Editor's Corner

Good morning, readers. It’s time for another tour of ten states and what their nicknames are. Some of these surprised me, like Idaho. Next time I’m in Washington state, I may have to take a trip over to check out the gems! From Explore:

Hawaii

• Nicknames: Aloha State, Pineapple State, Youngest State
  Sometimes referred to as the Pineapple State for its iconic produce or the Youngest State because it was the last to join the Union, Hawaii’s official "popular name" (Aloha State) was adopted in 1959, the same year it became a state. Hawaii picked the nickname the Aloha State in reference to the hospitality and culture of native Hawaiians.
  

Idaho

• Nickname: Gem State
  Mining lobbyist George M. Willing proposed the made-up name "Idaho" as the name for what is now Colorado, claiming the word was an Indian name that meant "Gem of the Mountains." While Congress went with another name for Colorado after learning the name was nonsense, it came into popular use for towns and landmarks like the newly discovered Idaho Mines. The territory was named Idaho due to its large deposits of gold, silver, gems, and minerals.

Illinois

• Nickname: Prairie State
  While Illinois doesn’t have an official state nickname, it does have an official prairie grass and a designated Illinois Prairie Week, living up to its popular nickname of the Prairie State. Illinois is perhaps more famous for its official state slogan: "The Land of Lincoln."

Indiana

• Nickname: Hoosier State
  The Hoosier State is the official nickname of Indiana, and a person from Indiana is known as a Hoosier. There are many theories on the origin of the term but no definite answers, though it can be traced back to the early 1830s. Among the theories are a popular greeting to an unexpected knock on the door with "Who’s yere?" turning into Hoosier, and the nickname of Indiana rivermen being "husher" transforming into Hoosier. The Hoosier is also the mascot for Indiana University, a college that is known for its school spirit.

Iowa

• Nickname: Hawkeye State
  Iowa was ahead of the curve when it came to a state nickname, adopting one eight years before it even became a state. Two men from Burlington are credited with popularizing the nickname the Hawkeye State based on a character in the popular book "The Last of the Mohicans." Despite having a bird-like name and being the University of Iowa mascot, a Hawkeye isn’t a real bird. Iowa’s state bird is actually the eastern goldfinch, also known as the American goldfinch.
  

Kansas

• Nicknames: Sunflower State
  The cheerful sunflower is the official state flower of Kansas. It appears on the state flag and crops up in rolling fields of blooming wildflowers throughout the state, inspiring Kansas’ most popular nickname, the Sunflower State.

Kentucky

• Nickname: Bluegrass State
  The most common nickname for Kentucky references its famed tall grass with a blue cast. Though bluegrass is actually green, in the spring, it produces blue buds that make fields of the grass seem blue-tinged from afar. Bluegrass is a genre that was declared Kentucky’s official state music, along with its other state symbols, including its famous official state foods. [KC – Um, I don’t think bourbon classifies as “food.”]
  

Louisiana

• Nickname: Pelican State
  Louisiana is so proud of its distinctive brown pelican that it put the bird on the state flag, seal, and U.S. mint bicentennial quarter.

Maine

• Nickname: Pine Tree State
  Some of the most enchanting forests in the country grow in Maine, and this claim to fame has inspired many emblems of Maine. The state nickname is the Pine Tree State, and a pine tree is featured on Maine’s flag, seal and in the background of the state quarter. The white pine is the state tree, and the white pinecone and tassel is the state flower of Maine.
  

Maryland

• Nicknames: Old Line State
  The exact origins of Maryland’s nickname, the Old Line State, have been muddled over the centuries, though one widely accepted story is that the "old line" was a term of affection bestowed by General George Washington to the state’s line troops who courageously served in the Revolutionary War.

Kara Church | Technical Editor, Advisory | Technical Publications

Pronouns: she/her | Call via Teams | jackhenry.com

Editor’s Corner Archives: https://episystechpubs.com/

Hello, all!

Last year I did a series of Editor’s Corner articles about state names and where they came from. Here’s the first one: State Names. I’m not sure what I was looking at recently, but I found another page about state nicknames, that they described as “funky.” Well, I disagree that these are funky, but I might have a high funk factor.

These are not all of the nicknames. Some have been put aside because they were, well, offensive. I’m going to do ten states at a time, and just concentrate on the nicknames and their stories. I’ve trimmed a bit here and there, but I’m including the website link.

