A curtsey (also spelled curtsy or courtesy) is a traditional gesture of greeting, in which a girl or woman lowers her body by bending her knees. It is the female equivalent of male bowing in European cultures. The word "curtsy" comes from "courtesy" which means "politeness".
According to Desmond Morris, the movements in the curtsey and the bow were similar until the 17th century. Only later did the difference between the female and the male gesture develop. The earlier, combined version is still performed by Restoration comedy actors.
When a curtsey is very formal, the girl/woman bends the knees outward (rather than straight ahead), often sweeping one foot behind her. She may also use her hands to hold her skirt out from her body. In Victorian times, when women wore floor-length, hooped skirts, they curtsied using the plié movement borrowed from second-position in classical ballet in which the knees are bent while the back is held straight. Both feet and knees point out so the body lowers straight down. In this way, the lady lowers herself evenly, not to one side.
Traditionally, women and girls curtsey to people who are of higher rank (more important) than they are, just as men and boys bow. Today this practice has become less common. In European cultures it is traditional for women to curtsey in front of members of the Royal family. This is sometimes called a "court curtsey" and is often very deep. Some female domestic workers curtsey for their employers.
Female dancers often curtsey at the end of a performance to show thanks or acknowledge applause from the audience. At the end of a ballet class, students will also curtsey or bow to the teacher and the pianist to thank them. According to Victorian dance etiquette, a woman curtseys before beginning a dance. Female Scottish highland dancers performing the national dances and the Irish jig also curtsey as well (at both the beginning and end for the national dances and at the end for the Irish Jig). Some female ballroom dancers will curtsey to their partners before beginning the Viennese Waltz. In some cultures females bow instead of curtseying.
Isaac Butt
Isaac Butt (1813–1879) was an Irish nationalist political leader and president of the Home Rule Confederation of Great Britain, which sought to achieve Home Rule for Ireland within the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland.
Adam Yauch
Adam Nathaniel Yauch (August 5, 1964 - May 4, 2012) was an American rapper and movie director. He was a member of the Beastie Boys.
Yauch was born in Brooklyn, New York City. In 2009, he was diagnosed with salivary gland neoplasm. He died of the disease in New York City.
Zoosemiotics
Zoosemiotics is a branch of semiotics (and of biosemiotics) that studies sign processes and communication in animals.
Juri Lotman
Juri M. Lotman (28 February 1922 – 28 October 1993) was a semiotician and a professor in Russian literature, semiotics of and history of culture in the University of Tartu.
He established the semiotics school in Tartu, Estonia.
Świętochłowice
Świętochłowice is a city in Poland in Silesian Voivodeship. It has about 55,000 people and 13.31 km². The city is on the Rawa River.
Schnitzel
Schnitzel is a traditional Austrian dish. It is made out of boneless meat thinned with a hammer, coated in bread crumbs and fried. It is a popular part of Hungarian cuisine and German cuisine. In Austria, the dish called "Wiener Schnitzel" is traditionally served with a slice of lemon and either Potato salad or potatoes with parsley and butter.
The traditional Wiener schnitzel is made of veal. It is now often made of pork. When made of pork, it is often called "Schnitzel Wiener Art" in Germany. In Austria, by law it has to be called "Wiener Schnitzel vom Schwein" to show it is different it from the original. In Austria and Germany, the term "Wiener Schnitzel" is protected by law. Any schnitzel called by that name has to be made from veal.
In Finland, watermelon is traditionally eaten with Schnitzel (pork Schnitzel is the most popular in the country). In New Zealand their beef Schnitzel meals are almost always eaten with a large serving of mashed potatoes and/or boiled vegetables.
Kaiserschmarrn
Kaiserschmarrn is a well-known Austrian dessert. It was popular in the former Austria–Hungary as well as in Bavaria. The Czech name is "trhanec" or "kajzršmorn". In Hungary it is called "császármorzsa" or simply "smarni".
Kaiserschmarrn is a light, caramelized pancake. It is made from a sweet batter using flour, eggs, sugar, salt, and milk, baked in butter. Kaiserschmarrn can be prepared in different ways. When making Kaiserschmarrn the egg-whites are usually separated from the yolk and beaten until stiff. Then the flour and the yolks are mixed with sugar, and the other ingredients are added. The pancake is split into pieces while frying, shredded after preparation. It is usually sprinkled with powdered sugar, then served hot with apple or plum sauce or various fruit compotes. Kaiserschmarrn is eaten like a dessert.
Traditionally Kaiserschmarrn is served with "Zwetschkenröster", a fruit compote made out of Plums.
Knödel
Knödel or Klöße are large round poached or boiled potato or bread dumplings, made without yeast. They are normal parts of Austrian, German, Hungarian and Czech cuisine. They come in many different forms. They can be made from flour, potatoes, old bread, semolina, etc. In most types, they are used as a side dish for meat. They can also be served as a dessert or in a soup.
In Hungary, they are called "gombóc"; in the Czech Republic, "knedlík"; in Luxembourg, "Kniddel(en)", "cnigle" in Bukovina; and, in Italy, "canederli". In some parts of the United States, "klub" is used to mean potato dumplings.
"Klöße" are large dumplings, steamed or boiled in hot water, made of dough from grated raw or mashed potatoes, eggs and flour. Similar semolina crack dumplings are made with semolina, egg and milk. They are called "Grießklößchen".
"Thüringer Klöße" are made from raw or boiled potatoes, or a mixture of both, and are often filled with croutons or ham. In Austria and Hungary they make large sweet dumplings or plum dumplings called Zwetschkenknödel. Gombotzen are made with flour & potato batter, by wrapping the potato dough around whole plums or apricots. They then are boiled and rolled in hot buttered caramelized bread crumbs. Topfenknödel are made with quark cheese (Topfen) and are traditionally topped with cinnamon sugar and served with apple sauce or with streusel.
"Königsberger Klopse" are not dumplings, they are made from ground meat and are related to "Frikadeller".
Tafelspitz
Tafelspitz is boiled beef in broth Viennese style.
Tafelspitz - boiled tri-tip - is a typical Austrian dish. The beef is simmered with root vegetables and spices in the broth. It is usually served with roasted slices of potato and a mix of minced apples and horseradish or sour cream mixed with horseradish.
Franz Joseph I, Emperor of Austria, was a great lover of Tafelspitz. Tafelspitz is said to be the national dish of Austria.
Tafelspitz is the name of the meat cut which is used. It is usually from a young ox. The meat for Tafelspitz is well-aged pieces of beef, a cut of beef from the bottom sirloin primal cut. This cut is typically known in the United States as the tri-tip.
Austrian butchers gave almost every muscle of beef a separate name. The hind leg alone is parted into 16 cuts.
Schönbrunn Palace
Schönbrunn Palace is a former imperial 1,441-room Rococo summer residence in Vienna, Austria. It is one of the most important cultural monuments in the country. Since the 1960s it has been one of the major tourist attractions in Vienna. The palace and gardens show the tastes and interests of Habsburg monarchs.