| Front | buskin \BUS-kin\ |
|---|---|
| Back | noun 1. A thick-soled laced boot, reaching to the knee or calf, worn by actors of ancient Greek tragedies. Also known as cothurnus. 2. A tragic drama. [Perhaps from Middle French brousequin. A thick-soled boot was a distinctive feature of a tragic actor in ancient Greece. It elevated him and raised his stature. Because those big shoes were often worn by tragedians, we came to refer to a tragedy itself as a buskin. A counterpart of buskin is sock (a comedy) after soccus, a lightweight low shoe worn by comic actors.] "'My vein,' wrote Corneille, 'often combines the lofty buskin with the comic sock, and ... pleases the audience by striking contrasting notes.'" - Linda Winer; Corneille With Kushner's Help; Newsday (New York); Jan 20, 1994. |
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