Jordan Lund's Comments
What Shrike said... Ambrose Bierce should be mandatory...
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ambrose_Bierce
In October 1913 the septuagenarian Bierce departed Washington, D.C., for a tour of his old Civil War battlefields. By December he had proceeded on through Louisiana and Texas, crossing by way of El Paso into Mexico, which was in the throes of revolution. In Ciudad Juárez he joined Pancho Villa's army as an observer, and in that role participated in the battle of Tierra Blanca.
Bierce is known to have accompanied Villa's army as far as the city of Chihuahua. After a last letter to a close friend, sent from there December 26, 1913, he vanished without a trace, becoming one of the most famous disappearances in American literary history. Several writers have subscribed to the speculation that he actually headed north to the Grand Canyon, found a remote spot there and shot himself, though no shred of actual evidence exists to support this view. All investigations into his fate have proved fruitless, and despite an abundance of theories his end remains shrouded in mystery. The date of his death is generally cited as "1914?".
In one of his last letters, Bierce wrote the following to his niece, Lora:
"Good-bye — if you hear of my being stood up against a Mexican stone wall and shot to rags please know that I think that a pretty good way to depart this life. It beats old age, disease, or falling down the cellar stairs. To be a Gringo in Mexico — ah, that is euthanasia!"
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ambrose_Bierce
In October 1913 the septuagenarian Bierce departed Washington, D.C., for a tour of his old Civil War battlefields. By December he had proceeded on through Louisiana and Texas, crossing by way of El Paso into Mexico, which was in the throes of revolution. In Ciudad Juárez he joined Pancho Villa's army as an observer, and in that role participated in the battle of Tierra Blanca.
Bierce is known to have accompanied Villa's army as far as the city of Chihuahua. After a last letter to a close friend, sent from there December 26, 1913, he vanished without a trace, becoming one of the most famous disappearances in American literary history. Several writers have subscribed to the speculation that he actually headed north to the Grand Canyon, found a remote spot there and shot himself, though no shred of actual evidence exists to support this view. All investigations into his fate have proved fruitless, and despite an abundance of theories his end remains shrouded in mystery. The date of his death is generally cited as "1914?".
In one of his last letters, Bierce wrote the following to his niece, Lora:
"Good-bye — if you hear of my being stood up against a Mexican stone wall and shot to rags please know that I think that a pretty good way to depart this life. It beats old age, disease, or falling down the cellar stairs. To be a Gringo in Mexico — ah, that is euthanasia!"
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Best word I learned in 2 years of Latin. The professor kind of danced around it.
"It means, basically, that your wife makes all your decisions for you. But that doesn't convey how insulting the word is in Latin. It's really offensive. English doesn't have an equivalent."
I raised my hand. "You mean 'pussy whipped'. Yes, I'm pretty sure every language has a word for that."