Friday, June 15, 2007

what in the cornbread hell is a burqini, you ask?

i do the ny times crossword puzzle just about every day. hey, there are worse addictions out there.
yesterday i decided to try my hand at the ny sun puzzle.
man, was it was a killer.

my favorite answer: BURQINI
clued as MUSLIM WOMAN'S SWIMWEAR, which i only got by the crossings.

turns out it's a word coined by combining
burqa, the traditional head-to-toe covering for Muslim women,


with bikini.

(from wikipedia: "According to the official version, the modern bikini... was named after Bikini Atoll, the site of nuclear weapon tests... in the Marshall Islands, on the reasoning that the burst of excitement it would cause would be like the nuclear device." )






now, if the mental image of a burqa clad surfer isn't funny to you, i really can't do a thing to help you out. but you might at least admit that burqini is a clever word. no?
a fine, fine invention for all concerned.



here is an awesome story about a female, australian, muslim lifeguard. (irony rocks)
she not only has a cool name (ms. laalaa), she wears a burqini while being a good, allah-fearing social activist. now that's my kinda gal.
the puzzle constructor, Francis Heaney, says s/he(? ) began creating the puzzle after reading that article.

holy moly! this all makes me wanta go to the beach and check out the -qinis.
and the-kinis, too.

3 comments:

Unknown said...

burqini
well i bet tons of american girls would feel better about going to the beach if they got to wear he
burqini
...and the other pic u had up of the muslim lady was that a doctor? or nurse?
i thought it was cool they make the burqini in diff models...
athletic modest and soemthing else.... snug or soemthing....lol
to each his own... id rather wear a burqini then a bikini!
yeah for crossword puzzles i dont do many myself..... i should start....

cornbread hell said...

i can just see it now.

think SNL skit.

it's spring break at the beach...all the guys are ready to party hearty...and all the girls are in their burqinis. ahahahahahaha

Enigma said...

Wearing a white burqa down here might be dangerous. Me wearing a bikini even more so. Might keep the crows away, however. Personally, I think we all just need to go nekkid and be done with it.