A warm day in the months after the fall equinox is a delight, and I enjoyed them greatly -- though on airplanes too often. The phrase that describes such days – Indian Summer – triggered a debate among my British and American friends as to its origins. Did the British invent the term in reference to the temperatures of their ex-colony in Asia, or did the Yanks coin it, referring somehow to the endemic population of the Americas? Each nationality laid out our best remembered case for ownership. It was a moment of cringed whispers and forgotten history – a reminder that white-man-big-stick sagas lurk near the surface on both sides of the Atlantic. (Answer below...* )
Two Nouns #18 -- Indian Summer
Two Nouns #18 -- Indian Summer
Two Nouns #18 -- Indian Summer
A warm day in the months after the fall equinox is a delight, and I enjoyed them greatly -- though on airplanes too often. The phrase that describes such days – Indian Summer – triggered a debate among my British and American friends as to its origins. Did the British invent the term in reference to the temperatures of their ex-colony in Asia, or did the Yanks coin it, referring somehow to the endemic population of the Americas? Each nationality laid out our best remembered case for ownership. It was a moment of cringed whispers and forgotten history – a reminder that white-man-big-stick sagas lurk near the surface on both sides of the Atlantic. (Answer below...* )