Chrysti The Wordsmith: IntoThin Air

Greetings This is Christie the wordsmith from Montana State University in Bozeman. Vanished into thin air is what we might say of someone who has suddenly taken flight or has simply disappeared without farewell. If you find this verbal formula somewhat poetic you have a good ear. William Shakespeare was the first to publish the expression in his 16 11 play The Tempest a fantasy that takes place on a mystical island somewhere in the Mediterranean. Together with the fairies sprites and nymphs that inhabit the island lives Miranda a 15 year old girl and her father prosperity a man of magical abilities. When Miranda falls in love with a shipwrecked sailor prosperity conjures for the pair a play acted out by the local fairies and goddesses. But the festivities end when the spirits suddenly vanish from the stage. Prosperity explains our revels are now ended. These our actors as I foretold you were all spirits and are melted into air into thin air.

Today we tend to replace Shakespeare's word melted with vanished but the rest of the expression is intact into thin air. Writer Jon Krakauer borrowed this Shakespearean phrase for the title of his 1998 publication into thin air an account of an Everest expedition during which eight climbers lost their lives in the rarefied atmosphere of the world's highest mountain. I'm Christie the wordsmith. Good day verb of course. CHRISTIE The wordsmith a sponsored by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting and Zoot enterprises a high tech firm in Bozeman Montana offering challenging careers and innovative solutions for the financial services industry sued web dot com.