|
Stealing Thunder
Stealing thunder is to use someone else's idea for one's own advantage, or to pre-empt them. Origin The idiom comes from the peevish dramatist John Dennis early in the 18th century, after he had conceived a novel idea for a thunder machine for his unsuccessful 1709 play '' Appius and Virginia'' and later found it used at a performance of ''Macbeth''. There is an account of it in ''The lives of the poets of Great Britain and Ireland'' by Robert Shiels and Theophilus Cibber Theophilus Cibber (25 or 26 November 1703 – October 1758) was an English actor, playwright, author, and son of the actor-manager Colley Cibber. He began acting at an early age, and followed his father into theatrical management. In 1727, Alex ...: Rhetorical use In a contentious situation, such as a court case, political debate or public relations crisis, it is a tactic used to weaken the force of an adverse point. By introducing the point first and being open about it or rebutting it, the force of the opp ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
THUNDER MACHINE ON SOUTH WALL OF STAGE HOUSE, SECOND CATWALK
Thunder is the sound caused by lightning. Depending upon the distance from and nature of the lightning, it can range from a long, low rumble to a sudden, loud crack. The sudden increase in temperature and hence pressure caused by the lightning produces rapid expansion of the air in the path of a lightning bolt. In turn, this expansion of air creates a sonic shock wave, often referred to as a "thunderclap" or "peal of thunder". The scientific study of thunder is known as ''brontology'' and the irrational fear (phobia) of thunder is called ''brontophobia''. Etymology The ''d'' in Modern English ''thunder'' (from earlier Old English ''þunor'') is epenthetic, and is now found as well in Modern Dutch ''donder'' (cf. Middle Dutch ''donre''; also Old Norse '' þorr'', Old Frisian ''þuner'', Old High German ''donar'', all ultimately descended from Proto-Germanic *''þunraz''). In Latin the term was ''tonare'' "to thunder". The name of the Nordic god Thor comes from the Old Nor ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
John Dennis (dramatist)
John Dennis (16 September 1658 – 6 January 1734) was an English critic and dramatist. Life He was born in the parish of St Andrew Holborn, London, in 1658. He was educated at Harrow School and Caius College, Cambridge, where he took his B.A. degree in 1679. In the next year he was fined and dismissed from his college for having wounded a fellow student with a sword. He was, however, received at Trinity Hall, where he took his M.A. degree in 1683. After travelling in France and Italy, he settled in London, where he became acquainted with Dryden, and close to Wycherley, Congreve and the leading literary figures of his day; and being made temporarily independent by inheriting a small fortune, he devoted himself to literature. The Duke of Marlborough procured him a place as one of the queen's waiters in the customs with a salary of £20 a year. This he afterwards disposed of for a small sum, retaining, at the suggestion of Lord Halifax, a yearly charge upon it for a long term ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Thunder Machine
The Thunder Machine is a fictional, four wheeled, armored, weaponized vehicle used by the Dreadnoks, a biker gang/mercenary group in the G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero comic books and cartoon series. The Dreadnoks work for Cobra, the primary enemy for G.I. Joe. Description The vehicle was created and driven by Thrasher, one of the newer members of the Dreadnoks. The fiction describes it as cobbled together from parts salvaged from several different vehicles, including a 1980s model Pontiac Trans-Am, a dune buggy, a pickup truck and various others. The Thunder Machine is propelled by a jet engine similar to jet-propelled dragsters. This made it fast but hard to maneuver. The vehicle was built on a military truck chassis, similar to a Humvee. It had armor plating riveted over most of the exterior surface. The armor is believed to be from old tanks, and according to Thrasher, the Thunder Machine is capable of taking as much, if not, more damage than a Cobra H.I.S.S tank. The fron ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Appius And Virginia (1709 Play)
''Appius and Virginia'' is a 1709 tragedy by the British writer John Dennis. It was a distinct reworking by Dennis of an older play of the same title by John Webster. It was not a particular success on its debut. It became best known for Dennis' use of an innovative new technique to imitate the sound of thunder. When Dennis' play was taken off and a revival of ''Macbeth'' put off, he was angered when he attended a performance and discovered they were using his thunder machine, reportedly exclaiming "they will not let my play run, and yet they steal my thunder". This gave rise to the expression " stealing thunder". The original Drury Lane cast included Barton Booth as Appius, Theophilus Keene as Claudius, Thomas Betterton as Virginius, Robert Wilks as Icilius, Benjamin Husband as Valerius, Thomas Smith as Numitorious, Jane Rogers as Virginia, Frances Maria Knight Frances is a French and English given name of Latin origin. In Latin the meaning of the name Frances is 'from Fran ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Macbeth
