Erase

Erase (pronounced ih-reys)

(1) To rub or scrape out, as letters or characters written, engraved etc; efface.

(2) Completely to eliminate.

(3) To remove material recorded on magnetic tape or magnetic disk; synonymous for most purposes in this context with delete although technically, in computing, an erasure is the substitution of data with characters representing a null value whereas a deletion is the removal of an pointer entry in an index.

1595–1605: From the Middle English arasen & aracen (to eradicate, remove), from the Latin ērāsus, past participle of ērādere (scrape out, scrape off, shave, abolish, remove, to abrade), the construct being ex (out of) + radere (to scratch, scrape).  The use in the context of data on magnetic storage media (tapes, disks) dates from 1945, the technical distinction between erase and delete defined in computer science theory as early as 1947 though, to this day, the distinction escapes most users.  The adjective erasable dates from 1829.  Eraser (thing that erases writing) is attested from 1790, an invention of American English, agent noun from erase.  Originally, the product was a knife with which to scraping off ink, the first rubber devices for removing pencil marks not available until from 1858.

Erasure, Comrade Stalin and Lindsay Lohan

Evil dictators (like those running beach clubs or Greek islands) have their problems too and they like them to go away.  Where problems exist, they like them to be erased or is some other way to disappear.  Sometimes, the technical term is “unpersoned”.

The Erased

Not best pleased at images of the pleasingly pneumatic Karolina Palazi appearing on the official Lohan Beach Club Mykonos Beach Club Instagram account, Lindsay Lohan quickly responded with a post demanding her staff “Erase this random person at my beach”.  In the digital age, it can be difficult entirely to erase anything which appears on the internet and probably impossible for anything distributed on the big-data social media platforms.  That said, there is unpredictability to the fate of anything ever on-line.  There is (1) material which genuinely vanishes forever, (2) stuff which proves impossible to eradicate despite best efforts, and (3) things which were thought lost, only to re-appear.  Noted for some time, the issue will be of increasing interest in the future, the internet being a distributed system with no centralised repository indicating what is held where, by whom and whether it is accessible (by someone) on or off-line or in storage.

The Disappeared

General Augusto Pinochet (1915–2006; military dictator of Chile 1973-1990).

This is the relatively new name for the centuries-old practice of secretly kidnapping or arresting people, then imprisoning or killing them, all without due process of law.  It’s most associated with the late twentieth-century military dictatorships in Chile, Argentina and Brazil but is used to describe the practice in many South and Central American republics and of late, others, sometimes at scale.  Although the practice probably pre-dates even modern humans, the word, in this context appears first to have been used by Joseph Heller (1923–1999) in the satirical Catch-22 (1961) when describing how the US military dealt with malcontents.  However it’s done, the person disappears without trace.

The Unpersoned

Unpersoning wasn’t invented in the Soviet Union but it was under comrade Stalin (1878-1953; Soviet leader 1924-1953) it was undertaken at scale, although, like later attempts on the internet, the process wasn’t always perfect because it was performed on extant physical material, some of which inevitably escaped attention.  The process interested critics in the West; in George Orwell's (1903–1950), dystopian novel Nineteen Eighty-Four (1949), protagonist Winston Smith works at the Ministry of Truth where his job is to alter historical records to conform to the state's ever-changing version of history.  Done in the USSR mostly between 1928-1953, unpersoning was the physical modification of existing text and imagery, modified to erase from history those who had fallen from favor and it’s thought the most extensively unpersoned figure in the USSR was comrade Leon Trotsky (1879-1940).  Comrade Stalin had him murdered in Mexico, the assassin's choice of weapon an ice axe.

Erased from history: Before & after being unpersoned, Comrades Molotov (1890-1986) & Stalin with Comrade Nikolai Yezhov (1895-1940), head of the NKVD (one of the predecessors of the KGB); Comrade Stalin had him shot.

In the Soviet Union, the process was essentially as Orwell described and even in the age of digital editing it's probably often still done in a similar manner.  A photograph would be passed to the party's technicians with the comrade(s) to be unpersoned marked in some obvious way, the preferred technique apparently a black crayon.

Succeeding where others failed: Erasing crooked Hillary Clinton

The White House situation room, 2 May 2011 (official WH photo; left) and as depicted in Di Tzeitung (right).

Unpersoning can also be sex-specific (gender-based the currently preferred term).  In May 2011, the Orthodox Jewish news paper Di Tzeitung (a Brooklyn-based weekly) was forced to apologize after unpersoning the women in the photograph released by the White House showing President Barack Obama (b 1961; US president 2009-2017) and his staff monitoring the raid by US Navy Seals in which Osama bin Laden (1957-2011) was killed while in his Pakistani compound.  Unpersoned were then counterterrorism director, Audrey Tomason (b circa 1977) and then secretary of state, crooked Hillary Clinton (b 1947; US secretary of state 2009-2013).  Di Tzeitung's subsequent apologia was somewhat nuanced.  The publication reiterated it did not publish images of women and thus sent its “regrets and apologies” to the White House and the State Department, not because it had unpersoned women but because their photo editor had not read the “fine print” in the text issued by the White House (which accompanied the photograph) which forbid any changes.  Di Tzeitung further explained it has a “long standing editorial policy” of not publishing images of women because its readers “believe that women should be appreciated for who they are and what they do, not for what they look like and the Jewish laws of modesty are an expression of respect for women, not the opposite”.  They added that Di Tzeitung regarded crooked Hillary Clinton (a former US senator (Democrat) for New York who secured overwhelming majorities in the Orthodox Jewish communities) highly and “appreciated her unique capabilities, talents and compassion for all”.  It concluded by acknowledging it “should not have published the altered picture”.  Commentators noted the practice is not unusual in some ultra-Orthodox Jewish publications which regard depictions of the female form as “immodest”.  Neither the White House nor the State Department responded to the apology although there were cynics who wondered if the president wished it were that easy to get rid of crooked Hillary.

