Word: lifeman
(lookup in dictionary)
(lookup stats)
Dates: all
Sort By: most recent first
(reverse)
...unpublished notebooks of Rilke," says Potter, "there is an unpublished phrase which might be our text, '. . . if you're not one up (Blitzleiscti) you're . . . one down (Rotzleisch).' " In his constant pursuit of One-Upness, the sound Lifeman first of all makes his opponent (i.e., everybody) feel like an idiot child, a boor or a cad (heel, if opponent is an American). To a visitor, the Lifeman remarks: " 'You want a wash, I expect,' in a way which suggested that he had spotted two dirty finger-nails." A rival talker is completely thrown...
...South. Experts of all kinds are the Lifeman's deadly enemies. One simple ploy (or gambit) against them is the Canterbury Block...
...Lifeman happens to be a writer, he knows how to disarm the critics, e.g., one Lifeman dedicated his book "TO PHYLLIS, in the hope that one day God's glorious gift of sight may be restored to her," which made the reviewers feel it would be rude to pan the book. (They did not know that Phyllis was the author's 96-year-old great-grandmother.) Smart writership includes the use of "O.K.-words," e.g., diathesis, mystique, and classique, and deference to O.K. fellow writers, meaning chiefly Kafka and Rilke (who, "it is believed . . . will still be absolutely...
...People Speak. The Travel Expert requires a more complex ploy. Just as the expert is getting into full stride on his visit to Vladivostok, the Lifeman clears his throat...
Potter notes: "No matter how wild Lifeman's quiet insertion may be, it is enough to create a pause, even a tiny sensation . . . To break the winning vein, break the flow...