The 11/12 Piccolo / Price Rhymes With Orange strip takes us to the Merriam-Webster company gym, where the lexicographers get defined:
(#1) It’s pun day at the definition factory, with bodybuilders’ definition punning on lexicographers’ definition
Confronted with a pun strip, I’ll usually go on to cite definitions from NOAD (or similar sources) for the punning expression and its model, and I’ll do a version of that here, getting at the expression well-defined by starting from the verb define, going on to the adjective defined (modified by the degree adverbial well ‘thoroughly’ in well-defined), and then steaming on to the noun definition and the conceptually related verbs cut and shred.
But what I find on this little trip has nothing at all from the vocabulary of bodybuilding. Not in NOAD, where I start (because I can access this dictionary on my computer with a few keystrokes); not in the OED (no surprise; its on-line version for this vocabulary is still antique); not — oh wonderful irony — in the on-line Merriam-Webster; not in AHD5; and not (to my astonishment) in GDoS. So for the bodybuilding vocabulary, I’ve cobbled together definitions from various bodybuilding sources. But apparently bodybuilding is so esoteric a world that its vocabulary has not yet reached mainstream lexicography. (A surprise to me. I’m not part of the bodybuilding world, but I have, yes, bodybuilder friends, also friends who are into bodybuilding competitions, and friends who have a taste for bodybuilders; and meanwhile, the gay male world and the world of physique magazines have long been intertwined, so I’m familiar with the bodybuilding world.)
The lexicographic cruise. From the verb define to the adjectives cut and shredded.
— the verb define:
[with object]1 [a] state or describe exactly the nature, scope, or meaning of: the contract will seek to define the client’s obligations. [b] give the meaning of (a word or phrase), especially in a dictionary: the dictionary defines it as “a type of pasture”. [c] make up or establish the character of: for some, the football team defines their identity. 2 [a] mark out the boundary or limits of: the river defines the park’s boundary. [b] make clear the outline of; delineate: she defined her eyes by applying eyeshadow. (NOAD)
Sense 1b is the lexicographers’ verb define.
Then a specialization of sense 2b:
2 [b″] (in bodybuilding): (of muscles) ‘make individuals clearly separate, with visible boundaries between them’
— from the verb define, in all its senses, the PSP defined; by the adjing of the PSP for sense 1b:
adj. defined: having its meaning given in a dictionary
This is the lexicographic adjective defined, from which we get well-defined.
Meanwhile, by the adjing of the PSP for sense 2b:
adj. defined: having a definite outline or specification; precisely marked or stated: defined boundaries | a number of clearly defined aims. (NOAD)
And then a specialization of this adjective:
adj. defined″: (in bodybuilding): (of muscles) ‘with individuals clearly separate, having visible boundaries between them’
This is the bodybuilding adjective defined, from which we get another well-defined.
— from the verb, the derived noun definition:
1 [a] a statement of the exact meaning of a word, especially in a dictionary: a dictionary definition of the verb. [b] an exact statement or description of the nature, scope, or meaning of something: our definition of what constitutes poetry. … 2 [a] the degree of distinctness in outline of an object, image, or sound, [a′] especially of an image in a photograph or on a screen: the clarity and definition of pictures can be aided by using computer graphics. (NOAD)
Then another specialization of sense 2a, in addition to 2a′:
2 [a″] (in bodybuilding): (of muscles) ‘the visual separation of clearly distinct individuals’
— the verbs cut and shred:
cut: … 5 [a] reduce the size, amount, or quantity of (NOAD)
shred: 1 [with object] [a] tear or cut into shreds [b] reduce documents to unreadable strips by feeding them into a shredder … (NOAD)
Then a specialization of cut sense 5a (and shred sense 1):
cut′ (in bodybuilding): (also shred′) ‘reduce the fat percentage of muscles by strict dieting, to increase muscle definition’
— from these verbs cut / shred, the PSPs cut / shredded; and then by the adjing of these PSPs:
adj. cut / shredded: (of a body) ‘with muscle definition achieved by cutting / shredding’
Competitive bodybuilding. How this vocabulary fits into the bodybuilding world. From Wikipedia:
Bodybuilding is the practice of progressive resistance exercise to build, control, and develop one’s muscles via hypertrophy. An individual who engages in this activity is referred to as a bodybuilder. It is primarily undertaken for aesthetic purposes over functional ones, distinguishing it from similar activities such as powerlifting and calisthenics.
In competitive bodybuilding, competitors appear onstage in line-ups and perform specified poses (and later individual posing routines) for a panel of judges who rank them based on conditioning, muscularity, posing, size, stage presentation, and symmetry. Bodybuilders prepare for competitions by exercising and eliminating non-essential body fat. This is enhanced at the final stage by a combination of carbohydrate loading and dehydration to achieve maximum muscle definition and vascularity [vein definition]. Most bodybuilders also tan and shave their bodies prior to competition. [AZ: their tans mostly come out of a bottle; and they then oil their bodies to make their musles look more defined and shiny under stage lights]
A celebrated bodybuilder — who happens to be gay — on exhibition (with a brief bio extracted from Wikipedia):
(#2) Bulk, muscle definition, vascularity, and a killer poseBob Paris (born Robert Clark Paris on December 14, 1959) is an American writer, actor, public speaker, civil rights activist, and former professional bodybuilder. Paris was the 1983 NPC American National and IFBB World Bodybuilding Champion. In 1989, he became the world’s first male professional athlete to come out as gay in the media while still an active competitor in his sport.
Everyday bodybuilding. Most bodybuilders don’t compete, but simply seek to mold their bodies in ways that satisfy them. So they will primarily be after muscle mass and definition (without the tanning, oiling, or posing). This is where my bodybuilding friends come in.
Again, I’ll give just one example, and again this bodybuilder is gay, and out. But he’s also a highly valued colleague in linguistics. From my 9/23/20 posting “Great progress, grave threat” (with two photos added):
On Facebook, Phillip M. Carter, the notable sociolinguist at Florida International University, has just responded to the news that “A new Supreme Court justice could boost religious liberties at the cost of LBGTQ protections” with an open and unsparingly honest account of the agonies of his coming to terms with his homosexuality as a child. Painful to read, and it made me cry.
Phillip was born 40 years after me, and I had hoped that by his time, things would have improved more than they had. But he managed to hack out a good life — and more important, a life of great service to others, involving not just the sociolinguistic study of hispanic and black communities in Florida, but also of active advocacy for the people in those communities and the nurturing of students at FIU. Deeply admirable.
(#3) PMC teaching a sociolinguistics class a FIU in 2015: engaged, passionate, charming[Digression. Along the way, he turned himself into an amazing muscle-hunk. That’s just the entertainment portion of the program (he posts a lot about his workouts), but it is fun to watch, mostly because he’s so enthusiastic (and entirely aware that he’s putting on a show). (I say this as someone who is normally deeply cool to bodybuilders.)]
(#4) PMC the bodybuilding muscle-hunk (wearing really fine socks), in a photo from 1/11/23; the facial expression is intense absorption, not ferocity
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