The Watergate tapes and the erased 18½ minutes

Looking over his shoulder: Richard Nixon and HR Halderman in the White House.

Tapes, audio and video, have played a part in many political downfalls but none is more famous than the “smoking gun” tape which compelled the resignation of Richard Nixon (1913-1994; US president 1969-1974) after it revealed he was involved in the attempt to cover-up the involvement in the Watergate break-in of some connected to his administration.  Recording conversations in the White House had been going on for years and Nixon initially had the equipment removed, the apparatus re-installed two years later after it was found there was no other way to ensure an accurate record of discussions was maintained.  Few outside a handful of the president’s inner circle knew of the tapes and they became public knowledge only in mid-1973 when, under oath before a congressional hearing, a White House official confirmed their existence.  That was the point at which Nixon should have destroyed the tapes and for the rest of his life he must sometimes have reflected that but for that mistake, his presidency might have survived because, although by then the Watergate scandal had been a destabilizing distraction, there was at that point no “smoking gun”, nothing which linked Nixon himself to any wrongdoing.  As it was, he didn’t and within days subpoenas were served on the White House demanding the tapes and that made them evidence; the moment for destruction had passed.  Nixon resisted the subpoenas, claiming executive privilege and thus ensued the tussle between the White House and Watergate affair prosecutors which would see the “Saturday Night Massacre” during which two attorneys-general were fired, the matter ultimately brought before the US Supreme Court which ruled against the president.  Finally, the subpoenaed tapes were surrendered on 5 August 1973, the “smoking gun” tape revealing Nixon and his chief of staff (HR Haldeman, 1926–1993; White House chief of staff 1969-1973) discussing a cover-up plan and at that point, political support in the congress began to evaporate and the president was advised that impeachment was certain and even Republican senators would vote to convict.  On 8 August, Nixon announced his resignation, leaving office the next day.

Uher 5000 reel-to-reel tape recorder used by a White House secretary to create the tape (20 June 1972) with the 18½ minute gap.  (Government Exhibit #60: Records of District Courts of the United States, Record Group 21. National Archives Identifier: 595593).

To this day, mystery surrounds one tape in particular, a recording of a discussion between Nixon and Halderman on 20 June 1972, three days after the Watergate break-in.  Of obviously great interest, when reviewed, there was found to be a gap of 18½ minutes, the explanations offered of how, why or by whom the erasure was effected ranging from the humorously accidental to the darkly conspiratorial but half a century on, it remains a mystery.  Taking advantage of new data-recovery technology, the US government did in subsequent decades make several attempts to “un-delete” the gap but without success and it may be, given the nature of magnetic tape, that there is literally nothing left to find.  However, the tape is stored in a secure, climate-controlled facility in case technical means emerge and while it’s unlikely the contents would reveal anything not already known or assumed, it would be of great interest to historians.  What would be even more interesting is the identity of who it was that erased the famous 18½ minutes but that will likely never be known; after fifty years, it’s thought that were there to be any death-bed confessions, they should by now have been heard.  Some have their lists of names of those who might have "pressed the erase button" and while mostly sub-sets of Watergate's "usual suspects", one who tends not to appear is Nixon himself, the usual consensus being he was technically too inept to operate a tape machine though it's not impossible he ordered someone to do the deed.  However it happened, the suspects most often mentioned as having had their "finger on the button" (which may have been a foot-pedal) are Nixon's secretary and his chief of staff.

Catafalque

Catafalque (pronounced kat-uh-fawk, kat-uh-fawlk or kat-uh-falk)

(1) A (temporary or permanent) raised structure on which the body of a deceased person lies or is carried in state.

(2) A hearse (obsolete).

1635–1645: The orthodoxy is that catafalque is from the seventeenth century French catafalque, from the Italian catafalco, from the Late Latin catafalicum (scaffold), the construct being cata- (from the Ancient Greek κατά (katá) (downwards (and used in Medieval Latin with a sense of “beside, alongside”))) + fal(a) (wooden siege tower) + -icum (neuter of –icus; (the suffix used to denote "belonging to; derived from or pertaining to"), from the Etruscan.  However, etymologists are divided on the origin.  Some believe English picked up the word directly from the Italian and not via French and regard the Italian of uncertain origin, the connection with the Late Latin only speculative.  From the Medieval Latin catafalicum Old French gained chaffaut & chafaud (scaffold) which exists in the Modern French échafaud (scaffold).  Catafalque (the rare alternative spelling is catafalco) is a noun; the noun plural is catafalques.

The coffin carrying Queen Elizabeth II, rested on its catafalque for the lying in state, Westminster Hall, London, September 2022.

A catafalque is the platform upon which the body of the dead lies before their funeral.  In the West the modern practice is for the body to be placed in a coffin but historically the body was sometimes wrapped and this remains the practice for burials at sea.  Catafalques can be elaborately decorated or constructed with austere simplicity and can be mobile or stationary.  Although associated with state funerals they are a common fixture in crematoria or chapels and exist so the coffin is permitted to sit at an appropriate height for ceremonial purposes, most obviously during “open-casket” services.  Those used by undertakers (funeral directors) are usually mobile 9on wheels) so the coffin may easily be moved from one place to another, by one staff member if need be.  Thus, any appropriately elevated surface used from the purpose can be thought of (if only temporarily) as a catafalque although the name-proper is attached only to dedicated devices.  A catafalque party is a military formation, traditionally numbering four (though it may be more or fewer) assembled to stand guard over the coffin while the body is lying in state or at some other site of memorial.

The 1865 (Abraham Lincoln) catafalque in 2006, after the most recent replacement of its fabric covering.

