The Captain’s Log

Flotsam, Jetsam, Lagan, and Derelict

These terms have specific meanings under the Law of the Sea.

Flotsam

The noun flotsam names floating goods from sunken or wrecked ships.

Jetsam

The noun jetsam names floating cargo intentionally jettisoned from ships.

Lagan

The noun lagan names jettisoned cargo that has sank to the ocean floor but has been marked by the owner with a floating marker.

Derelict

The noun derelict names jettisoned sunken cargo that has been abandoned by its owner.

Consider This Sentence

The following sentence occurs in The Guardian on Apple News. “Saxophonist Sonny Rollins, who spent more than two years practicing in solitude as a young man on a windswept New York bridge to reinvent his playing and become one of the giants of jazz, died at the age of 95 on Monday, his publicist said.”

The absurdly long appositive phrase that separates subject and verb confuses on first and second reading. The information clearly does not belong in the summary sentence or even the summary paragraph.

I prefer attributions at the start of sentences because they are more natural there. Editors erroneously believe that the subject must always come first, and consequently entrench clumsy style in their publications.

I will resist the temptation to call Rollins a colossus, the name of one of his well-known albums.

My rewrite: “According to his publicist, saxophonist Sonny Rollins died on Monday at the age of 95. Rollins was one of the giants of jazz.”

Repugnant Versus Repulsive

Repugnant

The adjective repugnant derives from the Latin verb repugnare, which means to resist, to oppose, to disagree, or to be incompatible. The main modern sense of repugnant is disgusting, unpleasant, or offensive. A secondary meaning is contradictory. Crime is repugnant to the law.

Repulsive

The adjective repulsive derives from the Latin participle repulsus, which means having been rejected, repelled, or defeated. The modern repulsive is a synonym for the main sense of repugnant.

Loophole

The noun loophole names a flaw in a system of control (rules and regulations) that enables escape from control. A loophole originally was a narrow slit in a castle wall for use by archers or for the entry of light and air.

The loop in loophole derives from the French verb louper, which means to miss in the sense of to fail. An attacker would find it difficult to return fire on an archer hidden behind a loophole.