Lupine defined

William Ansley · 10 Jun 2001, 23:09 · from whorl-v0012.mbox · original

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From: William Ansley <wansley at warwick.net>
Subject: (whorl) Lupine defined
Date: Sun, 10 Jun 2001 23:09:35
Message-ID: <whorl-v0012-0813 at digest.urth.net>
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>Pardon my ignorance, but what is "Lupine"?  I just picked up a copy of The=
re
>Are Doors at the used paperback store the other day, and it is described as
>"loop-the-Lupine".  I've heard you guys talk about Lupine on the list befo=
re.
>  Thanks,
>
>-Steve

No need to apologize. If you don't ask you can't learn. (However, if=20
you do ask and I answer, you risk an overdose of pedantry.)

I was originally going to send a private reply to your message, but=20
then I thought there might be others reading this discussion list=20
that had been wondering the same thing but were afraid to ask.

Lupine means wolf-like, it is an adjective derived from the Latin=20
word for wolf lupus (similar adjectival forms are ursine: bear-like,=20
vulpine: fox-like and murine: mouse-like; the latter is used almost=20
exclusively in scientific literature).

It is a scholarly pun on Gene Wolfe's surname. (It may have been=20
coined by John Clute; does anyone know?) On this discussion list it=20
is used to mean writing in the style or manner of Gene Wolfe,=20
especially something written in a particularly convoluted,=20
elliptical, ambiguous way.

It is used in combined forms such as "loop-the-Lupine" which you=20
mention (I imagine this means "even more convoluted than Wolfe's=20
writing usually is") and Dan'l Danehy-Oakes excellent recent coinage=20
Lupiverse, meaning the universe of discourse of a particular work by=20
Gene Wolfe.

--=20
William Ansley

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