One catafalque noted for its longevity is that hastily (and, from the point-of-view of a professional carpenter or cabinet maker, rather crudely) fabricated was that used for the coffin of Abraham Lincoln (1809–1865) US president 1861-1865) and still in use today.  Of simple construction and using plain framing timber, it’s not at all ornate and gains its aura from the long history of use, having being used in the funerals of some four dozen US figures from politics, the judiciary, the military or society (most recently Senator Harry Reid (1939–2021; US senator (Democrat, Nevada).  Over the years, it has been enlarged and strengthened to accommodate increasingly heavy coffins and the fabric covering has several times been replaced but almost all the original structure remains so it’s not a “grandfather’s axe”.  The simplicity has sometimes been emulated with intent, Pope John Paul II’s (Karol Wojtyła, 1920–2005; Pope of the Roman Catholic Church 1978-2005) plain cypress coffin sitting atop a catafalque so basic it might have been built by Christ himself.  It’s thought JPII’s successor might choose something just as simple.

Voltaire's catafalque.

Voltaire (François-Marie Arouet, 1694–1778), the radical writer of the French Enlightenment, as controversial in death as in life, was buried quietly some way distant from Paris because his friends feared church and state would seek to deny him the proper rites of burial and it was only some thirteen years after his death, just after the French Revolution that his body was disinterred and moved to the Panthéon in Paris, a site created to honor illustrious citizens.  His catafalque was an impressive three tiered construction inscribed: ”Poet, philosopher, historian, he made a great step forward in the human spirit.  He prepared us to become free”.

David Lloyd George's funeral bier, Good Friday (30 March) 1945, Llanystumdwy, Wales.

In the context of funerals, definitionally, there is no difference between a bier and a catafalque.  Bier ((1) a litter to transport the body of a dead person, (2) a platform or stand where a body or coffin is placed & (3) a count of forty threads in the warp or chain of woolen cloth) was from the Middle English beer, beere & bere, from the Old English bēr, from the West Saxon bǣr (stretcher, bier), from the Proto-West Germanic bāru, from the Proto-Germanic bērō, from the primitive Indo-European bher (to carry, bear) and was cognate with the Saterland Frisian Beere (stretcher, bier), the Dutch baar (bier) and the German Bahre (bier, stretcher).  It’s thus functionally the same as a catafalque and the only point of differentiation in modern use seems to be the convention that catafalque is used when the funeral is grand while for more modest affairs (like David Lloyd George’s (1863–1945; UK prime-minister 1916-1922) “farm cart funeral”), bier is preferred.  The pyre (from the Ancient Greek πυρά (pyrá), from πῦρ (pyr) (fire)), also known as a funeral pyre, is a structure, made almost always of wood, constructed for the purpose of burning a body as part of a funeral rite and thus a form of ceremonial cremation.  Dimensionally, it may be far larger than is required for purposes of combustion because big fires were often an important aspect of the spectacle.

A member of Queen Elizabeth II's catafalque party fainted shortly before his shift was due to end.  He was not seriously injured.

Resin

Resin (pronounced rez-in)

(1) Any of a group of non-volatile solid or semisolid organic substances & compounds (that consist of amorphous mixtures of carboxylic acids), obtained directly from certain plants as exudations of such as copal, rosin & amber (or prepared by polymerization of simple molecules) and used typically in pharmaceuticals, plastic production, lacquers, adhesives and varnishes.

(2) A substance of this type obtained from certain pine trees (also called rosin).

(3) To treat, rub or coat with resin.

(4) A precipitate formed by the addition of water to certain tinctures.

(5) Any of various artificial substances, such as polyurethane, that possess similar properties to natural resins and used in the production of plastics; any synthetic compound with similar properties.

1350–1400: From the Middle English resyn & resyne (hardened secretions of various plants), from the Old French resine (gum, resin), from the Latin rēsīna (resin), from the Ancient Greek rhētī́nē (resin of the pine tree), both probably from a non-Indo-European language.  In chemistry, the word came to be applied to synthetic products by after 1883.  The verb resinate (impregnate with resin) dated from 1756.  The adjective resinous (of the nature of, pertaining to, or obtained from resin) is documented since the 1640s, from the Latin resinosus; the earlier adjective was resiny (having a character or quality like resin), noted since the 1570s.  The related (and now rare) noun rosin (distillate of turpentine (especially when in a solid state and employed for ordinary purposes)) dates from the late thirteenth century and was from the Old French raisine & rousine, both variants of résine; it was used as a verb after the mid-fifteenth century.  The later adjectives resiniferous & resinless appear never to have been used except in chemistry or technical literature in relevant industries, the more common forms in general use being resin-like or resinous.  Because the word resin covers a wide field of substances, it usually appears in modified form (acaroid resin, acrylic resin, epoxy resin, phenolic resin, polyresin, polyvinyl resin et al).  The present participle is resining and the past participle resined.  Resin, resinousness & resinite are nouns, resinously is an adverb and resinify is a verb; the noun plural is resins.

Resin wheels

1972 Citroën SM with Michelin RR wheels. 

Although sometimes referred to as being made from “carbon fibre”, materials engineers insist the optional wheels offered on the Citroën SM must be described as “synthetic resin reinforced with long-strand carbon fibre”.  Notable as the first composite road wheel offered for public sale, they were developed by Michelin, the tyre-maker which since 1934 had been Citroën’s parent corporation and the innovation was an appropriate accessory for the SM which, upon release in 1971, was immediately recognized as among the most intricate and intriguing cars in the world.  A descendant of the DS which in 1955 had been even more of a sensation than the SM, it took Citroën not only up-market but into a niche the SM had created, nothing quite like it previously existing, the combination of a large (in European terms), front-wheel-drive (FWD) luxury coupé with hydro-pneumatic suspension, self-centreing (Vari-Power steering), high-pressure braking and a four-cam V6 engine, unique in the world.  The engine had been developed by Maserati, one of Citroën’s recent acquisitions and the name acknowledged the Italian debt, SM standing for Systemé Maserati.  Although, given the size and weight of the SM, the V6 was of modest displacement (initially 2.7 litres (163 cubic inch) and power was limited compared to the competition (181 HP (133 kW)), such was the slipperiness of the body that in terms of top speed, it was at least a match for most.

