tools of ignorance
n.— «Bresnahan’s shin guards were the final pieces of the “tools of ignorance,” that great descriptive phrase for the catcher’s equipment. There are conflicting stories about who came up with that wonderful moniker: Some sources credit Herold “Muddy” Ruel, a Senators catcher who caught for Walter Johnson and later became a lawyer. The more likely—and earlier—story, from the “Diamond Jargon” column in the August 1939 issue of Baseball Magazine accepts Yankee catcher Bill Dickey as the true author. Dickey supposedly coined the term while donning his gear and brooding over why anyone would want to be a catcher in July heat. I like the Dickey story because it was published sixteen years before the Ruel claim.» —by Vince Staten Why Is The Foul Pole Fair? Apr. 1, 2003. (source: Double-Tongued Dictionary)
Further reading
Imagine telling someone how to get to your home, but without using the name of your street, or any other street within ten miles. Could you do it? We take street names for granted, but these words are useful for far more, like applying for a job or...
Samantha Harvey’s novel Orbital is a sensuous, exhilarating meditation about the strangeness of life on a space station, with its mix of tedious tasks and jaw-dropping views. And: a musician who rode the rails in his youth shares the slang he...
Mr. Staten: I am trying to find personal information and your e-mail/web site. Please provide this information at your earliest possible convenience. Sincerely, Jill Mayer