From Explore:

Alabama

• Nicknames: The Heart of Dixie, Yellowhammer State, The Cotton State

Alabama doesn’t have an official nickname, but it got the nickname "the Yellowhammer State" during the Civil War. A company of Alabama soldiers wore uniforms trimmed with yellow, which earned them comparisons with the yellowhammer bird, which has bright yellow feathers underneath its wings and tail. Also known as a flicker woodpecker, the yellowhammer is the state bird of Alabama.

Alaska

• Nicknames: The Last Frontier, Land of the Midnight Sun
  Alaska’s official nickname is the Last Frontier. It is the least densely populated of the U.S. states and draws adventurous visitors eager to explore its wild, breathtaking landscapes.

Arizona

• Nickname: Grand Canyon State
  One of America’s world-famous landmarks is the Grand Canyon, located in northern Arizona. The state has embraced its iconic natural wonder and adopted the Grand Canyon State as its official nickname.

Arkansas

• Nickname: The Natural State
  Arkansas officially adopted the nickname the Natural State in 1995 to celebrate the state’s stunning natural scenery. Prior to that, Arkansas had two different official nicknames: the Wonder State from 1923 to 1947 and the Land of Opportunity from 1947 to 1995. [KC – My natural state is not exactly something you’d take a photo of for stunning scenery!]

California

• Nickname: Golden State
  One of the first nicknames for California was the Eldorado State, inspired by the legendary city of gold. Once gold was discovered there, California became synonymous with gold mining. The state is also known for its beautiful flowers, including the golden yellow poppies that bloom there each spring.
  

Colorado

• Nickname: Centennial State
  A fun fact that history buffs might know is that Colorado is nicknamed the Centennial State because it joined the Union in 1876, 100 years after the adoption of the Declaration of Independence.

Connecticut

• Nickname: Constitution State
  Connecticut’s official nickname is the Constitution State, even though Delaware was the first state to ratify the U.S. Constitution in 1787. Instead, the state claims to have the first written constitution in U.S. history with the state’s founding document, the Fundamental Orders of Connecticut, written in 1639. It is also sometimes called the Nutmeg State.

Delaware

• Nicknames: First State, Diamond State, Small Wonder
  Delaware doesn’t let Connecticut hog the history spotlight, as its nickname references the fact that it was the first state to ratify the U.S. Constitution.

Florida

• Nickname: Sunshine State
  The Sunshine State was adopted as Florida’s official nickname in 1970. The state has a toasty tropical and subtropical climate and an average 230 days of sunshine a year, making it a popular beach destination

Georgia

• Nicknames: Peach State, Empire State of the South
  Georgia’s most popular nickname is the Peach State, in reference to its official state fruit and the importance of the produce to the state’s agricultural economy.
  

So, there you have the first ten! I hope you learned something new!

Kara Church | Technical Editor, Advisory | Technical Publications

Pronouns: she/her | Call via Teams | jackhenry.com

Editor’s Corner Archives: https://episystechpubs.com/

I was just hunting around for something interesting (some might call that “surfing the net”) and I saw an article called “Ten Awesome Historical Words We Should Bring Back.” Sometimes these sites are just a little stuffy for me, but after seeing a couple of the words, I thought they were worth our attention. I was familiar with a couple of them, but the rest were nice surprises. Here they are for your learning pleasure:

fudgel

Definition: To “fudgel” means pretending to work without actually accomplishing anything.
Example: “Gilbert spent Friday afternoon fudgeling at his desk, while counting down the hours until the weekend.”

grufeling

Definition: Often used in ridicule, to be “grufeling” is to wrap yourself up and lie down comfortably.
Example: “Want to Netflix and grufel tonight?”

callipygian

Definition: “Callipygian” is an antiquated, and maybe more polite, way of saying someone has a nice “rear end.”
Example: “That callipygian woman seems to have inspired a sudden interest in fitness and wellbeing.”

lanspresado

Definition: A “lanspresado” is someone who conveniently shows up without any money.
Example: “There’s no excuse for lanspresados, now that everyone has a credit card.”

