Word: hiccuped
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...hiccup is an involuntary contraction of the diaphragm that causes an abrupt intake of breath. An instant later, and also involuntarily, the opening in the larnyx (the glottis) closes and cuts off the flow of air, thus creating the audible hic. To most persons, it is merely annoying. But if it continues for days, it can be seriously weakening, as it was in 1954 for Pope Pius XII. More common and at least as worrisome is the effect on patients undergoing surgery, especially on the torso. The spasms complicate the surgeon's delicate maneuvers; during postoperative recovery, they...
...appear ironic." More important, when greeting a woman, kiss her hand and address her as "Madame" rather than call her comrade and raise a clenched fist in a party salute. Reflecting Communism's cramped living quarters and flimsy walls, the Red Emily Post also advises: "Try not to hiccup." Why? "You will disturb the neighbors...
...with audiences primarily because they were anthropomorphic, hilarious because they were so incongruous. The loose-limbed, dim-witted dog Pluto was an unequal match for a piece of flypaper. Goofy was also a dog, but with more human attributes, who introduced each of his maundering reflections with a delicate hiccup. He starred in a series of "how to" films in which he lamentably embarked on the study of every sport from football to horseback riding. After Mickey, the most famous character was, of course, that choleric, put-upon, slap-stuck Donald Duck, easily the most ridiculously funny fellow ever...
...which John-O replied with the spontaneity of a hiccup: "Making a date...
...Last Hiccup. After the last hiccup sounded, around midnight, the House approved the bill, 245 to 138, and adjourned at 12:51 a.m. By then, most of the hundred waiting wives had flounced off indignantly on their own-some of them party-bound, but more headed for home. Bouncy little Carl Albert, the Democratic majority leader, announced: "The party's still on." Most of the Republicans were in too black a mood for celebration after the 14-hour session. Growled one G.O.P. member: "You wouldn't find me dead near the White House...