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Dec 29, 2003

This week's theme
Words related to movies

This week's words
bogart
cinematheque
jeune premier
McGuffin
cineaste

Humphrey Bogart

Photo: Yousuf Karsh/Library and Archives Canada

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Growing up in India, I knew a distant cousin, a teenager, who ran away from home to Bombay (now Mumbai) hoping to become a hero, as movie actors there are called. Sadly, he soon ran out of money, washed dirty plates in restaurants for a while, and duly returned home to his parents. Even movies can't beat home-cooked meals and rent-free accommodation.

While he was ridiculed after his return, I understand his ambition to become an actor, if not the approach he took. After all, some do go on to become heroes on the big screen. And on the bigger screen -- the real life. Some people do become actors and astronauts and firefighters and presidents. How would we know what our calling is unless we try? May you find rewards in doing what you love in the coming year.

Now, back to our regularly scheduled programming. This week we feature words from the world of movies.

bogart

verb tr.:
1. To hog or to take more than the fair share of something.
2. To bully, act tough or to be belligerent.

[After actor Humphrey Bogart (1899-1957) who played tough-guy movie roles.]

"You watch (Marcus) White play in games. He doesn't want one rebound. He wants all the rebounds. ... 'He bogarts a rebound,' Calhoun said."
Jeff Jacobs; Clock Ticking For Huskies; The Hartford Courant; Dec 6, 2003.

"Bill Adler Jr. had the same sort of trouble -- with a squirrel that kept weaseling onto his window-ledge bird feeder and bogarting all the seeds."
David Brooks; Bookshorts: Rodent War, Economic Peace of Mind; THe Wall Street Journal (New York); Jan 26, 1989.

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