Daily Mail - 13.08.2019

Page 62

QUESTIONS

LOW-FAT weeknight

It’s hats off dinner. Serves: 4.

to Poldark

Compiled by Charles Legge

TODAY’S RECIPE:

Super-quick fish curry

Method

QUESTION

What is the
practical purpose
of the tricorn hat, as worn by Poldark?

The original bicorne and tricorne hats
(in Britain, the final ‘e’ is often omitted,
but both spellings are correct) were
designed for functionality, not style.
They are based on a hat with a large,
circular brim to keep rain off the face,
neck and shoulders, which were worn by
soldiers in the Spanish Netherlands in
the 17th century.
however, the large brim got in the way
when the soldier’s bayonet-tipped
musket was held up at the shoulder, the
position known as ‘shoulder arms’ in the
British Army.
This resulted in the brim being torn to
shreds. To prevent this, the soldiers
folded up one side of the hat and pinned
it to the crown to keep it out of the way.
When war broke out between France
and the Spanish Netherlands in 1667, this
style of wearing a hat was adopted by
French soldiers. It found its way back to
France as a fashion item.
It is familiar from images of French
musketeers made famous by Alexander
Dumas and in various films. errol Flynn
wore a hat of this style in the 1935 film
Captain Blood.
From this model the tricorne developed,
with three sides pinned to the crown of
the hat. It was more fashionable than
functional because the folded brim
became so narrow it no longer had a
practical use. The sides could be folded
back down to protect against the rain,
but rarely were.
It fell out of favour at the end of the
18th century — and was only described as
a tricorne later, with the first mentions in
the mid 19th century.
The bicorne hat was also a development
from France. hats with a wider brim at
the back than the front couldn’t be
turned up in three equal portions, so this
was resolved by pinning it twice.
It became fashionable after it was
adopted by Napoleon Bonaparte. Many
paintings depict him wearing a bicorne
hat. This style became popular from 1790
onwards and was worn by French and
American military officers and British
naval officers. The tricorne hat remains
in use today as part of the uniform of the
Chelsea Pensioners, the livery of carriage

drivers of the Royal household and the

regalia of town criers. It sometimes forms

part of the official robes of lord mayors,

including the Lord Mayor of London.

Bob Dillon, Edinburgh.

QUESTION

Was the word

dude an insult?

DuDe first appeared in 1880s America as

a term of mockery directed at affectedly

fashionable young men. The Oxford

english Dictionary states ‘dude’ describes

a man who is overly fastidious in matters

of dress and style.

According to the New York evening

Post in 1883: ‘A dude is a young man, not

over twenty-five, who may be seen on

Fifth Avenue between the hours of three

and six, and may be recognised by the

following distinguished marks...

‘his trousers are very tight; his shirt

collar, which must be clerical in cut,

encircles his neck so as to suggest that a

sudden motion of the head in any

direction will cause pain; he wears a tall,

black hat, pointed shoes and a cane (not

a stick), which should, we believe,

properly have a silver handle, is carried

by him under his right arm.. .’

From the Twenties, city dwellers who

wanted to enjoy the cowboy experience

holidayed at a dude ranch, something

like Billy Crystal’s experience in the 1991

film City Slickers.

In the Sixties, the idea of a dude as a fop

gave rise to its use in New York black

slang for a pimp or fancy man. Later, it

was used for any male.

David Bowie helped bring the term to

Britain with his 1973 song All The Young

Dudes, which the American singer Lou

Reed described as a gay anthem.

Dude’s meaning was reversed when it

was applied to Jeff Bridges’s slovenly,

slipper-wearing, dressing gown-clad,

White Russian-imbibing, pot-smoking

slacker The Dude in the 1998 Coen

Brothers film The Big Lebowski.

It has given rise to Dudeism — a

religion, philosophy or lifestyle inspired

by The Dude.

The origin of the word dude is uncertain.

One theory is that it’s derived from

Yankee Doodle, the 18th-century song

with which the British taunted the

uncouth colonists. The term doodle first

appeared in the 17th century, from the

Low German dodel, meaning simpleton.

Another suggestion is that it stems

from the Scottish word duddies, mean-

ing clothes. The word dudde appeared in

Putnam’s Magazine in 1876, making fun

of the way a woman was dressed.

Mike Simmons, Harrogate, N. Yorks.

QUESTION

Does anyone still

keep fit using

the dynamic tension exercises

popularised by Charles Atlas?

