"Tontine" is a fun word.
ton·tine
/ˈtänˌtēn/
noun
- an annuity shared by subscribers to a loan or common fund, the shares increasing as subscribers die until the last survivor enjoys the whole income.
- a life insurance plan in which the beneficiaries are those who survive and maintain a policy to the end of a given period.
Ancient.
1755–65; < French; named after Lorenzo Tonti, Neapolitan banker who started the scheme in France about 1653.
Nice mouth-feel. And fairly obscure. You who know me know I love obscure words. And you just don't see "tontine" in everyday conversation. Ever.
Except, strangely enough, in the last two days, in two places. Even stranger, from two different Liberal media sources.
The odds of this happening coincidentally?
At least as long as drawing to a Royal Fizbin.
The first "tontine" was on this very blog just two days ago!
And the second?
That was Keith Olbermann. Today:
Olbermann [referring to the New York Times' one last, godawful, drive-by election headline]:
"Win or Lose, Trump Has Already Won.” How about "Win or Lose, Cancer Has Already Won” or maybe the New York Times -- and I assume they're just trolling us now or they have a bet -- a tontine -- as to who gets the Times when everybody else is no longer subscribed. The last subscriber gets the paper. I don't know...
Y'know, Keith, the next time you drop by for a quick read, leave a comment :-)
It don't cost nuthin'.
5 comments:
There was also a Mash episode in which Col. Potter receives a bottle of wine, from his WWI days.
Scavenging.
Olbermann, and others like him, tell themselves that you ought to feel honored, though they do not honor you. Of course, if they did that, they'd be cool. Your existence tells them what they aren't, so they cannot acknowledge it.
In a way, thematically, it looks to me like you're maybe only 2 or at most 3 degrees of separation from a dangerous situation. Though I've been certain Harris will win for months, and certain she will win big for weeks.
Back in 2006, Andrew Sullivan posted something much like a posting by billmon on Whiskey Bar a couple days before. He didn't give his usual hat-tip acknowledgement. Details on request.
Whiskey Bar was a first-rate blog.
You'll always be MY #1!
I missed that on KO’s episode today! Nice catch. Y’know, he and Brother Pierce are buds.
Keep up the good work, Mr Glass
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