When the door is opened, a shark bursts in and chomps the poor
occupant. There is a moral here for those attracted to
candygrammars. Note that, in many circles, pretty much the same
ones who remember Monty Python sketches, all it takes is the word
"Candygram!", suitably timed, to get people rolling on the
floor. -- GLS]

:canonical: /adj./ [historically, `according to religious law']
The usual or standard state or manner of something. This word has
a somewhat more technical meaning in mathematics. Two formulas
such as 9 + x and x + 9 are said to be equivalent
because they mean the same thing, but the second one is in
`canonical form' because it is written in the usual way, with the
highest power of x first. Usually there are fixed rules you
can use to decide whether something is in canonical form. The
jargon meaning, a relaxation of the technical meaning, acquired its
present loading in computer-science culture largely through its
prominence in Alonzo Church's work in computation theory and
mathematical logic (see {Knights of the Lambda Calculus}).
Compare {vanilla}.

Non-technical academics do not use the adjective `canonical' in
any of the senses defined above with any regularity; they do
however use the nouns `canon' and `canonicity' (not
**canonicalness or **canonicality). The `canon' of a given author
is the complete body of authentic works by that author (this usage
is familiar to Sherlock Holmes fans as well as to literary
scholars). `*The* canon' is the body of works in a given
field (e.g., works of literature, or of art, or of music) deemed
worthwhile for students to study and for scholars to investigate.