Wednesday, February 18, 2009

aptonyms

When a name matches what a person does that person has an aptonym.

"Only in July did the Dollie Brown case become truly bizarre, for only then did a murder defendant with the singularly appropriate name of Rodney Vice begin talking to prosecutors..." (p. 377)

1 comment:

  1. Although we've usually thought of aptonyms with reference to someone's profession, like Shoemaker the Cobbler, recent news has put the spotlight on the concept with a twist: an aptonym for the WAY one does business. I refer, of course, to Bernard Madoff. This has not escaped the notice of Freakonomics blogger Stephen Dubner: http://freakonomics.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/01/16/aptonyms-for-the-new-year/

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