Known Knowns, Known Unknowns, Unknown Unknowns

You know, what's weird? Those moments in life when you discover something that's common knowledge is unknown to you. Maybe, you've been pronouncing the word "oeuvre" or "Penelope" wrong, maybe you thought the Maldives are in the Mediterranean, maybe (like me) you thought Jennifer Lopez and A.C. Slater (pictured) are siblings in real life. Who knows, but the point is no one's ever corrected you. This happened to Jon Stewart a few weeks ago when he said "sang-gween" instead of "sang-gwin," and his guest, Jerry Seinfeld called him on it. The look on Stewart's face was classic: sheepish meets sarcastic, in keeping with his typical poses, but beneath the surface you could tell he was embarrassed. But this kind of thing happens to everyone. In fact I have a friend who's about the smartest person I know, and she thought I was mainlining Jack Daniels when I said so and so was making money hand over fist.

Anyway, I myself just now had one of these moments. Apparently, I have gone my whole life writing and saying "fin de siecle" for "piece de resistance." Bill Safire is going to be so disappointed in me. (Of course, he would never use "so" incorrectly as I just did.)