Henchmen

Yes, I DO feel really bad about going so long between blogs. But as Socrates once said, "All we are is dust in the wind, dude".

Well, OK, the dust-in-the-wind metaphor probably doesn't really go very far in explaining my verbal drought. In fact, it's horribly inapt, come to think of it...but perhaps my lack of ability to put forth a cogent metaphor (or simile or whatever) and poor current grasp of grammar skills might be the reason behind my hiatus from these pages. Or those could just be symptoms, with the cause being something more along the lines of being beaten down by The Man. Or maybe it's stress over James Cameron's lack of success in solving the oil spill crisis...or just the depressing realization that Christmas is so very VERY far away?

It could be any of those factors, or merely the fact that I haven't seen a good Ben Affleck movie lately. It could be fallout from my ongoing legal disputes with the Swedish Bikini team (don't ask), or it could be anxiety over rumors of Chuds (and/or Tommy Lee Jones) roaming the sewer pipes beneath the city. But let's just blame it on being busy at work and get down to business, OK?

Today's topic is a short one: Henchmen. For some reason, I had a dream about henchmen the other night...but instead of waking up in a cold sweat from worry over who might be sending their minions after me, I woke up questioning the origin of the word. Is "to hench" a verb, and these are the fellows who perform that action? And what is the difference between a henchman and a minion, anyway? According to the dictionary, a minion is a functionary who performs administrative duties while a henchman is a shadier character who often carries out his boss's desires with no particular regard for legalities or codes of chivalry. In other words, calling someone a minion ought to carry no particular negative connotation. But it seems to me that the word is hardly ever used without intent of disrespecting (or "dissing" as the young people say these days) the character of the person to whom it's applied. And it seems to me that "henchmen" and "minions" are often used interchangably, when they shouldn't be.

I shall have more to say on this topic tomorrow. But in the meantime, think about how many henchmen and minions you come across on a daily basis. And who are some of your favorite examples from history and/or fiction? We shall continue the discussion later. For now, I'm off to get ready for another busy day at the office.

Enjoy your pondering, and have a great day!