chart.
Today we offer two food related quotes:
“A hot dog at the ball park is better than steak at the Ritz.” – Humphrey Bogart
“The poisonous rhubarb leaf can take down even the most powerful of men.” – Author unknown
How do they relate to each other?
What’s the hidden meaning here?
A prize will be awarded for the best answer.
This article appears in Two if by sea.
*Rhubarb(/i> is the name of a 1950’s era movie about how a cat affected a baseball team:
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0043967/
I don’t know how Bogie fits into all this.*
Rhubarb is a fight at the ballgame.
Hey, wasn’t "rhubarb" one of the slang terms on A Word A Day recently?
Joel, you are correct (and I love Anu Garg), but that’s not the answer I was looking for.
Perhaps the whole post was too obscure. I’ll give y’all a big hint: the answer is directly connected to this week’s cover story.
If you are referring to the charges that some sickos at EPD are directing at the Chief, that ain’t a rhubarb, it is a vicious attack against an honorable man that will be proven to be baseless, but not until a significant amount of grief and expense.
So wrong on both counts, Hank.
?
Chris, First, Hank had nothing to do with this admittedly odd post (thus the "?").
You sort of guessed the answer. This whole thing was inspired by something I saw as weird:
If you read this week’s Journal cover story, you know that former Eureka PD PIO Suzie Owsley is challenging her reassignment and in a federal employment court, claiming it was retaliation by Chief Nielsen. It may be jumping to conclusions, but I’d say she’s among the "small group of employees who may never come to terms with some of the changes our municipal leaders are seeking within the Police Department" referenced in this week’s Grand Jury Report. (See Hank’s post: " Grand Jury Clears Nielsen.")
Since leave the EPD, Owsley began writing a weekly food column in the Times-Standard called Dishing It Out. On Wednesday, the same day the Journal’s "Broken Blue Line" story hit the street, she used the poisonous leaf quote as a prelude a column titled, "What to do with all that rhubarb?"
Incidentally, the quote does not seem to show up anywhere else on the Web aside from in her column and in this post.
Sorry to get prickly, Hank and Bob … it’s just that these allegations of wrongdoing fry my cheese. Garr is in the unenviable position of defending charges by proving something didn’t happen against faceless accusers.
more on rhubarb – from the weekly A-Word-A-Day newsletter:
From: Linda Kerby (kerby blitz-it.net) Subject: Re: A.Word.A.Day–rhubarb Def: A heated dispute; brawl.
A young newspaper editor from a small town in Kansas told me that he was very proud of a certain headline he had composed. It was in reference to President Bush Sr.’s comment that he would not eat broccoli, and the reaction from the agricultural community. Broccoli rhubarb mushrooms
From: Christian Mondrup (reccmo daimi.au.dk) Subject: Rhubarb
The word ‘rhubarb’ reminds me of a related figurative use of the word, ‘rhubarb counterpoint’, within music theory. ‘Rhubarb counterpoint’ is slang for counterpoint where too much goes on at once. It is probably an analogy with a drama technique where the effect of an ongoing background dialogue is achieved by having a number of people saying ‘rhubarb, rhubarb …’, uncoordinated of course. (see) The composer Arnold Schoenberg (1874-1951) characterized the composition technique of his contemporary rival, Igor Stravinsky (1882-1971) as ‘rhubarb counterpoint’. (see)
From: Garry Geer (garry geerphoto.com) Subject: rhubarb
It is also a description of a sound produced when one sticks their tongue out to produce a "razzzing" noise, as a sign of disagreement or displeasure.
From: Noel Burn (noelxburn yahoo.com) Subject: rhubarb
In the UK, "rhubarb!" meaning "poppycock", "nonsense", or "rubbish" has been used for many decades in response to a comment or a dubious statement of supposed fact.
From: Gillian Sweetland (gilliansweetland bigpond.com) Subject: rhubarb
In Australia, we use the term rhubarb as slang for rubbish.
From: Christine Welsh (cwelsh district96.k12.il.us) Subject: Rhubarb
I love the argumentative connotation of the word, "rhubarb"! I grow it in my backyard and occasionally make a pie in which the juices of the tart rhubarb bubble up through a sweet crumb topping. We like to call this delightfully tangy dessert, "Rhubarb & Hubbub".
From: Dave Evans (davee dbsa.org) Subject: Rhubarb
You’ve missed a well-known other use of rhubarb, by the RAF in World War 2 — it was the name of a low-level strike operation mounted against enemy targets in the Occupied Countries – i.e. mainland Europe, usually by ground attack type fighters, e.g. Typhoons, Thunderbolts, in cloudy conditions. Very unpopular with the pilots, as the low level nature resulted in high casualties.