It's not just an odd word, it's an odd sort of crime. I have always admired characters who could spot other people's weaknesses and talk them into things against their own interests, or pose as allies while robbing someone. We celebrate it when Bugs Bunny does it to Elmer Fudd, or the characters in The Sting do it to a gangster. But in our own lives, we have to admit that it's icky. In some ways it's worse than robbing people at gunpoint. If I took someone's money by fooling them, my father would come back from the grave to stand at the foot of my bed.
The confidence (con) man is an established figure in American literature -- see Melville, Twain, et al. Maggie Haberman's 2022 biography is titled "Confidence Man: The Making of Donald Trump." For an engaging true story about two British POWs during WW1 who used their conning powers for good, see Margalit Fox's 2021 book, "The Confidence Men: How Two Prisoners of War Engineered the Most Remarkable Escape in History."
Loved this one and also the reminder to watch The Grifters. I have been enjoying movies from the late 80s, early 90s lately. I think there was something particularly great about films from that period.
In the cover from 'The New Yorker' that you feature, part of the masthead is obscured by the image. This practice is quite common for some magazines, sometimes to the point of obscuring most of the masthead. I did a quick search to find out out if this practice has a name, but I couldn't find anything. Any thoughts on the name or the practice?
I'm not a designer, so this is very far from my area of expertise. That said, I'm not aware that the practice has a specific name other than "partially blocking the nameplate." (Americans reserve "masthead" for the inside-the-magazine list of owner, publisher, editors, writers, departments, etc.) It's been done for ages, I assume to draw attention to the art as opposed to the name. Here's an example from 1950:
Obscuring the masthead, or part of the headline in an ad with the product, has been going on for a long time. Think Time Magazine. It emphasizes the subject or product.
(Thanks for the attribution, Nancy. I had forgotten it.)
It's not just an odd word, it's an odd sort of crime. I have always admired characters who could spot other people's weaknesses and talk them into things against their own interests, or pose as allies while robbing someone. We celebrate it when Bugs Bunny does it to Elmer Fudd, or the characters in The Sting do it to a gangster. But in our own lives, we have to admit that it's icky. In some ways it's worse than robbing people at gunpoint. If I took someone's money by fooling them, my father would come back from the grave to stand at the foot of my bed.
The confidence (con) man is an established figure in American literature -- see Melville, Twain, et al. Maggie Haberman's 2022 biography is titled "Confidence Man: The Making of Donald Trump." For an engaging true story about two British POWs during WW1 who used their conning powers for good, see Margalit Fox's 2021 book, "The Confidence Men: How Two Prisoners of War Engineered the Most Remarkable Escape in History."
Loved this one and also the reminder to watch The Grifters. I have been enjoying movies from the late 80s, early 90s lately. I think there was something particularly great about films from that period.
Pre-CGI, pre all-IP-all-the-time.
In the cover from 'The New Yorker' that you feature, part of the masthead is obscured by the image. This practice is quite common for some magazines, sometimes to the point of obscuring most of the masthead. I did a quick search to find out out if this practice has a name, but I couldn't find anything. Any thoughts on the name or the practice?
I'm not a designer, so this is very far from my area of expertise. That said, I'm not aware that the practice has a specific name other than "partially blocking the nameplate." (Americans reserve "masthead" for the inside-the-magazine list of owner, publisher, editors, writers, departments, etc.) It's been done for ages, I assume to draw attention to the art as opposed to the name. Here's an example from 1950:
https://images.app.goo.gl/t8JNdNcpCPRYG85BA
Mastheadectomy?
Obscuring the masthead, or part of the headline in an ad with the product, has been going on for a long time. Think Time Magazine. It emphasizes the subject or product.
(Thanks for the attribution, Nancy. I had forgotten it.)
Your articles are always interesting
Thanks, Ken!