April 29, 2024
For the life of me, I could not remember the spelling of the French putdown—gauche (pronounced Goe-SH). I tried putting it into search, but I was using the pronunciation of "Go" as in Go-Go and nothing came up. I finally had to call a distinguished professor and ask him how to spell it. He, of course, ripped me for using a French term when there are so many English words that would suffice (his bush league prejudice, not mine). Then his long suffering wife piped up in the background and said, "What do you call a husband who says 'nothing' when you ask him what happened in his day?" to which I replied almost immediately, "That would be the very definition of gauche."
Actually, gauche means lacking ease or grace, being unsophisticated and socially backward. It also can mean left, or clumsy.
Which brings us to gouache (pronounced go-wash) and although it is a type of opaque watercolor that I prefer, I wonder if the two words are cousins?
Gauche vs. Gouache
Awful close in spelling and punctuation.
And, speaking of being close, here is an artist friend weighing in on my Billy at Midnight quest:
"Very strong, Bob. It will be interesting to see if you stop here or continue with the piece."
—Larry Gay
The Reworked Reworking
of A Daily Whip Out (Version 4):
"Billy the Kid at Midnight On The Deadliest Street In America"
I have a distinct skill of overworking everything!
Marshall Trimble in 1946"The only thing in life that’s really worth having is good skill. Good skill is the greatest possession. The things that money buys are fine. They’re good. I like them. I know a lot of rich people. They don’t feel good, as you think they should and would. They’re miserable. Because, if they don’t master a skill, life is unfulfilling. So I work at my skill because if you don’t, in standup comedy, if you don’t do it a lot, you stink.
—Jerry Seinfeld
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