I’ve got to get this right: the difference between “sensuous” and “sensual”. But checking the dictionary leaves me lost in nuances. As before I must leave this up to my better-educated wider family out there.
But sensuous/sensual are words that find application when using this type of vegetable peeler, especially with carrots. The key lies in the pivoting blade which effortlessly follows the contours, delivering gossamer peelings. And although carrots provide its ultimate tactile experience the practical benefits are best felt with the most awkwardly shaped potato. A sense of gliding, of frictionless contact – and all for less than a quid.
There’s even a small cup-shaped whotsit which digs out potato eyes. Hey, in a world in which most pleasures will soon be beyond our pocket, it makes sense to take gratification where we can.
WRITING: CRAFT NOT ART
Eclogue 50c. Don’t discard clichés entirely. But always tweak
But sensuous/sensual are words that find application when using this type of vegetable peeler, especially with carrots. The key lies in the pivoting blade which effortlessly follows the contours, delivering gossamer peelings. And although carrots provide its ultimate tactile experience the practical benefits are best felt with the most awkwardly shaped potato. A sense of gliding, of frictionless contact – and all for less than a quid.
There’s even a small cup-shaped whotsit which digs out potato eyes. Hey, in a world in which most pleasures will soon be beyond our pocket, it makes sense to take gratification where we can.
WRITING: CRAFT NOT ART
Eclogue 50c. Don’t discard clichés entirely. But always tweak
Example: Having drunk three bottles of Banrock Station, been rejected by my girl-friend and woken up in Victoria bus station, I was – you might say – quite under the moon. Much better example (by a master): Though not disgruntled he was some way from being gruntled. (P.G. Wodehouse)
Note: Yes I know, I’m misusing eclogue.
6 comments:
Should we get worried about your "sensuous" feelings when peeling a carrot, BB? Freud would have a field day.
I, too, am a fan of the immortal "Plum".
Parsnips too.
On TV I saw a chef use that sort of peeler to slice carrots into sensually curling slivers to adorn a salad.
The word verification below is not inappropriately "molar".
I agree with herhimnbryn - the slant of a parsnip makes the whole experiance exceptionally rewarding.
Strangely enough, there is a decent explanation of 'sensual' vs. 'sensuous' buried in "National Lampoon's Animal House". The Dean's wife is correcting a frat boy who is chatting her up in the vegetable department of the local grocer's. She uses vegeatbles vs. humans to describe the difference... sorry, cannot quote directly,it has been a while since I have seen it.
I use a straight blade peeler. One question about yours: does it peel on the back stroke as well?
Nice to see mention of Wodehouse, I enjoy his Jeeves story. Odd too, a high school pal recommended the Blandings(?) titles to me a week ago. Timing is all.
Gosh, all these double entendres. Glad to get a straightforward techno-question from RR; the answer is: yes it does but with less precision.
The PGW reference is correct but somewhat compressed. Lord Emsworth lives at Blandings Castle and is famous for devoting the whole of his adult life to rearing prize-winning pigs, of which the Empress of Blandings is the most splendid. The Empress plays an important role in one story: one of the silly young lads, down from the Drones Club, is trying to work out a cunning plot and finds his thought processes eased by bouncing a tennis ball off the back of the Empress. He is observed by Lord Emsworth and is sent to hell in a hack (or is it handcart?).
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