Stature
Dollfuss was a very short man and his diminutive stature (155 cm = 5'2" or 150 cm = 4'11" according to the New York Times) was the object of satire; among his nicknames were 'Millimetternich' (making a portmanteau out of millimeter and Metternich), and the "Jockey". The New York Times also reported a series of jokes, including how in the coffee houses of Vienna, one could order a "Dollfuss" cup of coffee instead of a "Short Black" cup of coffee (black being the color of the Christian Democratic political faction).
In contrast to his own diminutive stature, his personal assistant and secretary Eduard Hedvicek, who later played a significant role in the unsuccessful attempt to save his life was a very large and tall man (200 cm = 6'7").
Read more about this topic: Engelbert Dollfuss
Famous quotes containing the word stature:
“Why are we never quite at ease in the presence of a schoolmaster? Because we are conscious that he is not quite at his ease in ours. He is awkward, and out of place in the society of his equals. He comes like Gulliver from among his little people, and he cannot fit the stature of his understanding to yours.”
—Charles Lamb (1775–1834)
“I imagine, on the benches of an assembly, the most intrepid of thinkers, a brilliant mind, one of those men who, when they ascend the tribune, feel it beneath them like the tripod of the oracle, suddenly grow in stature and become colossal, surpass by a head the massive appearances that mask reality, and see clearly the future over the high, frowning wall of the present.”
—Victor Hugo (1802–1885)
“Alas! if the principles of contentment are not within us,—the height of station and worldly grandeur will as soon add a cubit to a man’s stature as to his happiness.”
—Laurence Sterne (1713–1768)