Penultimate Hitchens blog entry...
“Avery, Very Dirty
Word”
Hitchens starts with an anecdote:
On the eve of independence for the
colony of South Yemen, the last British governor hosted a dinner party attended
by Denis Healey, then the minister for defense. Over the final sundown
cocktail, as the flag was about to be lowered over the capital of Aden, the
governor turned to Healey and said, “You know, Minister, I believe that in the
long view of history, the British Empire will be remembered only for two
things.” What, Healey was interested to know, were these imperishable aspects?
“The game of soccer. And the expression ‘fuck off.’ ”
Hitchens then seems to go on and try to make the case that
the English phrase, “fuck off,” is a much more multifarious term than the
American phrase, “Fuck You” or “Fuck off.” That’s all I have to say about that.
New learning: “[VP] Cheney…recommend that Senator Patrick Leahy
go and attempt an anatomical impossibility. The latter advice received the
signal honor of being printed in full, without asterisks, in the Washington
Post, thus provoking some ombudsmanlike soul-searching on its own account by
the paper’s editor…”
New word: effendi = Arabic for lord or master, you may
recall this from the movie Lawrence of
Arabia.
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