It was a joke. Shrill's the word of obsessed Krugman stalkers, so when I use it I'm either making fun of them our using it as a compliment.
But, for the record, the UK cover of the Krugman book is kind of funny in an ironic sort of way, though it would be lost on most people. If I were a tenured Princeton professor of economics it probably wouldn't be the cover I would choose for that book (nor was it the cover that Krugman chose), because, as Krugman said, it's a bit undignified. but, uh, people, it's an Oil Mustache, not a Hitler mustache on Big Time Dick.
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