Michelin RR wheel.

However, lacking the high-performance pedigree enjoy by some of that competition, a rallying campaign had been planned as a promotional tool.  Although obviously unsuited to circuit racing, the big, heavy SM didn’t immediately commend itself as a rally car, early tests indicated some potential but there was a need radically to reduce weight.  One obvious candidate was the steel wheels but attempts to use lightweight aluminum units proved abortive, cracking encountered when tested under rally conditions.  Michelin immediately offered to develop glass-fibre reinforced resin wheels, the company familiar with the material which had proved durable when tested under extreme loads.  Called the Michelin RR (roues resin (resin wheel)), the new wheels were created as a one-piece mold, made entirely of resin except for some embedded steel reinforcements at the stud holes to distribute the stresses.  At around 9.4 lb (4¼ kg) apiece, they were less than half the weight of a steel wheel and in testing proved as strong and reliable as Michelin had promised.  Thus satisfied, Citroën went rallying.

Citroën SM, Morocco Rally, 1971.

The improbable rally car proved a success, winning first time out in the 1971 Morocco Rally and further success followed.  Strangely, the 1970s proved an era of heavy cruisers doing well in the sport, Mercedes-Benz winning events with their 450SLC 5.0 which was both the first V8 and the first car with an automatic transmission to win a European rally.  Stranger still, Ford in Australia re-purposed one of the Falcon GTHO Phase IV race cars which had become redundant when the programme was cancelled in 1972 and the thing proved surprisingly competitive during the brief periods it was mobile, the lack of suitable tyres meaning the sidewalls repeatedly failed.  However, the SM, GTHO & SLC proved a quixotic tilt and the sport went a different direction.  On the SM however, the resin wheels had proved their durability, not one failing during the whole campaign and encouraged by customer requests, Citroën in 1972 offered the wheels as a factory option although only in Europe; apparently the thought of asking the US federal safety regulators to approve plastic wheels (as they’d already been dubbed by the motoring press) seemed so absurd to the French they never bothered to submit an application.

Reproduction RR in aluminum. 

Michelin ceased to make the RR when SM production ended in 1975 but did provide another batch for sale in the mid 1980s and this was said to be a new production run rather than unsold stock.  A cult accessory for a cult car, perfect examples now sell for around US$2000 each which does sound expensive but, given what it can cost to restore (or even maintain) a SM, it’s not a significant sum and, unlike much of the rest of the machine, the RRs are at least trouble-free.  Michelin are not said to be contemplating resuming production but another company has produced visually identical wheels made from aluminum; these only slightly heavier.  Despite the success and the fifty-year history of robustness, Citroën didn’t persist and the rest of the industry never adopted the resin wheel.  The reason was two-fold: (1) Even if economies of scale operated to lower the unit cost, the technology was always going to be more expensive than using aluminum and advances in alloys meant the metal units can provide similar strength with only a slight weight penalty and (2) the resin was always susceptible to high temperatures, something not encountered on the SM which used inboard brakes.  Most cars however don’t use inboard brakes and as Ford found when testing resin wheels during Lincoln's downsizing programme in the mid-1970s, although the weight reduction was impressive, almost the same was possible with aluminum at much lower cost and the problems caused by heat-soak from the brakes were insoluble.  So it proved until the late 1980s when, with the development of new, heat-resistant materials, reinforced resin wheels were made available on the limited-production Dodge Shelby CSX (1989).

True carbon fibre wheels have had a little more success, although only at the top-end of the market, Koenigsegg in 2013 manufacturing carbon fibre single-piece wheels which it offered as a US$40,000 option; a number which needs to be considered in the context of the US$2 million price tag for one of their cars.  Porsche, Mercedes-Benz, Ferrari and Ford have all flirted with carbon fibre wheels and some manufactures are interested in the possibilities offered by hybrid designs which use aluminum for some components and carbon fibre for others, an idea familiar from earlier steel/aluminum combinations.  Regulatory authorities are apparently still pondering things.

The SM V8

1974 prototype Citroën SM with 4.0 V8.

Ambitious as it was, circumstances combined in a curious way that might have made the SM more remarkable still.  By 1973, sales of the SM, after an encouraging start had for two years been in decline, a reputation for unreliability already tarnishing its reputation but the first oil shock dealt what appeared to be a fatal blow; from selling almost 5000 in 1971, by 1974 production numbered not even 300.  The market for fast, thirsty cars had shrunk and most of the trans-Atlantic hybrids (combining elegant European coachwork with large, powerful and cheap US V8s) which had for more than a decade done good business as alternative to the highly strung British and Italian thoroughbreds had been driven extinct.  Counter-intuitively, Citroën’s solution was to develop an even thirstier V8 SM.  It actually made some sense because, in an attempt to amortize costs, the SM’s platform had been used as the basis for the new Maserati Quattroporte but, bigger and heavier still, performance was sub-standard and the theory was a V8 version would transform both and appeal to the US market, then the hope of many struggling manufacturers.

Recreation of 1974 Citroën SM V8 prototype.

