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Yep I'm back

been reading Blood Meridian by Cormac McCarthy. More on that later perhaps, but outside of content, a lot of words to look up for sure

I was surprised to see him say in the book that mid-19th century Indians who had contempt for other Indians would call them 'Tontos'. He just mentions this and moves on. After looking it up, I would surmise that would be Indians in contact with Spanish speakers, in Mexico and along the border, including in Texas. Yes, I'm thinking about the Lone Ranger and his sidekick. Never once have I ever seen it indicated that 'Tonto' was an insulting thing to call an Indian back then, till now, making almost 7 decades to go by for that opportunity to arise and it never has till now. Amazing.

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inquiry doesn't instantly bring up the subject when searching. I wound up at a Wiktionary entry
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Etymology 1

From Spanish tonto (“stupid, foolish; idiot, fool”), of uncertain etymology. Originally in US use but now chiefly British. Cf. earlier Tonto, with which it is sometimes confused. [not sure what is referenced, see link]
Noun

tonto (plural tontos)

(slang) Synonym of idiot: someone who is foolish or stupid.

Adjective

tonto (comparative more tonto, superlative most tonto)

(slang, possibly offensive) Synonym of crazy.

Oi, bruv. He's gone full tonto.

Usage notes
Because of the Native American sense of Tonto popularized by its use as the name of the sidekick of the Lone Ranger, even as a Spanish loanword this term can be understood as a racial slur in English.

https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/tonto

you never know where McCarthy is going to go with his vocabulary, so you find yourself looking up stuff all the time, at least I do

he wants to describe a forlorn situation ... they were "like pilgrims exhausted upon the face of the planet Anareta". Sure, if you or I were to send stuff like that to a publisher, disaster! ... but he gets away with it and not only that, you forgive him for it and you want more. If only you knew what the reference meant, you wouldn't have to pause. [just speaking for myself]

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What is Anareta?

ANARETA, OUR DESTRUCTIVE FORCE. One of the most common astrological terms used in medieval Astrology is the term Anareta planet. It derives from the Greek and translates to “destroyer”, standing for any planet that has deeply maleficent effects on one's life.

Modern times comment: All the restaurants still want to make lots of money selling you drinks, but now today many don't want to hire proper bartenders and I have to say this used to be very rare. That leads to problems of course, and one thing I've noticed is the people they have making the drinks [when not knowledgeable about the craft] don't know what 'dry' means when it comes to drinks. One story out there is asking for a very dry martini and getting one doused with extra vermouth instead of less vermouth ... the waitress making the drink concluded that since the bottle said it was 'dry vermouth' the thing to do was add more.

thought about all that when I decided to confirm that they mean it's supposed to be less sweet than other ginger ale when it comes to Canada Dry ... something I cannot confirm by taste

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why is it called Canada Dry?

As if to express his confidence, McLaughlin named the drink he previously called "champagne of ginger ale" after his mother country, calling it "Canada Dry." Its dry taste with restrained sweetness is enjoyable both straight and as a mixer, evoking an elegant and refined world.

I've looked up Procrustean many times over the years, I suppose, it being used so rarely that I can't remember what it means once encountered again.

For me at least, the meaning is not really clear until it's explained who he was.

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Pro·crus·te·an

/prōˈkrəstēən/ ... adjective

(especially of a framework or system) enforcing uniformity or conformity without regard to natural variation or individuality.
"a fixed Procrustean rule"

I've defended here Israeli actions in the current situation, but am not reflexively pro-Israel as it probably seems.

One reason I often just wind up in their camp is rejection of the idea that the creation of a Jewish state can be reversed, even if the idea didn't include murdering all the Jews [as it usually does when advocated]. To reverse US support of Israel also seems to me to be just not in the cards, though I can see that changing way in the future, good idea or not

these are fait accompli matters

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What is the literal meaning of fait accompli?

an accomplished fact

The phrase fait accompli is French, and it literally means "an accomplished fact." Definitions of fait accompli. an irreversible accomplishment.

It's a long story as to why, but I actually have an extra muzzleloader. Good thing too, as the one I usually use [nostalgia kicking in, I put it together from a kit] developed a 'won't cock' problem. Just for the record, this part of the gun was assembled by the manufacturer and I had nothing to do with that. Not sure the google machine is going to help me as I search what to do

If I say "he went for the hokie doke" and mean "he went for nonsense" I seem to be understood OK

but googling it only brings up 'okey doke' or 'okie dokie'

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Is it okay to say Okie Dokie?

Everyday use. Because OK and all its variants appear so often in so many forms of interaction and conversation, “okie-dokie” is widely applicable. You can use it as an affirmative answer to virtually any type of question — although this one, being on the casual side, is best used in informal contexts
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When was okey dokey first used?

The earliest known use of the word okey-dokey is in the 1930s. OED's earliest evidence for okey-dokey is from 1932, in American Speech.

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What does the word doke mean?

ˈdōk. plural -s. dialectal, England. : a depression or indentation. especially : dimple. [unrelated I think]

I love to eat all types of game, I can't say that about every other hunter, but all hunters want someone to eat what they shoot, it's very important to them almost without exception.

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Venison is high in essential amino acids and in addition, a rich source of thiamine, riboflavin, niacin, iron, and zinc. Venison meat is a perfect choice of protein for those who suffer from cardiovascular disease and are searching for low cholesterol and saturated fat protein choices.

Venison, Is It For You? - Penn State Extension

Quote:

When it came to cooking possum, the standard method was to bake it with sweet potatoes. Some commentators have described the dish as a substitution of the English roast with white potatoes. The possum was typically seasoned with red pepper, and it was said to taste like pork. The sweet potatoes were enriched by cooking in the possum’s gravy.

https://blogs.loc.gov/folklife/2019/08/a-possum-crisp-and-brown-the-opossum-and-american-foodways/#:~:text=When%20it%20came%20to%20cooking,said%20to%20taste%20like%20pork.

Never eaten possum or had it offered to me. When a kid, found them disgusting when encountered ... hissing things with nasty teeth and generally nasty looking

If you have an old copy of The Joy of Cooking, '60s or so, they cover possum and other surprising things people used to eat. In the index, look for opossum, not possum. Not sure what was going on in FL but I think the Joy of C no longer had a recipe in '82

According to the old recipe, you should try to catch a possum first. You then feed it for 10 days on milk and cereal. Doesn't say why [I know, though, can you guess?]. You pluck it instead of skinning it, technique described, then cook it like pork after parboiling.

Just noticed a very odd statement about bear is in the old Joy of C.: "all bear is edible except black bear" which is ridiculous. This is included within a sentence about marinating, so I'm guessing they mean "don't try to marinate bear meat that is black in color"? If so, a very poor sentence was used here, easily misunderstood.