Another fine week here in the republic A new word leaped off the front page at me this week, “tranche,” which I’d never seen before. This is exciting when you’re 77, like being approached by a platypus on the street wearing a sign, “Look before you leap.” I’ve seen a platypus before but not a platitudinous one. “Tranche” means a portion of something, and it’s used in finance, so that’s why I don’t know it. The New York Times said Congress had subpoenaed Secretary Pompeo, “demanding that he promptly produce a tranche of documents.” I imagine the Times said “tranche” rather than “portion” because it sounds more important: “portion,” to me, means two small potatoes, a cup of peas, and one slice of meatloaf. “Impeachment” I am familiar with, and the other words––emoluments, misdemeanors, betrayal, corrupt, mendacious, and so forth––but “tranche” was a complete surprise. I imagine that, among the White House regulars, there is a tranche of them who wish to continue their careers when the Boy President goes to the Next Stop, and I expect they are thinking hard this week. The smiling Vice President Pence Must be thinking about his defense. Was his iPhone lost? Were his fingers crossed? Was he deaf or blind? Was he out of his mind Or just what we used to call “dense”? Read the rest of the column >>> |