Citroën didn’t have a V8; Maserati did but it was big and heavy, a relic with origins in 1950s sports car racing and while its (never wholly tamed) raucous qualities suited the character of the sports cars and saloons Maserati offered in the 1960s, it couldn’t be used in something like the SM.  However, the SM’s V6 was a 90^o unit and thus inherently better suited to an eight-cylinder configuration.  In 1974 therefore, a four litre (244 cubic inch) V8 based on the V6 (by then 3.0 litres (181 cubic inch)) was quickly built and installed in an SM which was subjected to the usual battery of tests over a reported 20,000 km (12,000 miles) during which it was said to have performed faultlessly.  Bankruptcy (to which the SM, along with some of the company's other ventures, notably the Wankel programme, contributed) however was the death knell for both the SM and the V8, the prototype car scrapped while the unique engine was removed and stored, later used to create a replica of the 1974 test mule.

Citroën Traction Avant 22, Paris Motor Show 1934.

It was a shame because, despite being most associated with the US, it was the French engineer Léon Levavasseur (1863–1922) who in 1904 created the first V8 engine and at the 1934 Paris Motor Show, Citroën displayed their “22”, a variation of their Traction Avant model but fitted with a 3.8 litre (233 cubic inch) V8, created essentially by joining on a common crankcase two of their 1.9 litre (117 cubic inch) four-cylinder units.  When presented at the show, several models were displayed and the promotional material confirmed the 22 would be available with an extensive choice of coachwork including a saloon, an elongated limousine, a cabriolet and a coupé.  Bankruptcy however halted the project and Michelin, having just taken control, insisted the company concentrate on the best-selling, most profitable lines.  A reputed two dozen-odd 22s were built before the Michelin Man dropped his axe and although all passed into private hands, none appears to have survived the war although there have always been rumors one remains hidden somewhere in the Far-East, a survivor of the colonial presence in Indo-China.

1967 Cadillac Eldorado, which proved the big, FWD coupé could still be done.

Evidence does however suggest a V8 SM would likely have been a failure, just compounding the existing error on an even grander scale.  It’s true that Oldsmobile and Cadillac had offered big FWD coupés with great success since the mid 1960s (the Cadillac at one point fitted with a 500 cubic inch (8.2 litre) V8 rated at 400 HP (300 kW)) but they were very different machines to the SM and appealed to a different market.  Probably the first car to explore what demand might have existed for a V8 SM was the hardly successful 1986 Lancia Thema 8·32 which used the Ferrari 2.9 litre (179 cubic inch) V8 in a FWD platform.  It was about a daft an idea as it sounds.  Even had the V8 SM been all-wheel-drive (AWD) it would probably still have been a failure but it would now be remembered as a revolution ahead of its time.  As it is, the whole SM story is just another cul-de-sac, albeit one which has become a (mostly) fondly-regarded cult.

Lindsay Lohan in Tsubi Scooter Jeans, Andrea Brueckner Saddle Bag, L.A.M.B. Lambstooth Sweater, Manolo Blahnik Butterfly Sandals & Louis Vuitton Inclusion Resin Bangle, Los Angeles, April 2005.

Exsanguinate

Exsanguinate (pronounced eks-sang-gwuh-neyt)

(1) To kill by means of blood loss.

(2) To die by means of blood loss.

(3) To drain a body (living or dead) of blood.

1610–1620: From the Late Latin exsanguinātus (bloodless, deprived of blood), past participle of exsanguināre, the construct being ex- (out) + sanguinem, from sanguis (blood).  The construct in English was ex- + sanguine, + -ate.  The ex- prefix was from the Middle English, from words borrowed from the Middle French, from the Latin ex (out of, from), from the primitive Indo-European eǵ- & eǵs- (out).  It was cognate with the Ancient Greek ἐξ (ex) (out of, from), the Transalpine Gaulish ex- (out), the Old Irish ess- (out), the Old Church Slavonic изъ (izŭ) (out) & the Russian из (iz) (from, out of).  The “x” in “ex-“, sometimes is elided before certain constants, reduced to e- (eg ejaculate).  Sanguine was from the Middle English sanguine, from the Old French sanguin, from the Latin sanguineus (of blood), from sanguis.  The Latin sanquis, perhaps surprisingly, is of uncertain origin but may be from the primitive Indo-European hsh-én- from hésh₂r̥ (blood).  The suffix -ate was a word-forming element used in forming nouns from Latin words ending in -ātus, -āta, & -ātum (such as estate, primate & senate).  Those that came to English via French often began with -at, but an -e was added in the fifteenth century or later to indicate the long vowel.  It can also mark adjectives formed from Latin perfect passive participle suffixes of first conjugation verbs -ātus, -āta, & -ātum (such as desolate, moderate & separate).  Again, often they were adopted in Middle English with an –at suffix, the -e appended after circa 1400; a doublet of –ee.  Exsanguinate & exsanguinating are verbs, exsanguinated is a verb & adjective, exsanguination is a noun; the noun plural is exsanguinations.

As an adjective, exsanguine (bloodless) is attested from the mid-seventeenth century in both literal and figurative use and is now probably a technical word used only by embalmers, in clinical pathology, in the veterinary sciences or in slaughterhouses.  The word being a bit cumbersome, use never extended to kitchens, despite much exsanguination historically being part of the workings of production kitchens (before modern supply chains); where required, chefs prefer the punchier “drain”.  In use the verb is intransitive in the sense of “to die by means of blood loss” and transitive in the sense of “to kill by means of blood loss” or “to drain a body (living or dead) of blood”.

Gory: Lindsay Lohan was photographed in 2011 & 2013 by Tyler Shields (b 1982) in sessions which involved knives and the depiction of blood.  The shoot attracted some attention and while the technical achievement was noted, it being quite challenging to work with blood (fake or real) and realize something realistic but it was also criticized as adding little to the discussion about the pornography of violence against women.  There was a time when such photographs would has shocked but that moment has long passed and the most thoughtful comments on the photographs were that while it's a necessary discussion, it's one that should be conducted with words and such staged images do nothing but add to cultural desensitization.

