[MS. P is at the front of the classroom, second hour, sitting at the table in the front of the room. The freshman are working in groups, and she is grading papers while they work. MR. O is sitting to the left of her, at the computer near the window, and he is working on a document for the juniors.]
MR. O [to Ms. P]: Is marginalia a word?
MS. P: Um, excuse me?
O: Marginalia. Like, writing in the margins.
P: That's disgusting.
[The freshman are sort of listening.]
O: [laughs] No, no, I bet it's a word.
P: It's not a word. It sounds made up. Can't you just say "marginalize"? That's a word. ... I don't like any words that end in "-alia."
O: Yeah, marginalize is a word, but it means something else. ...It's a word.
P: [laughs] Wanna bet?
O: No, but I'm looking it up. [looks up word] Yup, it's a word. Comes from Latin. From "margina-us."*
[P scowls]
O: I don't like any words that end in a-us.
P: I don't think it's a word still. It's too gross.
*That's not how you spell it. I wanted you to get the joke.
Same shit, different outfit.
4 comments:
See also: here.
Ah, yes. Mr. O pointed this out and my answer was:
Doesn't prove it's true. Poets make up words all the time. That's part of their job.
POINT FOR JEANO
Ah, but not Mr. Collins. He's too busy writing poems about what it's like to be writing a poem while listening to classical music.
POINTS FOR ME.
He also wrote a poem about smoking a cigarette.
POINT FOR JEANO
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