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5 February 2002 (Tuesday): a word, madam

host:~> webster triptych
---> triptych
trip.tych /'trip-(")tik/, noun [1731]

1) an ancient Roman writing tablet with three waxed leaves hinged together

2) (a) a picture (as an altarpiece) or carving in three panels side by side
   (b) something composed or presented in three parts or sections; especially TRILOGY

[Greek triptychos having three folds, from tri- + ptychE fold]

(C) 1997 by Merriam-Webster, Incorporated
host:~>

Ahhh. I feel enlightened now.

It's one of those words I kept seeing in art reviews and essays, but my eyes always skipped over it in that "yeah yeah yeah" sort of way. Then one day I read a short story about a retired woman who was painting a niptych, which I could only assume was a pun on triptych, and she kept scratching at her breasts through her shirt and having paint flecks fall into her coffee. Needless to say, I was intrigued.

When time comes for me to buy a house, I wouldn't mind having a three-paneled nipple painting on the living room wall.

posted by enjelani @ 11:37 AM PST