PASSlON: a state of intense emotion or feeling. lt originates from the root
of the word "passive", to be so filled with emotion and feeling as to be unable to act and to fall into destiny, what must happen. The passion of Christ led him to be passive, he could not do anything but suffer and experience his fate on ths cross. A state of passion is always followed by a wash of passivity, passion is the way to passivity, the will of nothing. lt is the state of freedom envisioned by Hegel, "necessity realized".
PASS OVER: to go past something without stopping. Ie. the Jewish nation
lead by Moses, left Egypt and passed over the desert to reach Palestine. That's why
Jews now celebrate Passover.
a PECK: the amount of grain a chicken could peck in a year. (see Chuck)
PENITENTIARY: a place where people do penance for their sins. An earthly purgatory where it is decided whether the gates of worldly suffering will be opened or closed. But here there are no pews only pens.
PERSPIRATION: what comes before inspiration. All activity is 99% perspiration and 1% inspiration.
PHONE: noun, derived from the word phony -- it wasn't believed to be true, believed even to be telepathic. How, people thought, can two people talk through two cans connected by a wire? Now, it still isn't believed but is simply done, the modern attitude has won. Nothing is magical anymore.
PHONETICS: the science/study of people who talk on the phone.
Pi: 3.14 something. lt is calculated by taking the circumference of an average sized pie and dividing this by its diameter. The result is pie in the sky, infinity, more or less. The result is always the same but depending on the pie, it tastes different.
PICKLED: preserved in alcohol. (see Drunk)
PIDDLE: to waste your time, to dawdle. Children playing in puddles, piddle.
PIER: an extension from land which pierces into water. A good place to sit
and quietly peer into the distance.
the PILL: a perfect example of the use of the de - monstrative article.
PILLOW: where we put our head after taking a pill.
PIPEDREAMS: a hope that hasn't a hope in hell (only here). What one believes won't come true. This hope against hope first came from smoking too much funny stuff stuffed in a pipe. Maybe it was a peace pipe and that's why it’s a pipedream and war is so much a pact of life. (see WAR)
PITTANCE: a lack of pity.
PITY: to feel empathy, to be sorry for. lt is a falling down into a big hole with another, to wallow in the mud and sadness with them. lt's worse if you fall in alone,have self-pity because then you don't have company. And we all know misery loves companionship.
PLANNED OBSOLESCENCE: life insurance. What assurance does life insurance give? How can you insure life? Does it give us more life or less? Who would be the first to sell death assurance, wouldn't this liven things up? We know we will all die (death and taxes being the two inevitables) but who knows if everyone who should have been born was born? Who can insure that?
PLATONIC LOVE: reasonable love, love without sexual relations. lt is love for the rational soul in concert and atuned to the Good. Virtuous love which is good for the Republic unless of course one thinks of its perpetuation. Could you even imagine Plato making love? Maybe here we have the words essence.
YOU ARE READING
The Idiot's Dictionary
Non-Fiction"When I use a word," Humpty Dumpty said in rather a scornful tone. "It means just what I choose it to mean - neither more or less." "The question is," said Alice, "whether you can make words mean so many different things." "The question is," said Hu...
