Self-Licking Ice Cream Cone
My wife came into the kitchen this morning with a devious smile on her face and said, “I just learned the best new phrase.”
I rejoined, “I bet I know what it is.”
She said, “What is it then?”
“Self-licking ice cream cone.”
“Ah, you listened to the same podcast!”
Indeed, I had.
Self-licking ice cream cone came to my attention when uttered almost offhandedly by a reporter on New York Times’ The Daily podcast to describe the self-perpetuating and symbiotic relationship between a certain U.S. Attorney General nominee and the President-Elect. It should be noted that no political party or single institution holds IP rights on owning or demonstrating this idiom.
The question I now have is how the two of us, both avid readers, listeners, and consumers of cultural knowledge, could have gone a combined 112 years on this planet without having ever heard of that beautiful expression?
(You, dear reader, may already be savvy to this term; if so, please be patient with my childlike glee at having just discovered it.)
It's rare to find five words that say absolutely everything and nothing more – encapsulating an idea so visually, so memorably, so...deliciously.
In some ways, it feels like a cousin to the word “toady,” which I wrote about just last week.
So, here’s to being a life-long learner, to refreshing nuggets of knowledge gained in the wee hours of a Monday morning, and of course, to self-licking ice cream cones. What a parlor trick!
Godspeed, friends.
Russ
P.S. SLICC (Self-licking you know what) provided such visual inspiration that I'm going image heavy and word lite this issue. Enjoy!
💬 Quote of the Week
"The opposite of courage is not cowardice, it is conformity. Even a dead fish can go with the flow." Attributed to notable activist, Jim Hightower – with thanks to Godspeed reader Hannah Mae Schaeffer for sharing this with us.
💥 Quick Hits
• Special offer alert‼️ – This holiday season we're offering 20% off B Corp t-shirts for Godspeed readers at our online store, B Corp Wear. Five designs to choose from, so you can get one for your friend, co-worker, or team. Or just grab one up for yourself. These were made in partnership with fellow B Corp TS Designs and are the best and most sustainable t-shirts on the planet. Just enter special discount code Godspeed20 at checkout.
• A poem for unsettled times – If you've been reading Godspeed for awhile, you know I occasionally – get ready for it – throw in a poem! Well, it's time again – with this beauty from Wendell Berry.
• Anybody else feel this way about LinkedIn lately? ⬇️
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