Technical notes on the process of stunning & exsanguination in a slaughterhouse.  Department of Animal Biosciences, University of Guelph, Ontario, Canada.

(1) Stunning process

Criteria for a good slaughter method:

(1) Animals must not be treated cruelly or unnecessarily stressed.

(2) Exsanguination must be as rapid and as complete as possible.

(3) Damage to the carcass must be minimal, and the method of slaughter must be hygienic, economical and safe for abattoir workers.

To avoid the risk of cruelty, animals must be stunned or rendered unconscious before exsanguination.  When religious reasons do not allow stunning, extra care is needed to ensure exsanguination causes the minimum of distress to the animal.  In the Kosher method of killing, conscious cattle are suspended with the head stretched back, and then the throat and its major blood vessels are severed. Drugs cannot be used in the meat industry to induce unconsciousness in animals for slaughter because unacceptable residues would remain in the meat.

Animals can be effectively stunned by concussion which may be induced by a bullet or a bolt that penetrates the cranium or by the impact of a fast-moving knocker on the surface of the cranium.  In modern abattoirs, the primitive pole-axe has been replaced by devices which use expanding gas, either from an air-compressor or a blank ammunition cartridge. First, the animal is restrained in a narrow pen or knocking box in order to minimize its head movements, then the concussion instrument is then accurately located at a point on the midline of the skull, above the level of the brow ridges of the eye sockets.  Concussion stunning should not be applied on the neck or posterior part of the skull.

The knocker is a heavy instrument held with both hands.  There is a safety catch on the handle, but the actual trigger protrudes from the head of the knocker and is activated as the knocker is tapped against the animal's head.  The captive bolt pistol resembles a heavy hand gun but a blank cartridge rather than a bullet is used to propel a cylindrical bolt into the skull.  After penetration, the bolt is withdrawn into the barrel of the pistol and the pistol is reloaded.  Steers, heifers and cows are normally stunned with a knocker or a heavy captive bolt pistol, but bulls and boars which have massive skulls are sometimes shot with a rifle bullet. Pigs and lambs may be stunned with a light-weight captive bolt pistol.

Thirsty work.  A vampire exsanguinates.

(2) Exsanguination process

Cattle and pigs are usually exsanguinated by a puncture wound which opens the major blood vessels at the base of the neck, not far from the heart (the trade name for this process is sticking).  In sheep, lambs and small calves, the major blood vessels may be severed by a transverse cut across the throat, near to the head.  Poultry can be exsanguinated with a diagonal cut from the corner of the jaw towards the ear on the other side, or by a knife thrust through the roof of the mouth to severe the brain and its major blood vessels. For poultry, the cut may be made on the side of the head if the head is later to be removed automatically by machine.

If the sticking wound is inaccurately placed, exsanguination may be too slow, and it may be almost halted by the formation of large blood clots.  The formation of blood clots is accelerated when large areas of tissue are damaged by repeated inaccurate punctures.  If the trachea is severed by the sticking wound, blood may be drawn into the lungs as the animal breathes. Later in the slaughter procedure, this may necessitate the trimming of blood clots from the pleural membranes after they have been inspected.  If the oesophagus is severed, the vascular system may be contaminated by the entry of food particles into the venous system. If the connective tissues of the shoulder are opened, blood may seep into the shoulder region to form blood clots between the muscles.

Incomplete exsanguination increases the amount of residual blood in the carcass.  The lean meat may then appear unduly dark and the fat may become streaked with blood. On the surface of incompletely exsanguinated poultry, the skin may appear dark and bloody over the breast, neck, shoulders and wings. The microscopic tissue damage that may later be caused by the freezing and thawing of poultry enables residual blood to leak from skin capillaries.  Thus, the results of incomplete exsanguination are often more noticeable to the consumer than to the producer.

The exsanguination or sticking of meat animals in an abattoir is usually performed by severing the carotid arteries and the jugular vein at the base of the neck.  In poultry, these vessels may be cut only on one side of the neck. The sticking knife must be kept clean otherwise bacteria might be introduced into the venous system and spread through the otherwise relatively sterile muscles of the carcass.  Once exsanguination has started, the pulse and mean blood pressure decline rapidly because of the reduced stroke volume of the heart. Blood pressure changes are monitored physiologically by baroreceptors in the carotid sinuses. During exsanguination, respiratory movements of the thorax may be stimulated, and neurogenic and hormonal mechanisms attempt to restore the blood pressure by increasing the peripheral resistance by vasoconstriction.  The heart keeps beating for some time after the major blood vessels are emptied, but stops rapidly if exposed and cooled.  Electrical stunning of pigs may terminate cardiac activity so that, at the start of exsanguination, the blood escapes by gravity rather than being pumped out.  In pigs, cardiac arrest does not affect the rate and extent of exsanguination.  After exsanguination has started, the heart usually re-starts and attempts to pump, until it runs out of energy. Thus, in many cases, there is no reason why animals such as pigs and sheep cannot be killed by electrocution rather than being merely electrically stunned.  In cattle stunned by concussion, more or less complete exsanguination may be obtained without ventricular pumping. Similarly, normal exsanguination is obtained in poultry that have been killed by electrocution rather than by being electrically stunned. In meat animals, "head to back" stunning may be used to stop the heart.

Blood loss as a percentage of body weight differs between species: cows, 4.2 to 5.7%; calves, 4.4 to 6.7%; sheep, 4.4 to 7.6%; and pigs, 1.5 to 5.8%.  Blood content as a percentage of live weight may decrease in heavier animals since the growth of blood volume does not keep pace with growth of live weight. Approximately 60% of blood is lost at sticking, 20-25% remains in the viscera, while a maximum of 10% may remain in carcass muscles. Different stunning methods may modify the physiological conditions at the start of exsanguination and, also, the neural responses to exsanguination.  Electrically stunned sheep lose more blood than those stunned with a captive bolt, but they also have more blood splashes in their carcasses.

