Names mean things: Ms. Wash

General

I noticed this a few weeks ago.

I have eliminated the first name to protect the privacy of the woman to whom this name belongs.

I saw this name at a medical clinic — for a woman who schedules colonoscopies, which made me think of colonics.

And the secretary’s surname is Wash.

I do not believe that it is a coincidence that Ms. Wash has been involved with colonoscopies.

Names mean things.

Names mean things: Dr. Hamburg

General

My wife noticed this one.

U.S. President Obama nominated a woman by the name of Margaret A. Hamburg to be Administrator of the FDA.

That is the Food and Drug Administration.

And the nominee’s surname is almost Hamburger.

I do not believe that it is a coincidence that Dr. Hamburg has been involved with food issues.

Names mean things.

Nouns, Plurals

When I saw this morning that today was March 15, I thought of the statement “Beware the ides of March.”

This statement, which refers to the 15th of March, is from a soothsayer in Shakespeare’s play Julius Caesar.

But I still wondered about the origin of the plural noun “ides”, so I looked up the word at dictionary.com.

And I learned a few things.

The word “ides” is from the ancient Roman calendar and dates back to approximately 1330.
The word “ides” refers not only to the 15th of March but also to the 15th of May, July, and October.
The word “ides” refers to the 13th of every other month in the ancient Roman calendar.
Eight days in each month collectively are known as the ides, but only the final one (e.g., the 15th of March) gets to be called specifically the “ides” of that month. The day before a month’s “ides” day is called “the day before the ides”, two days before a month’s “ides” day can be called “two days before the ides”, and so on.

Snooping around the Web some more, I learned that astrologists also care about the ides.

So now I am wondering whether we should be careful about May 15, July 15, and October 15, too.

That is what I get for being inquisitive!