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#73859 06/21/02 03:20 PM
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I cannot find the definition of this other than as name of an element. Just now I encountered
the phrase: 'the palladium of the club'. Dear UK friends, please enlighten me.


#73860 06/21/02 03:44 PM
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'the palladium of the club'

Bill, I'd been aware that there was a theatre in London called the Palladium
http://www.britannia.com/travel/top/palladium.html
but was unaware it was also the name of an element!

However, it turns out (M-W again) that a Palladium is "a statue of Pallas whose preservation was believed to ensure the safety of Troy" (one for a certain Board member, perhaps )
And in the plural it means safeguard.

This would suggest that either the Palladium theatre has a statue of Pallas (or a Palladium) in it, or it is considered a safe haven in some way. Though I suppose it may just be a pretentious way of specifying itself as the heart of London.





#73861 06/21/02 04:01 PM
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Dear Fishonabike: In the phrase "palladium of the club" I wondered if it meant an inner room to which only
members were allowed. Palladium equalling the self appointed cream of the crap.


#73862 06/22/02 10:38 PM
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a Palladium is "a statue of Pallas whose preservation was believed to
ensure the safety of Troy"


Or, perhaps, the preservation of Edgar Allen Poe? "...the pallid bust of Pallas..." in The Raven. There was also an Italian architect, Palladio, in whose honour the Welsh composer Karl Jenkins wrote the eponymous musical work which has recently been used by the deBeers Company in their diamond commercials.


#73863 06/22/02 11:32 PM
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"Palladium \Pal*la"di*um\, n. [L., fr. Gr. ?, fr. ?, ?, Pallas.]
1. (Gr. Antiq.) Any statue of the goddess Pallas; esp., the
famous statue on the preservation of which depended the
safety of ancient Troy.

2. Hence: That which affords effectual protection or
security; a sateguard; as, the trial by jury is the
palladium of our civil rights. --Blackstone.

In definition 2, "palladium" = security so the phrase meant "in the security of the club".


#73864 06/23/02 07:11 AM
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And Pallas was, if memory serves, the Trojan equivalent of Athene - when it was stolen from Troy by ?Odysseus, Athene herself led him - thus making it very clear that she had abandoned the Trojans. I'd never heard it used in your sense, Bill - given what happened to the original, I'm surprised people use it!


#73865 06/23/02 12:17 PM
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Dear Alexis: that quote was from a very old "dictionary of phrase and fable". I gave URL to it
at beginning of "Surprise" thead, and have been just taking the items I think of interest from it.


#73866 06/23/02 01:07 PM
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shucks - here was me thinking this might be a juicy science thread - only to find out it was all about theatres! Stage and screen are two of the numerous arts subjects that I pass the baton on during quiz nights.

OK, OK - for those that also opened this up with science in mind, without googling, who can name more than two of the six platinum group metals? And here's a tip - all were giving an airing here previously (I think when we were on about SGs).

stales


#73867 06/23/02 01:55 PM
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I'm not sure about the 'platinum group of metals' but have a fair knowledge of the Periodic Table (rote memorization in high school).

Re(agan)(d)O(e)s Ir(rational) (s)P(it)t(ing)in his A(wf)u(l) speeches. This was 75-79 (we memorized in groups of 5).

Rhenium, Osmium, Iridium, Platinum and Gold. I know Mercury comes after Gold, so have I come close to the correct six?


#73868 06/24/02 09:54 AM
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> Rhenium, Osmium, Iridium, Platinum and Gold

Close Chemeng, but no seegar. You got two so far.

The title of this thread is a gimme....

stales


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