Tuesday, May 15, 2007

czar

why is it always a czar? war czar, drug czar, regulatory czar, food safety czar... you name it, we can czar it.

what about a king? queen? emperor? emperess? sultan? viscountess? shah? caliph? raja? archduke? premier? dungeon master? why do we use the czar title to show that we're serious about an issue?

and why are the czars always spelled "czar" and not "tsar"?

is there a limit to who we can call a "czar"? "czar" is just a corruption of the word "caesar." and "caesar" originally meant "hairy." so can there be a baldness czar? or is that a contradiction in terms?

oh wait, it looks like there already is one.