[KC – This sounds like a mansplaining desperado.]

pannychis

Definition: The word might not sound like fun, but “pannychis” is defined as an all-night feast or ceremony.
Example: “What a wild pannychis last night! Let’s do it again next weekend!”

philogrobilized

Definition: “Philogrobilized” is how people used to describe a hangover without admitting to having been drinking.
Example: “I’m not hungover. I’m just philogrobilized.”

expergefactor

Definition: “Expergefactor” is a complicated, catch-all term to describe anything that wakes you up.
Example: “Sorry I’m late, my expergefactor (alarm clock) didn’t go off this morning."

frobly-mobly

Definition: “Frobly-mobly” means exactly how it sounds: so-so, feeling neither well nor unwell. [KC – There are many phrases like this in different languages, and the meaning is the same: so so. Some examples: así así (Spanish), comme ci comme ça (French), έτσι κι έτσι (Greek, which sounds like “etsi-ketsi”). Let me know if there are others!]

Example: “At best, Dave was feeling frobly-mobly that morning. Then, he had a coffee.”

twattling

Definition: “Twattling” is another word for idle gossip.
Example: “Their texts showed a record of twattling that went back several weeks.”

kakistocracy

Definition: “Kakistocracy” is a forgotten word that describes an unqualified and incompetent government.
Example: “Our reliable system of checks and balances will prevent a kakistocracy.”

Note: I did look up some of the words so I could help with pronunciation, but I was sent to the Oxford English Dictionary (OED) and I don’t have a subscription, so they wouldn’t let me in. I checked to see if I should subscribe, but at $100 a year that’s more of an investment. We’ll just have to guess at how they would’ve pronounced pannychis five hundred years ago.

Kara Church | Technical Editor, Advisory | Technical Publications

Pronouns: she/her | Call via Teams | jackhenry.com

Editor’s Corner Archives: https://episystechpubs.com/

Good morning, dear people. One of my favorite newsletters is called A.Word.A.Day by a fellow named Anu Garg. He picks a theme and then each day of the week elaborates on the words he’s chosen. Well, a week or so ago, he chose “mail.” Here’s how he introduced the topic:

…There are many kinds of mails:

• Email and postal mail, from Old French malle (bag)
• Chain mail, an armor made of interlinked rings, from Old French maile (loop)
• Blackmail, from Middle English male (rent or tribute)

These three types of mails are homonyms—they have the same spelling and pronunciation—but they are distinct words with distinct origins.

I happen to have a thing for chain mail, maybe because my brother was a metal worker and artist, maybe because I love knights and castles. Whatever it is, I’d like to share bits and pieces of Anu’s articles (and the words and origins about mail) with you. Oh, and I’d also like to reveal this aluminum chain mail armor (only $200 on eBay):

snail mail
noun: The physical delivery of letters and other material. Also, a piece of such mail.
verb tr., intr.: To send a letter or other material by the postal system.

From snail, known for its sluggishness, from Old English snægl + mail, from Old French malle (bag). Earliest documented use: 1929.

greenmail

noun: The practice of buying a large quantity of a company’s stock as a means of hostile takeover, then selling it back to the company at a higher price.
verb tr.: To subject a company to this tactic.

From green (money), from greenback (US currency note, from the color of its printing) + mail (as in blackmail), from Middle English male (rent or tribute), from Old English mal (agreement, pay), from Old Norse mal (agreement). Earliest documented use: 1983.

postal

adjective:
1. Relating to the mail or the post office.
2. Very angry, insane, or violent.

From French poste, from the posting of horse riders at intervals to transport letters along a route. Earliest documented use: sense 1: 1842, sense 2: 1993.

In the 1980s and 1990s, a series of unconnected shootings by disgruntled workers of the U.S. Postal Service (USPS) led to the phrase “going postal.” This term highlights extreme anger or violence, gaining prominence despite the homicide rate at USPS being only a fraction of that in the general workplace. With over half a million employees at the USPS, these incidents notably stood out.

mailed fist

noun: A threat or show of force to maintain control.

[KC – I was expecting something like “Backpfeifengesicht —
a face that’s badly in need of a fist.”]

Translation of German gepanzerte Faust (mailed fist), from Panzer (armor) + Faust (fist). The word mail here is an armor made of interlinked rings, as in chain mail, from Old French maile (loop). Earliest documented use: 1897.]

[KC – There is actually a modern day use for this: cleaning meat slicers. Do they supply these in most delis? No. Should they? Definitely! I was
cleaning a slicer once, and we used our bare hands, a sponge, and usually the floor was wet. I nicked a vein and, well, I didn’t finish my shift that night. In another deli, we had these chain mail gloves, and they were amazing.]

graymail

Formed on the pattern of blackmail, using “gray” to denote something that is indeterminate or falls into a “gray area”. The word mail here (as in blackmail) is from Middle English male (rent or tribute), from Old English mail (agreement, pay), from Old Norse mal (agreement). Earliest documented use: 1978.

