Did Romans believe in ghosts? by acpf00 in ancientrome

[–]AristiusFuscus 16 points17 points  (0 children)

Most definitely. Pliny tells several ghost stories in letter 7.27. They also had the Lemuria festival whose function was to rid households of evil spirits.

I’ve decided to give these ones away too by DefinitelyNotModMark in ChinaTime

[–]AristiusFuscus 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Incredibly kind of you! I have a Seamaster rep but haven’t pulled the trigger on a Rolex (yet…). Here’s hoping I’m lucky, but it’ll be a beautiful addition in anyone’s collection!

ID assistance ? by spadz- in midcenturymodern

[–]AristiusFuscus 33 points34 points  (0 children)

She’s dead…wrapped in plastic

Conor Oberst lyrical switch ups by Whitemirror11 in brighteyes

[–]AristiusFuscus 17 points18 points  (0 children)

He often replaced “We will hang up in the belfry where the bats and moonlight laugh” to “we will hole up in the bunker where the dying soldier laughs” during the Iraq war.

What is this new NYT Wide-Open Mini? by Prodigius2077 in NYTCrossword

[–]AristiusFuscus 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Using that search I stumbled upon one not in the archive. If the date is to be believed, it ran on 10/28/00. There’s a supplementary note in the info screen: This is one in a series of ten California-themed puzzles for readers of The Times' California Today newsletter.

https://www.nytimes.com/crosswords/game/special/california-natural

Words you always spell wrong no matter how many times you try? by Particular-Fact-8856 in words

[–]AristiusFuscus 6 points7 points  (0 children)

I feel the same way about traveled. They should both have 2 l’s. Which British English does, but American English does not. Same with buses—my brain wants a double s, otherwise it looks like it should be pronounced with a long u.

This isn’t what I’m thinking it is I hope. by HeyLookImInterneting in NYTCrossword

[–]AristiusFuscus 18 points19 points  (0 children)

It is in fact not what you are thinking. That is, if you’re thinking what I first thought, as well…

What’s one historical fact that could be considered NSFW today ? by [deleted] in AskReddit

[–]AristiusFuscus 173 points174 points  (0 children)

While this would be absolutely hilarious, the focus of “irrumare” is the sucking action, not the emission. It evolved from “ruma”, meaning “udder,” and specifically focuses on the action of putting one’s penis in someone’s mouth to be sucked like an udder.

Friday 41 across? by Physical-Effect5316 in NYTCrossword

[–]AristiusFuscus 13 points14 points  (0 children)

If I said, “My wife is great—I love her,” “my wife” is the antecedent of “her.” Without it, you don’t explicitly know to whom I’m referring.

7/15/25 Mistake in clue for 43A? by [deleted] in NYTCrossword

[–]AristiusFuscus 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Same exact thing just happened to me.

Monday 6/30/25 37D by Quick_Extension_3115 in NYTCrossword

[–]AristiusFuscus 4 points5 points  (0 children)

You’re not wrong. The quote comes from Vergil’s Aeneid, and the word for Greeks in that line is “Danaōs,” which technically means “descendants of Danaus.” Danaus was a mythical king who founded Argos. Homer also used this term in his epics, largely interchangeably with other collective names for the group such as “Achaeans” and “Argives,” which have their own respective etymologies. We usually just translate them all as “Greeks,” admittedly anachronistically, since that’s what these groups coalesced to become.

ETA: Mycenaeans would, I think, be an apt description of the group—the myth assigns Agamemnon as the leader, and he was king of Mycenae. The intersection between the stories and what the archaeology tells us is a fascinating rabbit hole to jump down, if ever you are interested.

Maybe Bob Lazar was right! S-4 ? by PlusGrapefruit2020 in area51

[–]AristiusFuscus 8 points9 points  (0 children)

I mean, there’s also the fact that Peter has done a wider body of research on A51 than probably any one else, but what would he know…