Dear SIRAISI Tomio <[log in to unmask]>, re. spinmeister, of whom Safire is one. 'Spin' has acquired a sense in the contemporary media, metaphorically extended from tennis and golf, that one can impart a different interpretation to an event than would be straightforwardly obvious. In sports, if you want the ball to go a different direction than straight, you put spin on it; side spin causes it to veer off to one side or the other, right or left; back spin causes it to stop suddenly, or even back up. In billiards (or pool) and among some bowlers, spin is called (apropos of this group) English. A spin doctor is a public relations geek whose job is to tell you what a higher power actually meant to say. A spinmeister is a spin doctor who is good at the job. I trust that your head is no longer spinning. Spincerely, Paul T. Wilson P.S. A spin to the right (a hook) often times conflicts with a spin to the left (a slice), one of the classic examples being Jack the Ripper, a slicer who went after hookers. ----- Paul T. Wilson [log in to unmask] Professor of Reading Western Michigan University