Emdashes. The New Yorker between the lines

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Archive: Ask the Librarians

Send us a question!

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Pollux writes:

What species is Eustace Tilley's butterfly?

Back in May 2009 I posited the suggestion that Tilley's nameless butterfly, which to me symbolizes creative inspiration, is a
Clouded Sulphur, whose scientific name is Colias philodice. The Clouded Sulphur's range includes New York. Is it possible Rea Irvin had a specific butterfly in mind?

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moon_bite_Julia Suits.jpg

(illustration by Julia Suits)

Pollux writes:

I'm pleased to announce that the winner of our giveaway for I'm Not Hanging Noodles On Your Ears by Jag Bhalla is Michael May of Dubuque, Iowa!

That city holds a special place in the hearts of New Yorker devotees, and what's even better is that Michael May writes all about the mystique of Dubuque on his blog The Dubuquer.

Congrats, Michael!

Michael wrote:

My favorite idiom is "bleed my lizard."

In West Texas, if I say I need to "bleed my lizard," I mean I need to urinate.

Thanks to the many people who entered, and better luck next time to all!

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Martin Schneider writes:

If you happened to miss last week's announcement of our giveaway of Jag Bhalla's new book, you have extra time -we have extended the contest time to September 30!

Send us an e-mail, subject line "My favorite idiom," and include your name and full mailing address. We won't accept anything after 8:00 pm EST on Friday, September 30, so don't do the leek ("hang around waiting")... That's a French idiom.

Good luck!

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Martin Schneider writes:

Illustration by Julia Suits
(click to enlarge)

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Emdashes is delighted to be giving away a copy of I'm Not Hanging Noodles On Your Ears, a book on idioms by Jag Bhalla, illustrated by New Yorker cartoonist Julia Suits.

We recently reviewed Bhalla's delightful book, which amuses and educates. The book is a great addition to lovers of both language and cartoons, and we guarantee that you'll love Hanging Noodles. We know that you crave this book, or as the Chinese say, have spittle that's three feet long for this book.

Here are the rules: There are two ways you can enter. One is to drop us an e-mail, with the subject line "My favorite idiom"; include your favorite idiom, your full name, and your mailing address in the body of the e-mail.

The other way is to retweet our message about this contest on Twitter; our username is @emdashes, if you're not already following us.

Please mention your favorite idiom in the tweet, too.

We'll accept all entries until 8:00 p.m., Eastern Standard Time, on Friday, September 30, and then the Random Number Generator will deliver its negative verdict to every entrant save one.

Good luck to all of you! As the Russians say, each vegetable has its own time ("every dog has its day").

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Martin Schneider writes:

I'm pleased to announce that the winner of our giveaway for The Bird Catcher by Laura Jacobs is Patricia Fosen of Brooklyn, New York. Her favorite bird is the Black-chinned Hummingbird, who (she is told) "only hums Tchaikovsky." That one is not on my life list!!

Thanks to the many people who entered, and better luck next time to all but Patricia (and sure, luck to her too). There will be other opportunities!

We asked for entrants to name their favorite bird, and you did not disappoint! The statements of avian fondness were delightful. Admired birds ranged from the

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See me speak at SXSW 2010 (http://sxsw.com)
2008 Webby Awards Official Honoree
2009 New Yorker Desk Diaries
Inkleaf Studio illustration