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Monday 3 September 2018

Spot the Frippet: something palmary.

Now, this is a personal sort of a thing, but as three examples of something palmary I'd come up with this:

Queen Elizabeth II in March 2015.jpg

and this:

NorthangerPersuasionTitlePage.jpg

and this:

File:LS Buddleja 'Buzz Lavender', plant.jpg
buddleja "Buzz" lavender. Photo by Ptelea

But whether or not you agree, every day spent trying to spot something palmary is a day happier than one not.

Spot the Frippet: something palmary. This word comes from the Latin palmārius, and is to do with the palm of victory. Palms were long believed to make a connection between heaven and earth, and so became the symbol of various gods, and also of the people who worshiped them. This led to Cimon of Athens making part of a monument to the Greek victory at the battle of Eurymedon in the shape of a palm tree (it also enabled him to make a pun, because the Greek for palm tree was phoinix and the defeated enemy were the Phoenicians).

Palm leaves were later given to the winners of races, a habit which spread round the ancient world.

Nowadays, something palmary is something deserving of praise.


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