Doggedly searching for the crux of the biscuit.
For years, I've used the word nimrod interchangeably for nitwit or dipsh*t without thinking about it. Interestingly, the American Heritage Dictionary has two definitions listed:
1. also Nimrod A hunter.
2. Informal A person regarded as silly, foolish, or stupid.
Etymology: After Nimrod*. Sense 2, probably from the phrase "poor little Nimrod," used by the cartoon character Bugs Bunny to mock the hapless hunter Elmer Fudd.
*In the Bible, a mighty hunter and king of Shinar who was a grandson of Ham and a great-grandson of Noah. Nimrod, "the mighty hunter before the Lord," was the founder of the city of Babylon and a mighty conquering ruler who was worshipped as the Sun god, Baal, in his deified form.
Babylonian sun god to Elmer Fudd. How the mighty have fallen.
TrackBackFunny you should mention. One of the most beautiful pieces I know is Edward Elgar's Nimrod,
from his Enigma Variations. You can hear it at
http://www.kendormusic.com/str2002/mp3/stra02.mp3
Give it a listen--it's lovely--but I have no idea why the title.
And do you remember Janeane Sutphen, the cellist with the Durham symphony who disappeared last January and was found drowned last spring? The Durham symphony played this piece at the performance they did in her honor/memory.
Posted by: ~kkess at January 30, 2004 06:14 PMThis may help:
http://www.elgar.org/3enigma.htm