It is not possible to count the words in the English language. I can create a perfectly good word with ease. If I use it enough and others begin to use it, then it becomes a recognized word. If no one likes it or no one sees the need for it, then it doesn't. Recently a TV newscaster said, “We are ef...

More on grass widow, call_copse: The idea of grass widow first applying to a loose woman may have some merit. Compare it with “Green Sleeves”. It is the name of a famous melody to which the words “What Child is This?” are sung. There is another, probably original, set of romantic words. I have head ...

Back to grass widow, call_copse: The only origin for grass widow that I have ever heard, and I have heard it many times, is that it is the not-so-respectable title of a woman who is divorced. She is called a grass widow because her husband is on, not under, the grass covered ground, hence not dead a...

LukeJavan8 and others, You are so right on the last part of your previous post, Luke. Worship is a drama in which we are the actors and God is the audience. It is our desire to honor him. If you are still worried about programs, I know that there are some mega-churches that are just as you describe ...

LukeJavan8 and others, You are so right on the last part of your previous post, Luke. Worship is a drama in which we are the actors and God is the audience. It is our desire to honor him. If you are still worried about programs, I know that there are some mega-churches that are just as you describe ...

I have followed the responses closely and I see that there is a wide range of opinions about the definition of a mega-church. I think some people’s opinion may be influenced by mega-churches that are on television networks. Many mega-churches are not TV churches and many TV mega-churches are not lik...

If you are real country, and I am, you say sodey wawter.

For a definition of Gulah see: http://freefactfinder.com/definition/Gulah.html.
Joel Chandler Harris uses a version of Gulah in his Uncle Remus stories. It is surely a modification of Gulah because with a little study most English speakers can get the jist of the Uncle Remus stories.

My old German Professor, Dr. Hebel, liked to compare words from different languges. When he said a French word he would then spit on the floor and mutter, "bastard Latin." He believed the mother of French wore army boots.

I know that English is a living language and we cannot keep it from changing. But is there some way to squelch some of the most egregious linguistic innovations? Why has the word “unbelievable” changed from its previous definition to now mean something like “amazing”? It seems to me that Brian Willi...

So far no one has chimed in on this good word, so here goes. I can't ever remember how to pronounce it and I can't easily remember what it means. It may be the hardest word in the English language for me. I am not sure I like it; and I like almost everything about the English language. Well, I don't...

This is true LukeJavan8. An Ebonics speaker can use the "n" word with impunity. He/she can call any one an "n" word. If you are not an Ebonics speaker, and only certain people are allowed to speak Ebonics, then saying the "n" word is a definite racial slur. I never say ...

Caught, as I am, a Texan between Mexican and Louisianan culture, I sometimes say pilón and sometimes say lagniappe. I would never say baksheesh. To me that means a bribe. Every month when I was a boy my daddy would pay the grocery bill. Mr. Shannon, the grocer, would always throw in a bag of candy o...

I belong to a church that is almost a megachurch. It is a megachurch on Christmas and Easter. I find it to be a warm fellowship that does not try to bilk people out of their hard earned cash and that doesn't preach or teach an off beat doctrine. Because we are divided into smaller Bible Fellowship C...

In South Texas, and perhaps other places, there is a vulture we call a turkey buzzard. It looks amazingly like a turkey. Its head is red and featherless and its body is an iridescent black. The old joke is to take a green-horn out turkey hunting and get her/him to shoot a turkey buzzard. If you are ...