skinny legs and all

May 3, 2024 7:25 PM

When she notices the spoon is not where she left it ... her spinal column draws as tight as Euclid's jockstrap...

I don't get it. Can someone explain the comparison?

posted by falsedmitri to Writing & Language (14 answers total)

It's using a lot of florid words to say she gets tense.
posted by Dip Flash at 7:53 PM on May 3 [1 favorite]

All I can think of is that Euclid =geometry, which evokes precision and inflexibility, therefore tight?
posted by Zumbador at 9:21 PM on May 3 [1 favorite]

Best answer: Robbin's later novels are hospices where metaphors which have never made any sense get one final triumphant chance to make no sense whatsoever, and this one fulfills its destiny beautifully. RIP.
posted by jamjam at 9:52 PM on May 3 [19 favorites]

I don't usually go for Tim Robbin's style, but I actually like this one! Maybe I need him in moderation. One sentence is enough.

Anyways, my brain went from Euclid (ancient mathematician) --> known for loads of theorems about geometry / triangles, among other things --> mental image of the jockstrap as a string being stretched taut between two vertices like the longer edge of a triangle, when a shape made of the two shorter sides would've been so much more comfortable.

I can't claim the path my brain took makes sense, but the wording amused me by being both indisputably unique and effective at evoking a mental image that surprised me.
posted by Metasyntactic at 1:27 AM on May 4 [2 favorites]

Ugh. Missed the edit window. TOM Robbins. In my defense, I've only read one of his books, over 20 years ago, and only because a high school friend basically forced it on me, so I'm surprised I even came close to recognizing the title and remembering the author =)
posted by Metasyntactic at 1:35 AM on May 4 [2 favorites]

Best answer: I think there's a couple of things going on. When one thinks of Euclid one thinks of arcs and lines. There is a kind of tension to geometric proofs. Her spine is reconfigured like a figure in Euclid. But beyond that, Euclid is dry and spare and frankly a giant nerd. Of course his jockstrap - an intimate garment - is tight. Euclid is definitely someone, who if he wore shoes, tied his laces as tight as possible.

Also not knowing the context, is there anything sexual following? Because the jockstrap might be a way to make you think of that area.

[ok I googled this and there is and yeah].
posted by i_am_joe's_spleen at 1:48 AM on May 4 [2 favorites]

Response by poster: RIP? He's still alive according to wikipedia at least
posted by falsedmitri at 6:20 AM on May 4

RIP to the metaphor.
posted by cooker girl at 6:47 AM on May 4 [1 favorite]

Robbin's later novels are hospices where metaphors which have never made any sense get one final triumphant chance to make no sense whatsoever...

This is quite true. The energy of the text is somehow more important than it making any sense, and that might be why I enjoy his stuff so much.
posted by booth at 7:16 AM on May 4 [2 favorites]

I'll bet you guys never heard about Catherine the Great and the horse either. :-)

The Greek philosopher and mathematician Euclid had a penis that remained sadly flaccid. This might explain his fascination with optics and physical mechanics. A fragment of his ancient writings concerns circles described at the end of a moving lever. Many researchers agree that having successfully finished his treatise on conic sections, Euclid attempted, using the sheer power of his brilliant mind, to move the aforementioned lever into an upright position.

posted by Tell Me No Lies at 2:35 PM on May 4

i_am_joe's_spleen: Also not knowing the context, is there anything sexual following? Because the jockstrap might be a way to make you think of that area.

Yeah I was gonna say the other piece of context here is that Robbins novels are very horny. If there is an opportunity to squeeze in a sexual reference it will happen.
posted by capricorn at 2:36 PM on May 4

Huh, I had never heard of this one but it might be what Robbins was referencing:

Euclides
Euclides is a smart, respectful, sexy, stunning, outgoing, fun, he also has a big penis, there's just so many good ways to describe Euclides. The name Euclides originated from the Greek Mathematician "Euclid" who came up with Euclidean Geometry [...]

posted by Tell Me No Lies at 3:49 PM on May 4

Tell Me NoLies, if you got that from Urban Dictionary, that's just someone named Euclides (or maybe his best friend) making an entry about himself...it's like if I went in there and put "the smartest and cutest Mefite" as a definition for "capricorn".
posted by capricorn at 9:23 AM on May 5

Very possible. Perhaps 24 people named Euclides liked it. Or it's actually a thing in some obscure place that Robbins happens to know of. You can never tell with him.

The 'moving lever' thing was passed around in college in the same discussions as Catherine the Great, so I'd say that's better guess.
posted by Tell Me No Lies at 10:01 AM on May 5