Deus ex Machina

[DaughterofVana]

control a monopoly on the fruit (namely apple) hurling puns

My goodness, I thought I thieved the idea from one of the Elanors running around here. Kindly forgive me. Commence throwing potatoes. [img]smilies/wink.gif[/img]

Machina isn’t really a Latin word

Really? I copied straight out of the dictionary on my above quote, and usually the little "L" means of latin origin. I don't know if my source being from 1974 really mattered in that aspect, though. [img]smilies/eek.gif[/img] You'd think that with all the technology around I could get a better source to turn to when I can't figure out how to spell something; but I stole this from the house. 'Twas my mom's, back in the day. It all goes back to the thieving.

Here's what Dictionary.com had to say:

deus ex ma·chi·na (ks mäk-n, -nä, mk-n)
n.
In Greek and Roman drama, a god lowered by stage machinery to resolve a plot or extricate the protagonist from a difficult situation.
An unexpected, artificial, or improbable character, device, or event introduced suddenly in a work of fiction or drama to resolve a situation or untangle a plot.
A person or event that provides a sudden and unexpected solution to a difficulty.


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[New Latin deus ex mchin : Latin deus, god + Latin ex, from + Latin mchin, ablative of mchina, machine (translation of Greek theos apo mkhans).]

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Source: The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2000 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.

Hehe. Published by Houghton Mifflin. Above it says "new latin," so methinks that's the ticket right there.

-'Vana

[ February 25, 2003: Message edited by: DaughterofVana ]

[ February 25, 2003: Message edited by: DaughterofVana ]