Thanks for joining me to learn about all of the different types of mail there are!

Kara Church | Technical Editor, Advisory | Technical Publications

Pronouns: she/her | Call via Teams | jackhenry.com

Editor’s Corner Archives: https://episystechpubs.com/

Hi, readers.

I really enjoy working with all the folks who submit writing to be reviewed. I interact with a lot of really smart people, and I’m always learning about various aspects of what we do and how we do it here at Jack Henry. When you send documents in to the editors, we try to be consistent in our changes so we can achieve that “One Jack Henry” look and feel we’re all striving for. One regular but very small change we might make is changing “prior to” to “before.”

You may wonder why we’d make this small, seemingly insignificant change. Well, I already mentioned the first reason—consistency. The more consistent we are in all our changes, the closer we are to a clear One Jack Henry voice. We try to use the simplest, most direct phrasing. And even though it’s only one word shorter, before is simpler and more direct.

And that leads to the second reason: prior to is a two-word phrase and before is a single word. In our line of work and in our documentation, we try to use the fewest words we can while still being absolutely clear and concise. There are many similar examples of short phrases that can be revised to a one-word phrase (“in order to” becomes “to,” “a majority of” becomes "most,” “at a later date” becomes “later”), and believe me, these “deadwood phrases” as they’re known, can add up in a document and make it feel very stodgy.

There is also a grammar-related justification for using before. Grammar purists say that we should not use prior to because prior means earlier and you wouldn’t say earlier to; ergo, you should not say prior to.

And the final justification comes from Merriam-Webster (our dictionary of choice). They say that prior to is often thought of as “pompous or affected,” which I think is why some folks use it—they believe it is more professional. For our purposes, however, before does the trick. It’s shorter, more direct, and definitely grammatically correct.

Here are a few sample sentences to clarify:

If you have any questions, you know where to find me. Go on now, have a lovely day.

Donna Bradley Burcher |Technical Editor, Advisory | jack henry

Pronouns she/her/hers

9660 Granite Ridge Drive, San Diego CA 92123

Symitar Education Resources (sharepoint.com)

About Editor’s Corner

Editor’s Corner keeps your communication skills sharp by providing information on grammar, punctuation, JHA style, and all things English. As editors, we spend our days reading, researching, and revising other people’s writing. We love to spend a few extra minutes to share what we learn with you and keep it fun while we’re doing it.

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Good morning, folks!

I hope you are all enjoying some bright spring weather, though San Diego is notoriously gray in May. And then there was one of my last meetings during which the attendees were receiving tornado warnings, which beat out gray skies any day.

But enough of that. It’s starting to reach travel season: kids are getting out of school and parents are thinking about the PTO they need to use. I keep thinking about where to go for a short trip, and an article recently caught my eye: the 15-Minute City.

I thought, “Wow, that’s not saying much. It must be a really tiny place without much to do.” And that, my friends, is why I don’t rely upon my first guess at what something is about.

Here is the short definition of a 15-minute city:

A 15-minute city is a city in which a person can reach any necessity within a 15-minute walk or bicycle ride.

The 15-minute city is a concept in urban planning and development that attempts to limit the amount of vehicle traffic and urban sprawl. The goal of the 15-minute city strategy is to ensure essential services, such as grocery stores and healthcare facilities, are within a 15-minute walk or bike ride of any citizen living in the city. The strategy focuses on efficiency and convenience while minimizing traffic congestion and dependency on cars.

It is an interesting concept, and if you read the entire article you will see that COVID made the idea more prevalent. I like to think of my neighborhood like the 15-minute city, because we are a bus ride from downtown, close to the doctor’s office and veterinarian, restaurants, parks, and the grocery store.

I suppose a 15-minute city is good for some things, like being close to what you need, not having to rely on driving to get there, and improving the planet’s environment. But traveling to other places is such a joy! I guess we’ll just have to wait and see what happens!

Kara Church | Technical Editor, Advisory

Pronouns: she/her | Call via Teams | jackhenry.com

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Mother’s Day is just around the corner, and I’m feeling family friendly (not unusual), so I’m going to share some not-so-familiar familial words that I’ve gathered from here and there.

We’re all acquainted with the common familial words like mother, father, sister, brother—even sibling. But there are other words, new and old, that are less common. Those are the words I’m sharing today.

