Earliest known use of ‘nincompoop’ is from 1680--and apparently used in 1694 by Thomas d’Urfey in the Comical History of Don Quixote.  Rapscallion seems to be a purely linguistic adaptation from ‘rascallion’, from French ‘rascaille’ (a very low-order of French soldier), translated into English rascal, and all from ‘rash’ meaning impetuous.  A rapscallion, of course, is a rogue and a scalawag, familiar from movies about gambling and riverboats.  For scalawag, the Online Etymology Dictionary says the following:  “disreputable fellow,” 1848, American English, originally in trade union jargon, of uncertain origin, perhaps an alteration of Scottish scallag “farm servant, rustic” (by influence of wag “habitual joker”).  An early recorded sense was “undersized or worthless animal” (1854), which suggests an alteration of Scalloway, one of the Shetland Islands, in reference to little Shetland ponies.  In U.S. history, used from 1862 of anti-Confederate native white Southerners.”  Scalawag and rapscallion are both associated with the American South, and therefore their reference to disreputable types was firmly grounded in the political.  Nincompoops, however, are politically neutral.  https://aneardepthexperience.wordpress.com/2013/01/20/nincompoops-rapscallions-and-scalawags/

“The feds stay at those three-hundred-dollar-a-night resort places with the big golf courses.  I went out with some FBI agents and knocked the ball in all eighteen holes.  It wasn’t hard, but once you’ve done it, I don’t know why you’d want to do it again.”  The First Eagle, thirteenth crime fiction novel in the Joe Leaphorn/Jim Chee Navajo Tribal Police series by Tony Hillerman

gaslight  noun  (Britain, historical)  A lamp which operates by burning piped illuminating gas.  The light produced by the burning gas in such a lamp. 

gaslight  verb  (transitive)  To manipulate (someone) psychologically such that they question their own memory, perception, and sanity, thereby evoking in them cognitive dissonance and low self-esteem.  The stage play Gas Light by the English playwright and novelist Patrick Hamilton, from which the verb is derived, premiered in London on December 5, 1938.  In its 1940 and 1944 film adaptations, a husband attempts to convince his wife and others that she is insane by manipulating small elements of their environment.  https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/gaslight#English

The Broad Breasted White is commercially the most widely used breed of domesticated turkey.  These birds have shorter breast bones and larger breasts, sometimes rendering them unable to breed without human assistance (typically via artificial insemination).  They produce more breast meat and their pin feathers are less visible when the carcass is dressed due to their white color.  These properties have made the breed popular in commercial turkey production but enthusiasts of slow food argue that the development of this breed and the methods in commercial turkey production have come at a cost of less flavor.  These birds are grown in large, fully automated grow-out barns, which may house as many as 10,000 birds.  Average birds are typically 38-40 lbs.  Because of their size, they are flightless.  Breasted Whites have a very high percentage of their eggs hatch, which makes turkey eggs as a food item a rare delicacy.  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Broad_Breasted_White_turkey 

Kwame Dawes Assumes Stewardship of “American Life in Poetry” Column by BRITTLE PAPER  January 06, 2021   Kwame Dawes will be running the renowned “American Life in Poetry” newspaper column from January 2021 onward.  The “American Life in Poetry” column is a free weekly column that was started by Ted Kooser, the thirteenth Poet Laureate of the United States, in 2005.  The column features a poem by a contemporary American poet along with a brief introduction to the poem.  https://brittlepaper.com/2021/01/kwame-dawes-assumes-stewardship-of-american-life-in-poetry-column/ 

Though Americans often think of cornbread and corn pudding as original Southern specialties, getting corn onto colonial tables was not as easy as pumpkin pie.  In the beginning, European prejudice labeled corn as a “heathan graine” unfit for consumption.  But it wasn’t long before the settlers were forced to put aside their judgments of Native Americans’ diets, as they could not afford to ignore the benefits of the easy-growing, nutritious crop.  First they integrated the grain into feed for their livestock, but by the 18th century, corn pudding and other corn preparations graced even the tables of the upper class.  https://www.atlasobscura.com/foods/corn-knives

To make Roast Beef Debris, a chuck roast is braised and slow cooked in a garlic-flavored liquid until it gets fall-apart tender.  A portion of the cooking liquid is boiled down until it thickens and its flavor intensifies.  Then it serves as gravy for the meat.  Good on bread for sandwich or poured over potatoes or rice.  https://spicysouthernkitchen.com/roast-beef-debris/

The 15-minute city is defined by its ability to provide access to all human needs by walking or bicycling for a quarter hour or less.  Transit should be provided within the 15-minute city, but cannot accurately define its scale.  The 15-minute city is gaining significant traction politically and in planning circles, but what does it mean?  Definitions vary, and there is so much slack in the concept—depending on what transportation modes are included—that even conventional suburban sprawl might qualify under some circumstances.  See also https://www.15minutecity.com/about and https://www.ft.com/content/c1a53744-90d5-4560-9e3f-17ce06aba69a and https://www.fastcompany.com/90563920/this-map-tells-you-if-you-live-in-a-15-minute-city  Thank you, Muse reader!  The Muser lives in a “15-minute neighborhood.”

February 26 birthdays

1564 – Christopher Marlowe, English playwright, poet and translator (d. 1593)

1802 – Victor Hugo, French author, poet, and playwright (d. 1885)

1808 – Nathan Kelley, American architect, designed the Ohio Statehouse (d. 1871)

1829 – Levi Strauss, German-American fashion designer, founded Levi Strauss & Co. (d. 1902)

1879 – Frank Bridge, English viola player and composer (d. 1941)

1932 – Johnny Cash, American singer-songwriter, guitarist, and actor (d. 2003)  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/February_26 

The greatest happiness of life is the conviction that we are loved--loved for ourselves, or rather, loved in spite of ourselves. - Victor Hugo, novelist and dramatist (26 Feb 1802-1885) 

http://librariansmuse.blogspot.com  Issue 2331  February 26, 2021