Word: ancient
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Dates: during 1980-1989
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When Harold Washington was elected mayor of Chicago last spring, he boldly vowed to break the "ancient, decrepit and creaking machine" that has controlled the city for decades. In turn, the machine forces, led by Alderman Edward Vrdolyak, chairman of the Cook County Democratic Party, declared war on Washington...
...English, who have flirted with Beatles music and the leveling principle, have returned to their ancient heritage of snobbism. They worship their ancestors and buy The Official Shane Ranger Handbook and dream of country houses and old money. They have a look, both wistful and satirical, at the Duke of Bedford's Book of Snobs, with its indispensable advice: "A tiara is never worn in a hotel, only at parties arranged in private houses or when royal ladies are present." They think longingly of the right public school, the right regiment, the right club (Whites, if possible, or Boodles...
...torts? Flying briefs? What can the other trappings be? Well, "Ooh-sha-la-la." And "Ah-a-ah-a-a-ha." And, inextremis, after all other ancient echoes of Top 40 radio have been exhausted, there is always that lonely, sibilant warbling that sounds like a dance-band leader whistling inside a diving bell...
...traditional cooking under challenge is usually described as la vera, antica cucina italiana, the true, ancient Italian cuisine. It consists of some 20 distinctive regional cooking styles that, for all their diversity, share a profusion of superb vegetables, game, fish and meat (Italians are the world's leading consumers of veal). Instead of aiming for symphonic blends of flavors, Italian cooking pays primary attention to natural tastes and textures and fresh ingredients. Pasta and in some regions rice dishes are an essential part of the vera cucina. Its dishes are characterized by locally produced sausages, hams, cheese, breads...
...rage and honor is expressed by the blade of a Japanese officer's sword. Firing squads shoot blanks at condemned men; Japanese soldiers are decapitated as part of the hara-kiri ceremony; Geneva conventions are defied with a twitch of the captain's jaw muscle-all as ancient rituals of purification...