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Well, that was boring

I had to buy a scanned copy of a 19th C Sussex directory for work and it’s honestly the most boring. I was expecting ads for “Doctor Snodgrass Cocaine Suppositories” and “New! Modern! Electric hernia truss!” but no. This ad was the most interesting, if only for the word “dentifricium.”

We bought it for the directory part, but even that was a bust – it’s scanned but not OCR’ed, so it’s not searchable.

I did learn a new word – vade mecum. Okay, that’s two words. It’s a reference or guide you carry around and refer to constantly. The publisher of this directory also published something called the Letter Writer’s Vade Mecum and advertised it throughout. You can still find copies.

I read a sample. It was dreadful advice.

Have a good weekend, everyone!

Comments


Comment from Anonymous
Time: November 18, 2022, 11:23 pm

What normal person would describe a tooth cleaner as “elegant”?

And who would want to buy tooth cleaner from an abnormal person?

(from forgetful Uncle Al)


Comment from Durnedyankee
Time: November 19, 2022, 11:22 am

If they bought advertising for this in America, the printer would have left one of the i’s out of the word dentifricium.
Probably on purpose, rude little type setting bastards.

Your missing “i” may vary especially if you’re looking for a word that sounds like one Douglas Adams would have used as the name for a character in Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy.
Probably Slartibartfast’s brother.

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