“He looks like a deranged Easter Bunny…”

There are no right answers here, but my choice for the greatest Christmas movie of all-time is A Christmas Story. You can’t convince me otherwise. I love it so much that I bought a leg lamp for our front window. Every year, even before we’ve purchased a tree, the leg lamp makes its appearance—and we have copious amounts of glue, should anything happen.

Beyond nostalgia and tradition, the subtle one-liners are the movie's greatest strength. Some of my favorites, in no particular order:¹

• “In our world, you were either a bully, a toady, or one of the nameless rabble of victims.”
• “Adults loved to say things like that, but kids knew better. We knew darn well it was always better not to get caught.”
• “In the heat of battle, my father wove a tapestry of obscenity, that as far as we know, is still hanging in space over Lake Michigan.”
• “Some men are Baptists, others Catholics; my father was an Oldsmobile man.”
• “Randy lay there like a slug. It was his only defense.”

• “He looks like a deranged Easter bunny.”

I can’t remember the first time I saw A Christmas Story, but after the fourth or fifth time watching it, the word “deranged” became part of my vocabulary. I didn’t look up the definition, but from context clues I knew it meant “wacky,” “silly,” “insane,” or something to that effect. So, when I started work on a project for the Society of the Cincinnati—the nation’s oldest patriotic organization, founded in 1783 by officers of the Continental Army who served together in the American Revolution—I was surprised to see the word “deranged” used as a description of one’s military service.

For example, when editing a biography of one of the officers, I came across Capt. Stephen Hall (1739-1783), who “was a Qualified Propositus of the Connecticut Society who was Deranged”. ² At the time I thought, “geez, that can’t mean what I think it does,” so I went on a quest to discover its original meaning.

I started with the Society of the Cincinnati’s website³ and reviewed its mission. Here is an excerpt from the lengthy mission statement:

“All the officers of the American Army – as well as those who have resigned with honor, after three years service in the capacity of Officers, or who have been deranged by the resolutions of Congress on the several reforms of the Army, as those who shall have continued to the end of the war – have the right to become parties to this Institution. Provided that they subscribe one months pay and sign their names to the general rules in their respective State Societies, – those who are present with the Army immediately, and others within six months after the Army shall be disbanded, extraordinary cases excepted. The rank, time of service, resolution of Congress by which any have been deranged, and place of residence must be added to each name. And as a testimony of affection to the memory and the offspring of such Officers as have died in the service, their eldest male branches shall have the same right of becoming members, as the Children of the actual members of the Society.”

From context clues, it seems like the word meant “disbanded” or something similar. I continued to search through printed material without success, so finally I went to ask my colleague Chris Child, who knows everything about everything.

Chris said, “to qualify for [membership with] Cincinnati, the officer needed to have first obtained the rank of officer (ensign or above, sergeant and lower does not count), and have served for three years in continental service, died in service, served to the end of war, or their continental unit was rendered supernumerary (deranged)—i.e., it was dissolved and there was nowhere else for the officer to serve in continental units.”⁴

Merriam Webster defines supernumerary (deranged) as follows:⁵

1. a. exceeding the usual, stated, or prescribed number; b. not enumerated among the regular components of a group and especially of a military organization
2. exceeding what is necessary, required, or desired
3. more numerous

Well, that was unexpected! Who knew!?

This has happened multiple times during my career as a genealogist—the definition, meaning, or connotation of a word has evolved over time, and thrown me for a loop while I’ve been researching. Some words are just out-of-fashion like “cordwainer” or “relict,” but others have a completely different meaning, like “consumption.” Do you have any words that have thrown you for a loop? What’s your best resource for determining the correct definition? Mine is A to Zax by Barbara Jean Evans. (And Chris Child, of course…)

Notes

1 A Christmas Story. Directed by Bob Clark, performances by Peter Billingsley, Melinda Dillion, and Darren McGavin, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, 1983.

2 Research files and Propositus list of The Society Of the Cincinnati in The State of Connecticut.

3 https://www.societyofthecincinnati.org/institution-the-society-of-the-cincinnati/

4 Email from Chris Child, November 23, 2022.

5 https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/supernumerary