WORDS, WORDS, WORDS

Many years ago, I was watching an old-time movie. The actors were very colorful and rich in character. In addition to being a black and white movie, the language used was very dated. One fellow said to the other, "You insufferable odeous lout!" Why, I had never heard those words before. They were very descriptive and brought a smile to my face. Because I did not exactly know what that meant, I immediately took out my dictionary and discovered that insufferable means intolerable or unbearable. Odious means loathing, disgusting, or offensive. Lout means clumsy, stupid fellow or boor. So, to translate the phrase, it could be said, "You intolerable, disgusting, boor!"

We have lost so many of the quaint words and phrases from yesteryear but have gained new ones like "totally rad." Words that were so innocent years ago, like "gay," which meant to be happy or blissful, have now taken on other meanings. I remember when the word "awesome" meant "inspiring wonderment." It now means, "cool." "Cool" use to mean "temperature slightly warmer than cold." It now means "totally rad." "Totally rad or radical" use to mean "complete, extreme change." It comes full circle and now means, "cool!" It is all so confusing. Words have been overused and misused so often that they do not quite have the same meaning. Sometimes, I get mixed up and say "thongs" meaning beach shoes but the whole world thinks it mean "skimpy underwear." "Britches," on the otherhand, is another word we seldom use any more. It use to mean, "pants," both inner and outer! I'm not sure what it means now. I personally like to use the old phrase, "okie, dokie" because it is crystal clear, to the point, and very difficult to get mixed up. All in all, words, with their old or new meanings, give me a "hankering" to use them more often and in a "muiltiplicity" of ways. Words--use them often, "okie dokie?"