Good roots at the Gross Clinic

What a gift! A gloomy, rainy day in North Texas is precious, and especially wonderful on a day off from school. This was "Fair Day," allegedly an opportunity for children to visit the State Fair of Texas, but equally important, a day for teachers to schedule doctor and dentist appointments. The unfamiliar rain sounds made hitting the snooze button seem extra luxurious at 6:15 a.m.

Spent the morning at the dentist's office having my teeth cleaned, and a full set of x-rays made. The good news is I have "great roots"! I think this could be a real asset on an AARP online match-making site. The dentist removed an old silver filling that wasn't doing its job, and replaced it with a sexy composite filling.


There's no way to explain to students why "gross" and "floss" don't rhyme. The hygienist was pleased with the results of my New Years resolution. My brushing is much improved, so now it's time to get serious about flossing.


Which reminds me what I forgot to write before, but I'm now officially in an absent-minded phase of life, and can't be blamed for such lapses. A student brought a sealed medical pouch for Show & Tell. It contained six rotten teeth pulled by a dentist. Boys and girls, can you say "gross" and "floss"?

Every so often I check the Curious Expeditions blog. Today I found a post about an early Pennsylvania operating clinic. I'm not sure if its the famous clinic of Dr. Samuel Gross. Thomas Eakins painted Dr. Gross in the surgery theatre. I grew up pondering Eakins' "Portrait of Jennie Dean Kershaw" at the Sheldon Gallery on the UNL campus.

Gross c.1347, from O.Fr. gros "big, thick, coarse," from L.L. grossus "thick, coarse (of food or mind)," of obscure origin, not in classical L. Said to be unrelated to L. crassus, which meant the same thing, or to Ger. gross "large," but said to be cognate with O.Ir. bres, M.Ir. bras "big." Its meaning forked in M.E., to "glaring, flagrant, monstrous" on the one hand and "entire, total, whole" on the other. Meaning "disgusting" is first recorded 1958 in U.S. student slang, from earlier use as an intensifier of unpleasant things (gross stupidity, etc.). Noun sense of "a dozen dozen" is from O.Fr. grosse douzaine "large dozen;" sense of "total profit" (opposed to net) is from 1523. Gross national product first recorded 1947.

© 2008 Nancy L. Ruder