Saturday, October 31, 2015

What's in a name

           I am used to seeing odd looking and sounding names, having been a teacher with students of numerous national origins over the years. However, there is one name in the news these days which I find amusing. I acknowledge that I'm being childish a bit in making fun of a name, but in this case, the guy has taken an already odd given name and chosen a nickname which is even weirder, so strange, in fact, that I've never seen it before - ever.

        I am, as you've probably guessed, referring to Republican National  Committee  (RNC) chairperson and world class whiner,  Reince Priebus.  His actual name is Reinhold Richard Priebus.  I could  understand eschewing Reinhold, as it does sound a bit "Hitler Youth-ish."  I could understand if he chose to be known as Richard (he seems a bit of a Dick, anyway), but Reince?  Is that even a real name?  He chose it, he must like it, and the RNC pays him $180,000 annually plus expenses, so they must like it.

        Of course that party has had some seriously weirdly named persons of prominence, either as candidates, or friends of elected officials.  Nixon had Robert Abplanalp and Bebe Rebozo. Piyush  (now Bobby) Jindal has anglified his name, and that seems to work for him. There is a slew of Republicans with names which sound like contestants in Ru Paul's Drag race, including  Saxby Chambliss,  Stacey Campfield, Connie Mack, Tucker Bounds, and Pierce Bush (think about it).  Of  course Chambliss, and  Campfield are raging homophobes.  There's one amphibian -Newt Gingrich.  Alabama has a State treasurer named Young Boozer, and a Public Service Commission president named Twinkle Cavanaugh, and that's not a nickname!

     But back to Reince Priebus. It keeps going through my mind that this name is so bizarre that it could actually be a scientific name or brand name. Accordingly: What other things could Reince Priebus be?
 I'll start:

A high end hybrid car?

The generic and specific name for a tropical fish?

An uncomfortable outpatient procedure?

A former Roman emperor?

 A really annoying breed of small dog?

The answer to the question "Who do Reince Preib?"  

The answer to "What do you do with a soapy Priebus?"


OK, you're on your own.

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