I’m going to start off slow and easy with a few words you probably know. These words are all derived from the word kin, which is a noun that indicates a group of people of common ancestry:

• kinkeeping (noun): the labor involved in maintaining and enhancing family ties, including organizing social occasions, remembering birthdays, sending gifts, etc.
• kinsperson (noun): a gender-neutral word for kinswoman or kinsman; a person who shares common ancestry
• kinship (noun): the quality or state of being related by common ancestry; also, of the same kind of nature—having affinity

And now I’ll move to a fairly new word that I love:

• nibling (noun): a gender-neutral word for niece or nephew

I’ll follow that amusing word with a couple of uncommon but noteworthy words:

• agnate (noun): a relative whose kinship is traceable exclusively through males
• enate (noun): a relative whose kinship is traceable exclusively through females

And finally, some older words that are completely new to me but oh-so-interesting.
Disclaimer: you may not find these words in the dictionary; I found them in an online publication called The Week. Click here to read more about each word.

• fadu: your father’s sister (Old English made a distinction between maternal and paternal aunts and uncles)
• modrige: your mother’s sister
• fœdra: your father’s brother
• avuncle: your mother’s brother
• patruel: child of your paternal uncle; also a child of your own brother
• brother-uterine: your half-brother from the same mother
• double cousin: full cousin, sharing all four grandparents—occurs when a pair of sisters marry a pair of brothers
• machetonim: the parents of your child’s spouse

And that does it! I want to wish all of you mothers, grandmothers, and mother figures a very happy Mother’s Day. ❤️🌺🌷

Donna Bradley Burcher |Technical Editor, Advisory | jack henry

Pronouns she/her/hers

9660 Granite Ridge Drive, San Diego CA 92123

Symitar Education Resources (sharepoint.com)

About Editor’s Corner

Editor’s Corner keeps your communication skills sharp by providing information on grammar, punctuation, JHA style, and all things English. As editors, we spend our days reading, researching, and revising other people’s writing. We love to spend a few extra minutes to share what we learn with you and keep it fun while we’re doing it.

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Tis the season for packing a bag and going somewhere new and exciting…or maybe not. I was in a meeting the other day and someone mentioned a website called Pack Up and Go, a vacation planner you give your budget and details to (where you’ve been lately, what kind of vacation you like, how long you want to be away, etc.), and they plan your holiday. The clincher is that to save some money, you don’t know where they’re going to send you!

I don’t know, it sounds kind of fun to me. There are so many beautiful places in the world…it could be a blast!

Anyway, I thought that this dictionary.com article might be neat, too. It’s called Pack Your Bags! 6 Current Travel Slang Terms to Take on Your Next Trip. I’m just going to sum it up for you, though, because it wasn’t as “neat” as I expected it to be.

baecation

The word baecation simply refers to any vacation spent with your bae, your romantic partner.

Baecation is formed similarly to the word staycation–meaning a vacation where someone stays home–which has become a mainstay of travel lingo. [KC – I give it one star. It was invented for marketing and it’s lame.]

friendcation

As you might have guessed, the term friendcation refers to a vacation spent with friends.

As with baecation, friendcation is simply a hybrid construction that combines the word friend with the ending of the word vacation.

[KC – I give it half a star. C’mon. Where’s the imagination? And how hard is it to say, “I’m going on vacation with friends.”]

eduvacation

You know something that goes great with a vacation? Learning! The term eduvacation refers to a vacation or trip that involves learning about things. The term is broadly used and could refer to a wide variety of vacation destinations and activities, such as a trip to a famous museum, a tour of a cultural historic site, or a safari that teaches about animals.

[KC – Better! I give this term four stars because I’m biased. I love learning about people, places, and things on my vacations. Even if I’m chilling out with my parents
in Puerto Vallarta in the same place they go each year, there is always Spanish to practice and new things to learn.]

familymoon

A familymoon is a vacation for a newly married couple—and their children.

[KC – No. Just no. Zero stars. If you’re taking your kids, it’s a vacation, not a honeymoon. Separate but equal? Okay. Combining them? Icky.]

gramping

It is time to bridge the generational divide and go gramping. The word gramping refers to grandparents and their grandchildren going on vacation together. While this term can refer to camping trips, it is also used more broadly to refer to any kind of trip or travel that grandchildren spend with their grandparents.

It is formed similarly to the popularly used travel word glamping, which refers to glamorous camping in which a person brings luxuries on a camping trip.

