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The name Tiffany has been around for some 800 years. But you can't name a character in a historical novel 'Tiffany', because people don't believe the name is old. Science fiction and fantasy author Jo Walton coined the term "The Tiffany Problem" to express the disparity between historical facts and the common perception of the past.
EXTRA MATERIALS:
Jo Walton: “Putting the historical into historical fantasy.”
The popularity of Tiffany as baby name in the USA, and some other countries.
‘Tiffany’ also is, or was, a kind of gauzy fabric.
“To an Old English speaker, the word that later became like was the word for, of all things, ‘body’.”
“Most British school children are taught white MP William Wilberforce was the most significant abolition movement campaigner. But Olaudah Equiano proves that is not the full story.”
“it’s entirely feasible that there were a lot of south Asian guys working on the docks at London.”
Tiffany Problem: Spicy Food Version.
Some more Tiffanyish examples.
Otherlusionists: No Title covers the oldness of singular they; Verisimilitude discusses making fictional worlds realistic; Survival: Bequest talks about cisgender/white/heterosexual revisionism; and in Name Therapy, people share their feelings and opinions about their own names and problems thereof.
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YOUR RANDOMLY SELECTED WORD FROM THE DICTIONARY:
fleer, verb, poetic/literary: laugh impudently or jeeringly. Noun, archaic: an impudent or jeering look or speech.
CREDITS:
Jo Walton is a writer of science fiction and fantasy. Find her novels, poetry, plays, essays, recipes and dates of upcoming appearances at jowaltonbooks.com.
This episode was produced by me, Helen Zaltzman. The original music is composed and performed by Martin Austwick. Download his songs at palebirdmusic.com, listen to his podcasts Song By Song and Neutrino Watch, and hear more of his composition on the science podcast for kids Maddie’s Sound Explorers.
Find the show at twitter.com/allusionistshow, facebook.com/allusionistshow, twitter.com/helenzaltzman and instagram.com/allusionistshow.
