God Bless Britney

When I teach eighteenth-century literature, I often find myself glossing terms modern students don't know. This past semester I came across the word dissolute in one of the readings, and was grasping for a suitable definition: "Leading a wild life, without much regard for morality, seeming to have his or her life falling apart...." It was clear I wasn't really helping anyone understand the word.

And then inspiration struck: "Y'know — like Britney Spears." All of a sudden it made perfect sense to my undergrads.

God bless Britney.