Bats left, signs right.

   

"Stanley Musial," by John Falter (1954)

     The day before Thanksgiving we toured the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum in Cooperstown. I found it such a moving experience I wrote about it, at sufficient length that paper is holding the story to plug one of the holes that opens up during the holidays.
     The museum was so extensive, I couldn't do it justice. For instance, there is a lovely little gallery devoted to baseball art that isn't mentioned in the pending story at all, extensive though it is. I was attracted to this painting of Stan Musial, particularly because of the placard:
     "Many baseball fans cried foul when this Saturday Evening Post cover showed southpaw Stan Musial signing autographs with his right hand," it begins. "How could artist John Falter made such a rookie mistake? When posing Musial, Falter learned that Stan the Man wrote right-handed, which Falter then correctly portrayed."
     There must be something so satisfying in the act of correction that people leap to do it without first ascertaining whether they are in fact right, as demonstrated in this exchange Friday. Larry B. wrote:

     As a retired lawyer I must point out that the cab driver you talk about in your column today did not attempt to commit "robbery". That word is clearly defined as " taking of something of value from another person through force or threat of violence." I assume this was not the case. Indeed, I do not believe the driver was guilty of a "crime." He certainly was in violation of the Cab Company rules but he was just trying to negotiate extra compensation in advance.

     I answered him thusly:  

       As someone surrounded by lawyers, I expected your note. And like most readers offering corrections, it is you yourself who are mistaken. You are tripping over what I call "The Two Definitions Problem." Yes, the first definition of "robbery" is as you cite. The next definition, in my dictionary, is "unashamed swindling or overcharging." I am permitted to use the secondary definition, just as you are permitted to both set a table and own a chemistry set. That said, I appreciate both you taking the time to write, and you doggedly subscribing to the paper.

     Larry B. wasn't ready to give in.

     Thank you for your prompt reply. I appreciate your pointing out the informal  (and historically incorrect) meaning of robbery. Isn't it a shame what is happening to the English language?It is almost like "highway robbery"!

    I should have stopped here. But I too can be dogged in insisting on my rightness. 

     Again, we have to disagree. The language has always been mutable and plastic. When Herb Morrison saw the Hindenburg explode in front of him in 1937, he said to his WLS listeners, "It's a terrific thing, ladies and gentlemen." Terrific as in "full of terror." Such an event would no longer be considered terrific because the meaning of the word has changed. You may mourn that however you please.

     There's actually more, but that will do for today.