A follow-up on cuckoldry, and hand gestures...

I have previously mentioned an informal habit of mine, of consciously "assigning" tasks to my subconscious, particularly in matters related to the recollection of things forgotten.

Yesterday, while frittering away time on some lines from Onegin, a phrase came to mind ("the horns of ..."), which I was sure were associated with cuckoldry, as the phrase describes a gesture - a fist with index and pinky fingers extended - that is associated (mostly in Europe, I guess) with this form of marital infidelity.

However, a Google search turned up nothing, which puzzled me. After giving the matter a good, long think, I concluded the last word - which I knew was a name - started with "A" (and very likely "As" or "Ar") and had the syllabic rhythm da-da-DA-da or da-da-DA-da-da. (BTW, this fragmentary recollection of a forgotten name is common for me, e.g, "You remember that guy... big fella... his last name starts with a 'B'... three syllables?")

This morning, after being duly awakened by the four-legged contingent, and after feeding them and making coffee, I still couldn't recall the name, but as I sat down at the computer to check an eBay auction, the name came to me: Asmodeus.

The horns of Asmodeus.

Google confirmed this, and even provided a link to a usage in Robert Heinlein's Magic, Inc.:

A knife showed up in his right hand; with his left hand he was warding off the evil eye, the first and little fingers pointed at me, making the horns of Asmodeus.

But as a number of Google hits are quick to point out, "the horns of Asmodeus" come from Persian mythology, and are - as Heinlein describes - a gesture used to ward off evil.

Still, the gesture is used - I've seen it used - in the context of cuckoldry, and so I dug a little deeper.

Some time ago, I picked up a fascinating Dictionary of Phrase and Fable at the Half-Price Bookstore in Clear Lake, Texas. The book was first published in 1870 and the edition I picked up was a Wordsworth Reference, revised by Ivor H. Evans.

The entry for Asmodeus confirms the Persian angle, noting that this evil demon appears in the Apocryphal book of Tobit, in which he causes the death of seven husbands in succession, each on his bridal night, and hence, "often figures as the spirit of matrimonial jealousy or unhappiness."

Curiosity is relieved. Now on to more serious work; the Next Big Job™ awaits!

Cheers...

Keeping a low profile...

Today is not my day for idly browsing the Web, since entirely too many people seem fixated on pulling off The Next Great April Fool's Prank™ and my ability to maintain a healthy skepticism about what I read on this medium is shaky enough as it is.

I managed to make up some of the translation shortfall from yesterday, but the Next Big Job™ is turning out to be a drag, so it's taking a little longer for my head to get into the swing of things. I'm prepared to call it a day, but should I choose to come back down to the office later, I will consider any additional text translated as a bonus for the day.

* * *Galina and I watched The Hurt Locker yesterday, and although I found the film watchable, and experienced a pang of schadenfreude when thinking of Avatar, I sort of wondered what all the hullaballoo was about. It seemed a very slice-of-life kind of story (and of an ugly life, at that), not at all entertaining in itself, in which nobody seems to change, either for the better or the worse. (However, for a buck from the Redbox kiosk, it was certainly worth the price of admission, so to speak.)

Oh, my! Look at the time! Dinner, anyone?

Cheers...