Dear list, My esteemed assistant Omnipotente Despoto in Italia Matteo Brandi wrote:
"but Faliero had him blueballed there, so he was screwed and quit."
As Omnipotent Despot, I feel it is my place to add just a bit of correction to the situation: I believe that the term Sig.Matteo ment was "blackballed"
Merrian-Webster lists the following:
Pronunciation:'blak-"bol Function: transitive verb 1 : to vote against; especially : to exclude from membership by casting a negative vote 2 a : to exclude socially : OSTRACIZE b : BOYCOTT
In other words, nobody would sell the guy anything.
There was no listing for the other term. Although I'm sure we all can come up with a very reasonably accurate definition.
John T.Pergolizzi
La Jolla, Ca.