...never one to arrive at an acumen regarding a set of printed pages bound along one side, based purely upon my discernment of its sheathing, ho ho
Ignoring for the moment the interesting use of the word 'acumen', my question to you is: what on earth is he talking about? I'll post the answer tomorrow, although I'll doubt you'll need it.
6 comments:
"never one to judge a book by its cover"
When you say 'mentalist' do you mean you think he's a bit mad?
I nearly blogged about 'mentalist' instead today... yes, I do think he is slightly mad – but a mentalist in this context is an entertainer whose performance appears to be based on psychic abilities (clairvoyance, mind reading etc). Or so says Wikipedia!
My dictionary (Merriam-Webster's Collegiate) gives only "mind reader" as the definition for "mentalist."
"Mentalist" always reminds me of the word "alienist" (psychiatrist, from the French aliéné, for "insane")
They seem "of the same era," though they're not (mentalist: 1930; alienist: 1864)
(I loved Caleb Carr's mystery "The Alienist")
I thought the 'nutcase' sense of mentalist might have been a creation of Steve Coogan (as Alan Partridge), but that's only the second citation in the OED, after one from 1990.
I'm pretty sure it's the classic Partridge moment that popularised it, though.
Hey everyone,
I truly immensly enjoy your blog, continue the great work!
What do you think about my theories regarding hypnotherapy!
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