Tuesday, June 21, 2011

Word of the Day: glaikery

glaikery (n)

Foolish behavior.

"Richard seems to be bent on trumping prior inanities with yet new Dawkinisms -- as evidence of committed glaikery one presumes."
--"Richard Dawkins, raving incoherently", in Anglican Samizdat

"Only a fool writes for anything other than money," said Dr. Johnson. (That's Samuel Johnson [1709 - 1784], "arguably the most distinguished man of letters in English history", according the the Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, which I keep by my bedside in case of insomnia -- or should.) The good doctor's quotation has been used over the years to discourage anyone from putting pen to paper without being paid, though of course it's absurd on the face of it. Sam wrote plenty of letters for free, and he published plenty of pamphlets -- more or less the blogs of the 18th century.

What's foolish is to write without compensation, which doesn't have to be monetary. Another post down. I feel so adroit right now....

No comments:

Post a Comment

What's on your mind?