Reduction of blood flow to the kidneys causes the release of a proteolytic enzyme, renin, which acts on a plasma protein to produce a polypeptide, angiotensin I.  This polypeptide is converted enzymatically to angiotensin II which then causes widespread vasoconstriction. Vasoconstriction is important because it decreases the retention of blood in meat. Angiotensin II vasoconstriction is operative in both conscious and anaesthetized animals.  Catecholamines and antidiuretic hormone (ADH) may also enhance vasoconstriction during exsanguination.  Speed of exsanguination may modify the balance between neural and hormonal vasoconstrictive mechanisms, with hormonal vasoconstriction predominating in rapid exsanguination.  However, asphyxia prior to exsanguination may result in vasoconstriction due to the activity of the sympathetic nervous system.

Traditionally it has been maintained that poor bleeding leads to dark meat with poor keeping qualities due to microbial spoilage and rancidity but there is little scientific evidence in support of this view and it may be false, even in animals which retain massive amounts of blood in their carcasses.  Delayed exsanguination of cattle may lead to a slight reduction in the amount of blood removed so that the carcass and spleen are slightly heavier but the effects on meat quality are negligible. It is not suggested poor exsanguination is a good thing, but should it occur, it is not the disaster some meat inspectors suppose.

Frock

Frock (pronounced frok)

(1) A gown or dress worn by a female, consisting of a skirt and a cover for the upper body.

(2) A loose outer garment worn by peasants and workers; a smock.

(3) A coarse outer garment with large sleeves, worn by monks in some religious orders; a habit.

(4) In naval use, a sailor's jersey.

(5) In military use, an undress regimental coat (now less common).

(6) To clothe (somebody) in a frock.

(7) To make (somebody) a cleric (to invest with priestly or clerical office).

(8) In US military use, to grant to an officer the right to the title and uniform of a rank before the formal appointment is conferred.

1300–1350: From the Middle English frok, frokke and froke and twelfth century Old French froc (a monk’s habit; clothing, dress), from the Frankish hrok and thought probably related to the Old Saxon and Old High German hroc (mantle, coat) which appears to have spawned the Old Norse rokkr, the Old English rocc, and Old Frisian rokk.  Most etymologists seem to think it’s most likely all ultimately derived from the primitive rug or krek (to spin or weave); the alternative view suggests a link with the Medieval Latin hrocus, roccus and rocus (all of which described types of coats) which they speculate was the source of the Old French from, again from the Old Frankish hroc and hrok (skirt, dress, robe), from the Proto-Germanic hrukkaz (robe, jacket, skirt, tunic).  That does seem at least plausible given the existence of the Old High German hroch and roch (skirt, dress, cowl), the German rock (skirt, coat), the Saterland Frisian Rok (skirt), the Dutch rok (skirt, petticoat), the Old English rocc (an over-garment, tunic, rochet), the Old Norse rokkr (skirt, jacket) and Danish rok (garment).  Another alternative (more speculative still) traces it from the Medieval Latin floccus, from the Classical Latin floccus (flock of wool).  The meaning "outer garment for women or children" was from the 1530s while frock-coat (also as frock-cost & frockcoat) dates from the 1820s, the garment itself fading from fashion a century later although revivals have been attempted every few decades, aimed at a rather dandified market ignored by most.  Frock & frocking are nouns & verbs, frocked is a verb and frockless, frocklike & frockish are adjectives; the noun plural is frocks.

Frocks and Brass Hats

The phrase “frocks and brass hats” was coined in the years immediately following World War I (1914—1918) in reaction to the large volume of memoirs, autobiographies and histories published by some of the leading politicians and military leaders involved in the conflict, the phrase derived from (1) the almost universal habit of statesmen of the age wearing frock coats and (2) the hats of senior military personnel being adorned with gold braid, emulating the physical polished brass of earlier times.  Many of the books were polemics, the soldiers and politicians writing critiques of the wartime conduct of each other.  Politicians no longer wear frock coats and although some of the hats of military top brass still feature a bit of braid, it’s now less often seen.  However, the term persists although of late, academics studying institutional conflict in government have extended it to “frock coats, mandarins and brass hats”, reflecting the increase in importance of the part played by public servants, especially the military bureaucracy, in such matters.  So structurally, the internecine squabbles within the creature of the state have changed, the most obvious causes the twin threads of (1) the politicization of the upper reaches of the public service and (2) the creation of so many organs of government as corporate entities which enable the frocks (the politicians) to distance themselves from unpalatable policies and decisions by asserting (when it suits them), the “independence” of such bodies.  Of course, such functionaries will find their “independence” counts for little if the frocks start to feel the heat; then brutally the axe will fall, just as it did on some of the Great War generals.

Men in frock coats: The “Big Four” at the Paris Peace Conference (1919-1920), outside the Foreign Ministry headquarters, Quai d'Orsay, Paris.  Left to right: David Lloyd George (1863–1945; UK prime-minister 1916-1922), Vittorio Orlando (1860–1952; Italian prime minister 1917-1919), Georges Clemenceau (1841–1929; French prime minister 1906-1909 & 1917-1920) and Woodrow Wilson (1856–1924; US president 1913-1921).

