Thanks to the management for letting me in the gates… here’s something that’s been rattling around in my head and I’d love to get some feedback on it:

In the Big California Faires, the management used to put the hyphen in “anal-retentive” when it came to historical accuracy. The Faire was there to “Trick Into Learning With A Laugh” (remember that, kids?) and as such, we were urged to try and present a reasonably historical face to the paying throng.

So the word “period” got used a lot. Period costume, period dress, period speaking style (taken from some historical notes somewhere and Long John Silver), period footwear… period foodstuffs… and “that’s not period” was the ultimate diss – it didn’t belong. It didn’t fit in.

Sadly, it also became a convenient excuse for not liking something. The best (worst) example I have of this… at the NorCal RenFaire at Casa De Fruita, for many years our Harvest Queen was portrayed by a lovely talented woman who’s character was that of “the high school cheerleader you wanted to beat with a club”.
This character had a laugh – how to describe it? – It rendered brave men weak, rattled the burlap, and caused elk miles away to look up in alarm. You could hear her in the parking lot.

*hahahHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!*

“Well, she’s *here* today!”

On one of those long long drives to and from site, one of my colleagues was lamenting that he wasn’t that fond of the character, that laugh, and with a straight face said…

“That laugh’s not period.”

… have any of you seen that word being wielded that way? What’s your best or worst example?