Traditional

Traditional, adj. A kind of activity which must have been done forever because our grandparents did it.

 

 

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Committee

Committee, n. A group of men who individually can do nothing but as a group decide that nothing can be done.

Original quote attributed to Fred Allen

 

See also Board of Trustees

 

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Genealogy

Genealogy, n. A partial list of your ancestors’ sexual partners.

 

 

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Zoo

Zoo: An excellent place to study the habits of human beings.

Evan Esar, Esar’s Comic Dictionary (1943)

 

 

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Exciting

Exciting, adj. A self-inflicted description used often, if not accurately, by museums to describe their programs.

 

 

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Patina

Patina, n. The first (and often last) feature an antiques collector learns to identify. Knowledge of patinas allows the collector to assess the age, authenticity, or restoration history of any piece and relieves him or her of the burden of having to know anything else.

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Attendance

Attendance, n. The published sum of all museum visitors for a given event or time period. This number has no relation to reality.

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Popular Culture

Popular Culture, n. Of little or no interest to historians until such time as it has fallen out of fashion, after which they build their careers on it.

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Warp Speed

Warp Speed, n. Before 1966, how quickly one could prepare a loom.

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Stakeholder

Stakeholder, n. A single-issue voter who contributes his or her agenda, but not money, to a museum project.

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