Folk Wisdom
This is the best world, that we live in,
To lend and to spend and to give in;
But to borrow or beg, or to get a man’s own,
It is the worst world that ever was known.
Arabic Proverb
Ask the experienced rather than the learned.
Daffy-nition
Censor: A person who sticks his NOs in other people’s business.
From the Word Lab
Zounds!: An exclamation that is a contraction of God’s wounds (reference to Jesus). It is normally pronounced zownds not zoonds, because of the great vowel shift, which was the result of the French-Norman impact on the English language.
Back in the time when such exclamations were used, people would swear on God’s body parts rather than his name, thus avoiding breaking the Third Commandment, “Do not take the Lord’s name in vain.”
Frank Advice
Sunday was to be the day of Aram’s wedding, and he and his father were enjoying a nightcap together. Lifting his glass in a toast to his father, Aram asked, “Any advice before I take the big step, Hairig?” “Yes,” the father said. “Two things. First: insist on having one night out a week with the boys. Second: don’t waste it on the boys.”
What’s in a Name?
Rev. Fr. Diran Bohajian is the pastor of St. Leon’s Armenian Church in Fair Lawn, N.J. Bohajian is a variant spelling of Boyajian; the misspelling is an example of the familiar Ellis Island hatchet jobs perpetrated on Armenian names.
The same can be said of Kahaumjian vs. Kouyoumjian.
Source: Armenian Weekly
Link: Uncle Garabed’s Notebook (Sept. 26, 2015)
