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stranger
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I had intended to post this question to indicate that I would be very disappointed if the eponym for "a character in a comic strip" that we expect later this week were not "(to) dither", which I assumed was an eponym from Mr. Dithers of Dagwood and Blondie fame. I assumed this because I'm sure I've heard that suggestion a number of times over the past year or so when Canada's current Prime Minister, Paul Martin, was categorized as a ditherer.
Being somewhat cautious--not to mention pedantic--I decided I better check, and Merriam-Webster online (http://www.m-w.com/ says:
Etymology: Middle English didderen
Then I checked "Walter Mitty" in the same source (not recalling when I had last seen it in AWAD) and found:
Etymology: Walter Mitty, daydreaming hero of a story by James Thurber: a commonplace unadventurous person who seeks escape from reality through daydreaming
So I guess I answered my own question: Walter Mitty was unfulfilled because he spent his time daydreaming, whereas Prufrock was unfulfilled because he dithered; though I suppose one could daydream (in lieu of acting) through timidity and indecisiveness.
And this still leaves open the possibility that the modern usage of "(to) dither" was initiated by someone who didn't know the true etymology of the already-existing word, and assumed he was coining an eponym for Mr. Dithers--a sort of pseudo-eponym, or quasi-eponym?
wwwayne
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Joined: Dec 2000
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Carpal Tunnel
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Carpal Tunnel
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Quote:
And this still leaves open the possibility that the modern usage of "(to) dither" was initiated by someone who didn't know the true etymology of the already-existing word, and assumed he was coining an eponym for Mr. Dithers--a sort of pseudo-eponym, or quasi-eponym?
wwwayne
In what sense is dither used that would in any way be inspired by Dagwood's boss? I cannot imagine Mr. Dithers dithering in any sense of the word that I am familiar with.
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Joined: Aug 2001
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Carpal Tunnel
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Carpal Tunnel
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Isn't there also another meaning of "dither" having to do with some kind of manipulation or modification of an image, in photography or maybe computer graphics? "Dithering the edges" is trying to push its way into my head...
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enthusiast
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enthusiast
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Yes. Sometimes you see the term in Printer Properties. "Dithering is the process of juxtaposing pixels of two colors to create the illusion that a third color is present." http://www.webstyleguide.com/graphics/dither.html][/url]I hadn't connected the word with its older meaning until now.
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Carpal Tunnel
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Carpal Tunnel
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