[KC – I guess this article wasn’t for me. First, my dad doesn’t camp, my mom does. So, it would be “nanamping” or something for the grandkids. And I don’t get glamping—either
you want to risk a bear at your tent, or you want to wear lipstick and have cocktails. But at least
glamping is kind of a cute play on words. Gramping 1 star, glamping 3 stars.]

bleisure

Let’s get down to business and … go on vacation? The word bleisure is often used in the phrase “bleisure travel” to refer to a combination of business and leisure travel.

[KC – This sounds more like “blah leisure,” which also goes in the crappola category for me. Go on vacation! Enjoy your leisure. Leave your laptop at home!]

Well, I’m all for vacation and leisure with friends and family, but I think I’m going to do it without these new words. What a stinker I am!

Kara

About Editor’s Corner

Editor’s Corner keeps your communication skills sharp by providing information on grammar, punctuation, JH style, and all things English. As editors, we spend our days reading, researching, and revising other people’s writing. We love to spend a few extra minutes to share what we learn with you and keep it fun while we’re doing it.

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Hello, dear readers!

I’ve been writing articles here for a few years, and sometimes I can’t quite remember what we’ve covered before. I do know I’ve written several Editor’s Corner articles on mondegreens, but it’s been a while. In case you don’t remember, mondegreens are misheard song lyrics. For an extended description, see the Wikipedia article here.

As my husband and I drove out to the desert a few weeks ago, we discussed our favorite mondegreens. They amuse me so much that I think it’s time for more. I apologize if any of these are repeats. These are from two different lists I found while looking for some more modern examples (but a lot of them are still on the old classics list). (Stacker and Hollywoodreporter.com)

I hope you found these funny, or at least amusing. If not, I attached a link to a five-minute Beyonce video, where she has some help with backup dancers at Saturday Night Live.

Kara Church | Technical Editor, Advisory

Pronouns: she/her | Call via Teams | jackhenry.com

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April is a very happy birthday month, with our department celebrating new babies and a lot of birthdays. According to our own Jane Gredvig, “All the best people are born in April.” Before it ends, I’d like to share some words from one of our favorite birthday babies, Shakespeare. His birth date isn’t really known, but history assigns his baptism day as the April 26, so we’ll take it.

The following words are from the article Words Popularized By Shakespeare That We Still Use. I have only included a handful of favorites, to keep it short.

bedazzle

Pardon, old father, my mistaking eyes,
That have been so bedazzled with the sun
That everything I look on seemeth green.

—The Taming of the Shrew (Katherine, 4.5.46–48)

The word bedazzle has since expanded to mean “to impress forcefully, especially so as to make oblivious to faults or shortcomings.”

foulmouthed

… he speaks most vilely of you, like a foul-mouthed man as he is, and said he would cudgel you.

—Henry IV, Part I (Hostess Quickly, 3.3.96–97)

Foulmouthed, sometimes hyphenated as foul-mouthed, describes someone “using obscene, profane, or scurrilous language; given to filthy or abusive speech.” [KC – What’s not to love? I’ll keep myself under control for our time together.]

swagger

… a rascal that swaggered with me last night—who, if alive and ever dare to
challenge this glove, I have sworn to take him a box o’ th’ ear …

—Henry V (Williams, 4.7.114–16)

Hip-hop hitmakers and Shakespeare have a lot in common. They can write sick verses and love the word swagger. By our count, Shakespeare used forms of the word swagger 16 times. For Shakespeare, swaggermeant “to walk or strut with a defiant or insolent air” or “to boast or brag noisily.” It’s based on swag, or “sway,” as a swaggerer may so strut—and extended, by 1990s hip-hop, to “a confident attitude.”

pageantry

… What pageantry, what feats, what shows,
What minstrelsy, and pretty din,
The regent made in Mytilene
To greet the king …

—Pericles (Gower, 22.6–9)

Shakespeare’s pageantry is “the performance or pageants,” a pageant here being “an ornate public spectacle illustrative of the history of a place, institution, or the like, often given in dramatic form or as a procession of colorful floats.” It was the idea of a “spectacle” that led pageantry to its more familiar sense of “a magnificent display”—or an “empty” one, all show and no substance.

You can bedazzle almost anything, even your face!

Kara Church | Technical Editor, Advisory | Technical Publications

Pronouns: she/her | Call via Teams | jackhenry.com

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