By Elaine Donnelly
Extending sexual misconduct to combat units
Paul Dickson, a noted author, commentator and lexicographer, warms up the audience by opening this entertaining and informative book with a list of 44 presidential firsts, in no real way related to the subject of presidential neologisms or phrases, but guaranteed to grab our attention.
If P.T. Barnum had applied his marketing and promotional skills to baseball, rather than the circus, he might have provided serious competition to Bill Veeck. However, because Barnum kept his focus on three-ring-centered entertainment, Veeck had the role of baseball's impresario-in-chief to himself.
As baseball has evolved — for the better and worse — its language has changed as well. The words and phrases of the national pastime provide an important prism through which to understand an important part of our social and cultural history. Unfortunately, many books about the language are dull and not particularly enjoyable to read. That is not the case with The Dickson Baseball Dictionary (Third Edition).
BLUE & GOLD AND BLACK: RACIAL INTEGRATION OF THE U.S. NAVAL ACADEMY
"Instant analysis," writes Mr. Dickson, "is a term coined by Vice President Spiro Agnew in 1969 to refer to the practice of summarizing and commenting on an important White House speech immediately after the speaker has gone off the air."
Mr. Dickson notes that baseball is a complicated game, and that is reflected in its language.
