What is the multi-layered significance of the 3-card monte hustle in "Topdog/Underdog"?

The 3-card monte hustle is significant because it reinforces the concepts of chance/ risk and the volatility of life.

The card game is central to the story; it highlights how Booth and Lincoln choose to live their lives. Both gamble on more than a superficial level; they also pit their wits against each other in the game of life. The card game reinforces the concept of life as a game, where one must "hustle" in order to get ahead. In the play, risk-taking behavior is seen to be a multi-generational practice. Years ago, Booth and Lincoln's mother had a risky, adulterous relationship with the "Thursday" man and gambled that she would never be discovered.

When Booth caught her in flagrante delicto (or in the midst of a tryst with the "Thursday" man), she paid him off with five hundred dollars. At least, this is how Booth sees it; he suggests that his inheritance from his mother is actually "hush" money. Not to be bested, Lincoln proclaims that their father also gave him ten fifty dollar notes, which amounts to five hundred dollars.

Both brothers are willing to risk their reputations and lives for different things. While Booth wants to use 3-card monte to "rake in the money," Lincoln gambles on doing Abraham Lincoln impersonations to earn an honest living. Additionally, Booth steals from different shops in order to procure alcohol, new suits, and pornographic magazines. He looks at Lincoln as his ticket to greater wealth. Because Lincoln is a gifted 3-card monte player and has the skills to make an obscene amount of money, Booth pressures him to work together as a team.

Lincoln refuses. Booth is willing to risk everything to bring in more money; his object is to make sure he wins Grace. In the end, Grace resists returning to Booth because of her dissatisfaction with his ability to make a decent living. Discouraged by this development, Booth kills her and later challenges Lincoln to a high-stakes game. Each bets his individual inheritance against the other. As the superior player, Lincoln wins, and Booth is distraught by this. In a last act of desperation, he kills his brother in order to save his inheritance.

So, the 3-card monte hustle is significant in that it highlights the tragedy of multi-generational risk-taking, reinforces the volatile nature of life, and emphasizes the intrinsically risky nature of the game.

Is there a word/phrase for "unperformant"?

As a software engineer, I need to sometimes describe a piece of code as something that lacks performance or was not written with performance in mind. Example: This kind of coding style leads to unmaintainable and unperformant code. Based on my Google searches, this isn't a real word. What is the correct way to describe this? EDIT My usage of "performance" here is in regard to speed and efficiency. For example, the better the performance of code the faster the application runs. My question and example target the negative definition, which is in reference to preventing inefficient coding practices. Answer This kind of coding style leads to unmaintainable and unperformant code. In my opinion, reads more easily as: This coding style leads to unmaintainable and poorly performing code. The key to well-written documentation and reports lies in ease of understanding. Adding poorly understood words such as performant decreases that ease. In addressing the use of such a poorly ...

nouns - what do you call the person who passes the trophies to the prize giver/presenter?

The person who gives out the trophies to the winners are called award presenters. So what do u call the person who passes the trophies to the presenter? Thanks!

Is 'efficate' a word in English?

I routinely hear the word "efficate" being used. For example, "The most powerful way to efficate a change in the system is to participate." I do not find entries for this word in common English dictionaries, but I do not have an unabridged dictionary. I have checked the OED (I'm not sure if it is considered unabridged), and it has no entry for "efficate". It does have an entry for "efficiate", which is used in the same way. Wordnik has an entry for "efficate" with over 1800 hits, thus providing some evidence for the frequency of use. I personally like the word and find the meaning very clear and obvious when others use it. If it's not currently an "officially documented" word, perhaps its continued use will result in it being better documented.

Notes

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