At the time, nothing quite like or on the scale of the Paris Peace Conference had ever been staged.  Only Orlando anticipated the future of fashion by preferring a lounge suit to a frock coat but he would be disappointed by the outcome of the conference, leaving early and to his dying day content his signature never appeared on the treaty’s final declaration, a document he regarded as flawed.  Not even John Kennedy (JFK, 1917–1963; US president 1961-1963) or Barack Obama (b 1961; US president 2009-2017) on their tours of European capitals received anything like the adulation Wilson enjoyed when he arrived in Paris in 1919.  His successors however were there more as pop-culture figures whereas Wilson was seen a harbinger of a "lasting peace", a thing of much significance to the French after four years of slaughter.  Ultimately Wilson's hopes would be dashed (in the US Senate as well as at the Quai d'Orsay's conference table) although, historians will likely continue to conclude his Nobel Peace Prize (1919) was more deserved than the one awarded to Obama (apparently on the basis he wasn't George W Bush (George XLIII, b 1946; US president 2001-2009)).  Lloyd George's ambitions in 1919 were more tempered by realism and he too regarded the terms of final document as a mistake, prophesying that because of the punitive terms imposed on the defeated Germany: “We shall have to fight another war again in 25 years' time.”  In that, he was correct, even if the expected wait was a little optimistic.  Only Clemenceau had reasons to be satisfied with what was achieved although, has his instincts been allowed to prevail, the terms of the Treaty of Versailles (1920) would have been more onerous still.  It was the Englishman Eric Geddes (1875–1937; First Lord of the Admiralty (the civilian head of the Royal Navy) 1917-1919) who coined the phrase "...squeeze the German lemon until the pips squeak." but it's doubtful that sentiment was ever far from Clemenceau's thoughts.

Lindsay Lohan in a nice frock.  V Magazine Black & White Ball, New York City, September 2011.

In idiomatic use, “frock” has proved as serviceable as the garment.  A “frock flick” is a film or television production noted for the elaborate costuming and most associated with costume dramas (typically sixteenth-nineteenth centuries) in which the frocks of the rich are depicted as big & extravagant.  To “frock up” is used by young women to describe “dressing-up” for some event or occasion and in the (male) gay community to refer either to much the same thing or cross-dressing.  A “cock in a frock” (“cocks in frocks” the collective) is a type of trans-woman (one without the relevant medical modification) and what used to be called a transvestite (a once technical term from psychiatry now (like “tranny”) thought derogatory except in historic use).  A “smock frock” was a garment of coarse, durable material which was worn over other clothing and most associated with agricultural and process workers (and usually referred to either as “smock” or “frock”.  In fashion there’s the “sun frock” (one of lightweight material which exposes more than the usual surface area of skin, often in a strappy or strapless style.  A “housefrock” was a piece of everyday wear form women which was self-explanatory: a simple, practical frock to be worn “around the house” and well suited to wear while performing “housework”.  “Underfrock” was a now archaic term for a slip or petticoat.  The A coat with long skirts, worn by men, now only on formal occasions.  The “frock coat” (also listed by some as the “Prince Albert coat”) is characterized by a knee-length skirt cut all around the base, ending just above the knee.  Among the middle & upper classes, it was popular during the Victorian and Edwardian eras (1830s–1910s) although they were widely into the 1920s.  Although some fashion houses may have had lines with detail differences, there was really no difference between a “cocktail dress” and a “cocktail frock” except the latter seems now to be used only humorously.

Variations on the theme of the cocktail dress: Lindsay Lohan in vintage Herve Leger at Arrivals For Cartier’s Declare Your Love Day VIP cocktail reception, Cartier Store, New York, June 2006 (left) and in black Dion Lee cocktail dress with illusion panels and an off-the-shoulder silhouette, January 2013 (right).

A cocktail dress does however differ from a cocktail gown because they straddle the gap between daywear and ball gowns.  Intended to be worn at formal or semi-formal occasions (classically of course, the “cocktail party”) including wedding receptions or dinner parties, they’re typically shorter in length than a gown, the hemline falling somewhere between just above the knee to mid-calf.  There’s no exact template for a cocktail dress but they should be identifiable by their simplicity and elegance, thus the utility of their versatility.  While not exactly post-modern, they appear in many fabrics and just about any style including empire, bandage, A-line or sack, featuring a range of necklines, sleeve lengths, and embellishments.  Historically, befitting the sophistication once associated with the cocktail party, the dresses were characterized by modesty and severity of line, the classic motif the tailored silhouette, relatively uncluttered by details.  Vogue magazine labeled the accessories (shoes, jewelery, a clutch and sometimes a wrap) the “cocktail dress ensemble” but in recent decades there’s been a rise in stylistic promiscuity and some discordant elements have intruded.

Men of the frock: Cardinal George Pell (1941-2023; left) and Benedict XVI (1927–2022; pope 2005-2013, pope emeritus 2013-2022; right) at an inter-faith meeting in Sydney, Australia, July 2008.

A “man of the frock” is a clergyman of some description (almost always of some Christian denomination) and the apparent anomaly of nuns never being described as “women of the frock” (despite always wearing something at least frock-like) is explained presumably by all women once being assumed to wear frocks.  To “defrock” (literally “to divest of a frock”) is in figurative use used widely to mean “formally to remove the rights and authority of a member of the clergy” and by extension this is casually applied also to “struck-off” physicians, lawyers etc.  “Disfrock” & “unfrock” are used as synonyms of “defrock” but none actually appear in Roman Catholic canon law, the correct term being “laicization” (ie “returned to the laity).  Despite the popular impression, the Vatican has revealed most acts of laicization are pursuant to the request of the priest and performed because they feel, for whatever reason, unable to continue in holy orders (ex priests marrying ex-nuns a thing and there must be some theological debate around whether they’ve been “brought together by God” or “tempted by the Devil”).  Defrock dates from the 1580s in the sense of “deprive of priestly garb” and was from the fifteenth century French défroquer, the construct being from de- (used her as a negative prefix) + froque (frock) and familiar also as the verb “defrocked”.  The modern English verb “frock” (supply with a frock) seems to have come into use only in the 1820s and was either a back-formation from defrock or an evolution from the noun.  The verb was picked up by the military and “to frock” is used also as a jocular form of “to dress”.