacere (to allure).  In English, the earlier meaning was borrowed from the Italian quite literally and without any pejorative association: "an admirer of a fine art, literature or science; a devoted amateur who cultivates an art or literature for pleasure and amusement.  The negative sense of a "superficial and affected dabbler" or "one who maintains fitful interests in various fields" emerged in the late eighteenth century as a deliberate contrast with the actions and interest of the seriously minded or the professional.  The noun dilettantism was first used in 1809.  Dilettante is a noun & adjective, dilettanteism is a noun and dilettanteish an adjective; the noun plural is dilettantes.

Society of Dilettanti

The artist moved to despair at the grandeur of antique fragments (circa 1778), a drawing in red chalk with brown wash by Henry Fuseli (Johann Heinrich Füssli (1741–1825)).

Founded circa 1734, the Society of Dilettanti was established as a gentlemen's club which aimed to correct and purify the public taste of the country and would later sponsor serious archaeological expeditions, assemble celebrated collections of antiques and art and advance the study of classical art, architecture and music and science.  Remembered especially for the promotion of Italian opera, it was a club for amateurs with some interest in these matters, its early membership exclusively rich, white men, many of who had met in their youth while in Italy on the grand tour.  One critic of the time described it as "...a club, for which the nominal qualification is having been in Italy, and the real one, being drunk: the two chiefs… were seldom sober the whole time they were in Italy."  Others hinted at actual depravity.  The best known member of the society also revived the Hellfire Club and, in the remains of an abbey he revived as a picturesque ruin, he build a shrine dedicated to the erect penis.  The sign above the doorway read: Fais ce que tu voudras, a shortened version of the words of St Augustine (love and do what you want).  The society, now a most respectable outfit, still exists and has sixty members.

6126 official campaign advertising. 

Lindsay Lohan's occasional forays into the fashion business have been described as dilettanteish.  In 2008, there was a line called 6126 and allusion to Marilyn Monroe’s (1926-1962) birthday (6/1=1 June in US use) but the label fell victim to her well publicized troubles in 2010.  There there was a brief sojourn as an artistic advisor with Paris fashion house Emanuel Ungaro, the result of which were reviews which ranged from unenthusiastic to damning.  Not discouraged, in 2014 she partnered with streetwear label Civil Clothing for a men’s line that sold at PacSun, and in 2015  worked with the UK's Lavish Alice on a capsule collection that included quirky pieces such as a striped cape, a fringed minidress, and flared knit pants.  That to date the last of the collaborations with the fashion houses but in 2016 there was also the one-off release of a line of T-shirts & tops printed with the slogan I Only Speak LiLohan, an allusion to her earlier use of an accent of indeterminate origins.  Although I Only Speak LiLohan was grammatically dubious (I Speak Only LiLohan presumably the message), it was for a good cause.

I Only Speak LiLohan, 2016.