''Macbeth'' (, full title ''The Tragedie of Macbeth'') is a tragedy by William Shakespeare. It is thought to have been first performed in 1606. It dramatises the damaging physical and psychological effects of political ambition on those who seek power. Of all the plays that Shakespeare wrote during the reign of James I, ''Macbeth'' most clearly reflects his relationship with King James, patron of Shakespeare's acting company. It was first published in the Folio of 1623, possibly from a prompt book, and is Shakespeare's shortest tragedy. A brave Scottish general named Macbeth receives a prophecy from a trio of witches that one day he will become King of Scotland. Consumed by ambition and spurred to action by his wife, Macbeth murders King Duncan and takes the Scottish throne for himself. He is then wracked with guilt and paranoia. Forced to commit more and more murders to protect himself from enmity and suspicion, he soon becomes a tyrannical ruler. The bloodbath and ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Robert Shiels
Robert Shiels (also Shiells or Shields) (died 1753) was an English literary compiler. Life He was born in Roxburghshire around the end of the seventeenth century, and came to London as a journeyman printer. Samuel Johnson approved of him as a Jacobite, and gave him a place on the team of six helpers he used on his '' Dictionary''. Shiels died of consumption in May's Buildings, London, on 27 December 1753. Works Shiels was recommended to Ralph Griffiths and employed on the ''Lives of the Poets of Great Britain and Ireland to the time of Dean Swift'' (London, 5 vols. 1753), to which the name of Theophilus Cibber was attached. The compilation was mainly based on work of Gerard Langbaine Gerard Langbaine (15 July 1656 – 23 June 1692) was an English dramatic biographer and critic, best known for his ''An Account of the English Dramatic Poets'' (1691), the earliest work to give biographical and critical information on the playwrig ... and Giles Jacob, with the help of Thomas C ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Theophilus Cibber
Theophilus Cibber (25 or 26 November 1703 – October 1758) was an English actor, playwright, author, and son of the actor-manager Colley Cibber. He began acting at an early age, and followed his father into theatrical management. In 1727, Alexander Pope satirized Theophilus Cibber in his ''Dunciad'' as a youth who "thrusts his person full into your face" (III 132). On the stage, he was famous for playing Pistol in '' Henry IV, Part 2'', and some of the comic roles his father had played when younger, but unsympathetic critics accused him of overemphasis.Barker, p. 166 His private life later led Theophilus into bad reputation and scandal. He died in a shipwreck while bound for Ireland and a season in Dublin. Early life and career Theophilus Cibber was born during the Great Storm of 1703 and began acting in the Drury Lane Theatre at the age of 16 in 1721.Barker, p. 165 As a young man, Cibber was a notorious rake, and associated with young men of a similar mind and reputation, such ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Plagiarism
Plagiarism is the fraudulent representation of another person's language, thoughts, ideas, or expressions as one's own original work.From the 1995 '' Random House Compact Unabridged Dictionary'': use or close imitation of the language and thoughts of another author and the representation of them as one's own original work qtd. in From the Oxford English Dictionary: The action or practice of taking someone else's work, idea, etc., and passing it off as one's own; literary theft. While precise definitions vary, depending on the institution, such representations are generally considered to violate academic integrity and journalistic ethics as well as social norms of learning, teaching, research, fairness, respect and responsibility in many cultures. It is subject to sanctions such as penalties, suspension, expulsion from school or work, substantial fines and even imprisonment. Plagiarism is typically not in itself a crime, but like counterfeiting, fraud can be punished in a court f ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Public Relations Terminology
In public relations and communication science, publics are groups of individual people, and the public (a.k.a. the general public) is the totality of such groupings. This is a different concept to the sociology, sociological concept of the ''Öffentlichkeit'' or public sphere. The concept of a public has also been defined in political science, psychology, marketing, and advertising. In public relations and communication science, it is one of the more ambiguous concepts in the field. Although it has definitions in the theory of the field that have been formulated from the early 20th century onwards, and suffered more recent years from being blurred, as a result of conflation of the idea of a public with the notions of audience, market segment, community, constituency, and stakeholder. Etymology and definitions The name "public" originates with the Latin ''wikt:publicus#Latin, publicus'' (also ''wikt:poplicus#Latin, poplicus''), from ''wikt:populus#Latin, populus'', to the Engli ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
.jpg "Click for more on -> John Dennis (dramatist)")
.jpg "Click for more on -> Theophilus Cibber")
