Every issue of The Economist has a section devoted to the news from the United states and the last page is titled Lexington and is usually devoted to a commentary of osrts.
My question is why Lexington? And what Lexington are they talking about? Lexington Kentucky? Why not title it Washington, DC?
There is also a Lexington in Massachusetts. My guess is the title comes from that. There is a lot of history in that Lexington from the Revolutionary War against Great Britain. That’s where the ‘Shot heard around the world’ happened in 1775 signalling the opening of the war.
I can’t say for certain this is why or where they got the name from but I think it is a safer bet than Lexington, KY, even if that Lexington is much larger.
I think that “Lexington” is the nom de plume of the author of that section.
Whack-A-Mole, I forgot about Lexington, Mass.:smack:
Thanks for the reminder.
I believe that is correct. There is also a “Charlemagne” at the end of the Europe section, and a “Bagehot” at the end of the Britain section.
Well, the “Bagehot” reference is utterly transparent: Walter Bagehot (1826-77) is both the most famous editor of the magazine (between 1860 and his death) and his The English Constitution is surely the most widely cited work on British constitutional theory. He’s arguably the greatest commentator of all on British politics. A rather natural nom de plume for an unsigned Economist column on the subject to adopt.
“Charlemagne” I’ve always assumed to be a straightforward reference to an early and enthusiastic pan-European.