Southwest of Nye County
A man came to avoid the crowd
And elude a public bounty.
There stood a shambled dairy.
But where he built his lair,
Was a run down cemetery
Where the man campaigned for mayor.
"For though your prospects came to harm
I swear I've heard your pleas
I'll bear arms against the worm
And educate the fleas.
"Although your time might have passed
And the reward been won for most
There's no excuse for earthly taxes
Levied on a ghost.
"Though Carson City threatens woe
Against our community,
When I'm mayor of Palmetto
We'll choose our destiny."
He campaigned long and promised bold,
But there's no mayor in that town.
For though the dead endorsed him cold,
The unions turned him down.
-Colonel Fremont
HUSTINGS, n. pl. The stump of a perfectly good hanging tree.
More to the point, the happiest of birthdays to DDDragon! I'll have a kit kat or something in your honor.
26 comments:
i "hustled" and got here first. do i win a prize?
and yes... i DO know the difference between "hustled" and Hustings. the latter is a "platform", the former is what happens to those ON the platform when forced to get off.
grand poem/great post! ; )
Hustings? Is that a word and is it still in use?
I'll take the word hastings instead...thankyouverymuch:
"Battle of Hastings" to be precise, there were a bunch of ghosts there, too.
My aunt used to sell Hushpuppies. Is that similar?
Belgium says hello.
Hustings: platform upon which the current president should be....held accountable.
Had it not been for google I would have been stumpier than the hanging tree stump.
*sigh*
American Heritage came to my rescue...the only thing I have to say is that the next word was Hustle...need I say more...esp. since Neva and TLP have said it all.
I'm with Miz B. I didn't know this word existed. The things I learn here!
Neva, as you pointed out, the difference between noun and verb. Not much else. Your prize is the mayoralty of Palmetto, NV. Sure can use a good sweeping.
1066 and all that, Minka? It's an old word from Britain, but it's still sometimes used by journalists who cover election campaigns. e.g. John McCain does well in the hustings, but badly at the polls.
Bonjour, belgique!
TLP, a hustings is an aspirational scaffold.
Pero mas flaja, hermana.
Mo'a, I'm a Merriam-Webster man, myself. (?)
Jenna, isn't this just a by golly educational website?
HUSTINGS, pl. n. Evidence that the Magic Mirror of Snow White's sorceress Queen has survived into the modern day, and multiplied itself into every Middlesex village and farm.
For what politician promises aught but the answer "You are" to the question "Which electorate is the fairest of them all?"
When was the last time a body of voters elected someone on the promise of blood, toil, tears and sweat"? No, wait, they didn't elect him then either. My bad. Given Churchill's choice of bankruptcy or capitulation for Britain, an electorate would have chosen cotton candy.
Hustings = TV
thinking a Hustings with a trap door might be interesting. especially if it's also equipped with a noose, overhead. or am i just being too practical, hopeful, and/or mean? ; )
Vanity, all is vanity, Amoeba. That goes triple for politicians. Your fairness washes them out. Say, when did you get brit?
Nessa, and under the transitive property of sarcasm tv=stump.
Neva, certainly not too mean. Hanging politicians is a mercy. My favorite line from our favorite show: "I am a sinner without hope of forgiveness but I am not a government official."
amen to that, brother.
ooooooh, and my bad for failing to wish the very talented/lovely/wonderful DDDragon Happy Happy Joy Joy!! i lovelovelove birthdays! (as long as they're not mine.) ; )
"When did I get brit", Dawg? All I can say to that is O Canada and Advance Australia Fair, and, above all, God Defend New Zealand. Which, as the most loyal of Her Majesty's Dominions, still also accepts God Save the Queen.
Speaking of which, ever hear the second verse of GStQ? Says a lot that I suspected about the national character of Old Blighty ...
O Lord our God, arise,
Scatter our enemies,
And make them fall;
Confound their politics,
Frustrate their knavish tricks;
On thee our hopes we fix:
God save us all.
And on my third visit today ...
Happy Birthday Three Dee!
I used neither Webster nor American Heritage to define this word. I used the Honey dictionary. "Honey, what is husting?
Upon learning the meaning of the word, I also realized all the good stuff has already been said.
I'm not familiar with this word, but I AM familiar with the word Palmetto.
They have palmetto trees in SC, and since I love ALL things SC, I love those trees.
Happy b-day to DDD!!!!!! :-)
Happy Birthday and 47 Anniversary 3D!
As for today's word, did you ever think your beloved Soldier Field would become one, Doug?
Happy birthday 3D.
I'll have myself a belly dancing show, in your honour and some Hershey kisses, too ;)
Hustings: What a covert operative says when his face is mashed into the floor and his opponent has no interest in personal hygeine, "mmrrpf hustings like garbage you dirvy raf"
Neva, you told her on her site where it counts.
Right, Amoeba. But you're an irishman from Boston, memember?
Quilly, you have the OED for a roommate, along with the Encyclopedia Brittanica, and The Compleat Writyngs of Carolus Linneaus.
That's a fine place to start, Jamie Dawn. Also the name of a ghost town on the Eastern side of Fish Lake Valley, Nevada on the way up to Lida Junction. I once thought about running for mayor.
Actonbell, the difference is one leaves hole in the ground and calls it progress while the other pulls stumps. By the way, that was a smart trick cutting off comments today so people would know what to do. You've studied our ways.
No, Sar, but I never expected an alien spacecraft to land in the middle of it either. Comiskey Field, definitely.
Minka, I'm embarrassed a continent and an ocean away.
OE, my friend, I have to admit, sometimes I wonder if you might not be a couple hooks shy of a tackle box but I sure am entertained by your contributions.
I'm afraid of palmettos - aren't they big ole ghastly roaches? OH, you mean the town (so-named after the local Joshua trees that the miners mistook for palm trees... WHAT were they thinking??)
You would have won, had you run, except for the fact that you are no ghost - and I didn't happen to glance a husting there other than your basic crumbling rock walls...
Minka, ha ha, you made him blush.
hustings, hustings....nope, don't have anything to say about hustings.
Hello starts with an H. is that close enough? :-)
happy birthday DDDragon!
Doug, I knew you would be. there is nothing like seeing you recoil :)
Terry, just for background, when Minka and I visited the Pennsylvania Pezes, we all went to eat at a restaurant with a belly dancer, whom I pretended not to notice clickety-clacking right behind TLP's husband and I while Dddragon and Minka gestured and pointed for me to turn around. There were 2,325,876 ceramic interstices in my appetizer plate, by the way. This is why gentlemen prefer strip clubs. More silicon=less estrogen.
Laura, from you hello is always a fine contribution. I was about to send Lassie after you.
Minka, I bet you pull wings off of bugs.
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