For the caller who thought he remembered a "possibly French-sounding" word for the convenient covering-up of the Emperor's naked parts, I found myself wondering if he had been given some form of the word "bowdlerize".
Yep, we received a huge number of calls and emails from folks saying the same thing, Ron. We'll have to take it up in a later episode. *I'd thought the caller was asking specifically for the name of the device itself that performs the function of a fig leaf. But yes, the process and effect itself could indeed be described as bowdlerizing.
If you preface a statement with "I'm not trying to be racist, but…" does that then make it okay? Is there a term for such disclaimer?>>>
I believe that "paralipsis" is the closest term. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apophasis#Paralipsis
martha said:
I'd thought the caller was asking specifically for the name of the device itself that performs the function of a fig leaf.
It is common for people who are ill-at-ease on stage, being photographed, or otherwise unsure of what to do with their hands to stand with their hands clasped down around belt level. My favorite director calls this "the fig-leaf position," and discourages his actors from the habit by interrupting a scene in rehearsal by shouting, "FIG LEAF!"
No, I don't know what the device is called, either.
Peter
I grew up in the Finger Lakes region of New York, and in the late 1950s, early '60s attended a YMCA day camp in which we would spend each day in one of the many state parks in the region. One of the favorite pastimes was boondoggling. One of the counselors was in charge of the Craft Box which, in addition to things like balsa gliders, contained several dozen spools of boondoggle, in a vast choice of colors, sold at a few cents per yard. It was common for us to make lanyards which were worn around the neck to carry whistles, compasses, jackknives, anything that had a loop or ring that could be attached to a spring clip or clasp. I made dozens of zipper pulls, some very complex, comprising many strands of boondoggle. I have never heard of one of these creations called "a boondoggle," although even at the time I was using the stuff I was aware of a boondoggle as a wasteful or unnecessarily complex project or bureaucracy, and wondered if there were a connection.
In addition to patience and manual dexterity, boondoggling was valuable in teaching about visualizing and planning a project and estimating materials. Beyond that, Billy Collins is right.