|k| clippings: 2015-09-08 — by my jam tart; in my horse and cart

For the latter entries in today’s WORK, I leave the original rhyming word to your imagination. I highly recommend browsing the fascinating collection of slang it comes from and playing a guessing game with the headwords (a random for instance: what do you think a “Camilla Parker” is?). Do any of you employ or experience rhyming slang?

WORK

catalogue: cattle dog
book: Captain Cook | Joe Hook | Joe Rook | King Farouk | rookery nook
newspaper: Johnny Raper | linen | linen draper (Sun: currant bun, Herald: Jim Gerald, The Times: Captain Grimes)
underwear: montezuma | wicked rumors | seldom see | insects and ants | east and west | Sunday best
venereal disease: hat and cap | band in the box | boot and socks | goldilocks | bang and big | Will’s Whiff | dribs and drabs | beattie and baby
various bodily functions: bubble and squeak | Robert E. | riddle-me-ree | pig in the middle | comical chris | snakes hiss | bangers and mash | pie and mash | Johnny Cash | tommy guns | banana splits | red hots | nicker bits | ali hoop | bob and hit | apple tart | beef-heart | broken heart | Andy Capp | sweetpea | you and me

—from Cassell’s Rhyming Slang (edited by Jonathon Green)

WORD(S)

mournival /MOR-nə-vəl/. noun. In the game of Gleek (the card game, which is decidedly not the game of gleeking I learned in grade school), a set of four aces, kings, queens or jacks in one hand. Metaphorically, a group of four. From French mornifle (group of four cards), possibly from mornifle (a slap to the face) as the metaphorical impact of such a hand of cards.

“And we’ll drink till our eyes do run over;
And prove it by reason
That it can be no treason
To drink and to sing
A mournival of healths to our new-crown’d King.”
(Alex Brome)

“The mess of simple bodies;
Nature’s first mournival—”
(Joshua Poole)

“There remain’d the last unavoidable Object of Value, which he bet against what prov’d to be a Cross-Ruff, whence it pass’d into the Hands of Nick Mournival, an Enterpriser of the Town.” (Thomas Pynchon)

WEB

1. This unique Tokyo bookstore offers one book title a week

2. “The whole phenomenon of creativity has become mystified, as behooves a concept that people use to reassure themselves about the future” → on The Cult of Creativity [I wish I had the chops to do a parody cover using Living Colour’s song “Cult of Personality.” But I’ll take any excuse to listen to that blistering guitar solo, one of my all-time favorites.]

3. A Collector Sees the Potential in a Humble Paper Clip

4. “Since artists’ books are not normally associated with African art, our goal in this exhibition is to introduce the genre and survey its ‘African’ manifestations.” → Artists’ Books and Africa

5. Today in 1960, singer/songwriter Aimee Mann is born. In the early 80s, Mann co-founded the New Wave band ’Til Tuesday, famous for their single “Voices Carry.” In the early 90s, Mann set out on a solo career that saw her pen some of the most wickedly poetic songs ever (here’s a decent playlist). In 2013 she joined forces with Ted Leo, performing as The Both. You might also know Mann from her turn as a cleaning woman on Portlandia or as the German nihilist who sacrifices her green-polished little toe in The Big Lebowski.

WATCH/WITNESS

►DJ Shadow’s “Scale it Back” music video is based on the story (memory sequence) that Memory World Champion Ben Pridmore created to memorize the order of a deck of cards (in less than minute).

REPRISES/RESPONSES/REJOINDERS/RIPOSTES

• Reader B. asks: “What’s the source of that Burgess quote? Not The Wanting Seed?” – Nope. It’s from The Kingdom of the Wicked!

• Reader S. writes: “The US Festival!!! Funny thing, I misremembered watching the ’82 one (it was the ’83 concert I watched) but in doing so, took a trip down memory lane/wikipedia and stumbled across this gem, Oingo Boingo’s debut on the Gong Show: http://ktxc.to/oingo-boingo-gong-show ¶ And for bonus points—who was Oingo Boingo’s most famous member? Why Danny Elfman, composer of all scores Tim Burton-esque.”

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