FuRTheR to previous answers, I must

point out that Charles Atlas did not

invent the Bullworker. The exercise

device came about as a result of research

carried out at the Max Planck Institute

in West Germany in the Fifties.

It suggested maximum muscle growth

could be achieved by contracting each

muscle against a fixed resistance at just

60 per cent of maximum strength for

seven seconds. This led to the first

Bullworker, designed by Gert F. Kolbel

in 1962.

Kolbel’s follow-up device, the Isokina-

tor, is claimed to produce even greater

muscle growth than the Bullworker.

Dr Colin M. Barron,

Dunblane, Stirlingshire.

I BOuGhT a Charles Atlas endorsed

Bullworker 2 in October 1965 and have

used it on and off ever since.

Its box has long gone, but I have the

instruction booklet and wall chart with

photos of the 24 exercises demonstrated

by Dave Prowse of Darth Vader and

Green Cross Code man fame. It still

works perfectly after more than 50 years.

Derek Britchford, London Colney, Herts.

n IS THERE a question to which you have always wanted

to know the answer? Or do you know the answer to a

question raised here? Send your questions and answers

to: Charles Legge, Answers To Correspondents, Daily

Mail, 2 Derry Street, London, W8 5TT. You can also fax

them to 01952 780111 or you can email them to charles.

[email protected]. A selection will be published but

we are not able to enter into individual correspondence.

: What was the largest flying animal?

T. E. A. Jones, Kidderminster, Worcs.

: When the 2nd amendment to the

American Constitution, referring to

the right to bear arms, was ratified

in 1791, what were the most deadly

weapons available?

W. G. Crawshaw, Eccleston, Lancs.

: Did every one of Charles Dickens’s

novels result in a change in the law?

William Craven, Ilkley, W. Yorks.

Q

Q

Q

Ingredients

Fashionable: Aidan Turner as Poldark

1 tbsp vegetable oil

1 large onion,

chopped

1 garlic

clove, chopped

1-2 tbsp Madras

curry paste

400g can tomato

200ml vegetable

stock

4 white fish fillets,

skinned and

cut into big chunks

To serve: Rice or

naan bread

1 Heat the oil in a deep pan and gently fry the

onion and garlic for five minutes until soft.

Add curry paste and stir-fry for a couple of

minutes, then tip in tomatoes and stock.

2 Bring to a simmer, then add fish. Gently cook

for four to five minutes until the fish flakes

easily. Serve immediately with rice or naan.

n RECIPE of the Day brought to you in association

with BBC Good Food Magazine. Subscribe today and

get your first five issues for £5 (direct debit). Visit

buysubscriptions.com/goodfood and enter code

GFDAILY19 or call 03330 162 124 and quote GFDAILY19.

TERMS & CONDITIONS

TrEASurE Hunt and

Puzzles & Prizes

competitions

(‘promotions’) open to

uK (excluding Northern

Ireland) and Channel

Islands residents aged

18 or over, excluding

employees of the

promoter, and members

of their household. By

entering the promotion,

you agree to these terms

(including relevant

specific terms).

Photocopies and

damaged or tampered

newspapers will be

void. Promoter’s

decision is final. No

correspondence will be

entered into. No third

party entries. Prizes

non-transferable.

Promoter will hold

personal information in

line with these terms

and our privacy policy

(dailymail.co.uk/

privacy). Promoter not

responsible for

technical difficulties,

unavailable network

connections or postal-

related issues that may

limit entry and/or

claiming of the prize

and/or for lost or

damaged entries/prize

verification evidence.

Proof of entry is not

proof of receipt by

promoter. Promoter

reserves the right in its

reasonable discretion to

disqualify any entrant

whose conduct is

contrary to the spirit of

the promotion; to

declare as void entries

resulting from printing,

production and/or

distribution errors; or to

modify, suspend or

cancel the promotion if

there is fraud or any

event beyond the

promoter’s reasonable

control. These terms

prevail over any

materials published

elsewhere. If any of

these terms are invalid

or unenforceable, the

validity of the other

terms shall not be

affected. If your

newspaper does not

have a unique Number,

log in to MyMail and

use the missing numbers

system. These terms are

governed by English

law and subject to the

exclusive jurisdiction of

the English courts.

Promoter: Associated

Newspapers Limited,

Northcliffe House,

2 Derry Street, London

W8 5TT. Customer

Services Helpline: 03451

222 467. Calls to this line

will be charged at local

rates — calls from

mobiles may cost more.

Picture: CRAIG HARDIE/BBC/MAMMOTH SCREEN

V1 Daily Mail, Tuesday, August 13, 2019