Comments on: Bias you can use

By: JP

JP — Fri, 14 May 2004 07:32:04 +0000

There’s nothing so slick as a greased Scotsman.

By: bg

bg — Fri, 14 May 2004 00:37:41 +0000

“’Cheese-eating surrender monkeys’: Bart Simpson.” Sorry Zizka, off by a bit. Although from “The Simpsons,” the line is actually delivered by Groundskeeper Willie, a Scotsman, forced to substitute teach a French class. His first line upon entering is, “Bonjour, ya cheese eatin’ surrender monkeys!” My fave: Mimolette

By: Zizka

Zizka — Wed, 12 May 2004 06:33:46 +0000

“Cheeseater”: Can be an American ethnic slur for the Dutch (Hollanders, Netherlanders, whatever the P.C. word is for y’all). Obsolete, though it did figure in a National Lampoon spoof a couple decades ago. “Wine and cheese liberal”: USA: an artsy elitist liberal who goes to lots of receptions. Brie is often mentioned in new updated versions of the slur. “Blessed are the cheesemakers”: Monty Python. “Venezuelan Beaver Cheese; Japanese Sage Darby”: Monty Python. “Cheese-eating surrender monkeys”: Bart Simpson. “Cheeseheads”: Green Bay Packers fan. A prominent cheese-hating blogger (Scalzi, I think) asks why people should eat a food which smells like their feet. My favorites: Fontina, Gorganzola.

By: nick

nick — Wed, 12 May 2004 03:37:04 +0000

Andrew Cavendish will be missed. I saved an Observer profile on him, written a few years ago, which touched on his marriage, his struggle to keep Chatsworth in the family by settling a huge death duties bill… and, of course, his penchant for yellow socks. Unsurprisingly, the Telegraph obit is worth a read.

By: Chris Bertram

Chris Bertram — Tue, 11 May 2004 19:40:12 +0000

David—Consider that a promise for the future. Today I’m too snowed under.

By: David Sucher

David Sucher — Tue, 11 May 2004 17:06:50 +0000

Chris, I’d be very grateful if you could please expand—it might make a nice post, in fact—on why The House is such a worthy book.

By: Chris Bertram

Chris Bertram — Tue, 11 May 2004 15:26:58 +0000

The Duke of Devonshire’s country seat is Chatsworth in Derbyshire, near Bakewell (where I went to boarding school from the age of 8). There is no Duke of Derbyshire. It is one of the most beautiful of the English country houses and his wife, the youngest of the Mitford sisters (and probably the sanest) wrote an excellent book about it called The House href=”http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0711216754/junius-20” rel=”nofollow”>http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0711216754/junius-20 , which should be owned by all building afficionados.

By: rea

rea — Tue, 11 May 2004 14:46:05 +0000

And why is the late Duke of Devonshire the focus of news in Derbyshire? Shouldn’t the news in Derbyshire be about the Duke of Derbyshire, leaving mourning for the Duke of Devonshire to those people down in Devon?

By: rea

rea — Tue, 11 May 2004 14:44:41 +0000

By: Stan

Stan — Tue, 11 May 2004 14:13:14 +0000

On a slightly related point, does anyone know the origin and correct definition of the social and political term “cheese eater”?

By: Zizka

Zizka — Tue, 11 May 2004 14:01:31 +0000

Mrs. Tilton got there first. Is the whole district homophobic in bizarre, creative ways like its namesake? Also, is there a Derbyshire cheese? I don’t remember it from the cheese shop sketch, but it seems that there should be.

By: Mrs Tilton

Mrs Tilton — Tue, 11 May 2004 10:51:09 +0000

As I began to read this post, I was wracked by the inescapable image of a Timberite helping a self-hating and hopelessly closeted NRO columnist come to terms with himself. Sorry, couldn’t help it (believe me, I tried); and I was greatly relieved to read on and find you were talking about something else altogether.