Friday, August 20, 2010

The Word of the Day . . .


. . . is ignominious.

ig·no·min·i·ous
Pronunciation: \ˌig-nə-ˈmi-nē-əs\
Function: adjective
Date: 15th century
1 : marked with or characterized by disgrace or shame : dishonorable
2 : deserving of shame or infamy : despicable
3 : humiliating, degrading
— ig·no·min·i·ous·ly adverb
— ig·no·min·i·ous·ness noun
(copied with no permission whatsoever from Mirriam-Webster Online.)

This is a word I heard my father, a college professor, say all the time in reference to the Chicago Cubs. He'd say something like, "Oh, Ken. Today our Cubbies lost ignominiously. They were throwing the ball into the stands, outfielders were running into each other, and, of course, nobody could take a walk." I found myself using the word when talking to customers around Wrigley Field during my summer job, and I'm glad that one of my dad's favorite terms is now one of mine. I just wish we weren't both using it to describe our Cubbies in two different generations. Hell, it's a term applicable for over a century of mostly terrible baseball.
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Is it sexist to use these images? Should the word of the day be "objectify?" Perhaps, but I thought I'd try to offset this humiliation with some beautiful women because it never hurts. I'm working 7 straight home games, a rarity in baseball because there typically are days off. I said that during game (shift) one that I had a feeling they would go 0 and 7 on this homestand, and so far they are 0 and 4. I knew that once I said it out loud, there was no avoiding it. Wish me luck today, Seven Readers (some fans, like myself, can hold themselves personally responsible for losses by the choices they make. It makes no sense scientifically, but we do it to ourselves anyway.)

2 comments:

Heff said...

Ask me If I care if it's sexist....

Dr. Kenneth Noisewater said...

Heff: Hahaha. I thought of good old Heff when I found those pics.