Les Jones

Nifty > Word of the Day: Shibolleth

I just got around to reading Saturday's Merriam-Webster Word of the Day. I knew the meaning of the word, but not the origin.

shibboleth \SHIH-buh-luth\ noun

1 *a : a catchword or slogan used by members of a group but regarded by others as empty of real meaning b : a commonly held belief
2 : a behavior or use of language that identifies a person as belonging to a group

Did you know?
The Bible's Book of Judges (12:4-6) tells the story of the Ephraimites, who, after they were routed by the Gileadite army, tried to retreat by sneaking across a ford of the Jordan River that was held by their enemy. The Gileadites, wary of the ploy, asked every soldier who tried to cross if he was an Ephraimite. When the soldier said "no," he was asked to say "shibboleth" (which means "stream" in Hebrew). Gileadites pronounced the word "shibboleth," but Ephraimites said "sibboleth." Anyone who left out the initial "sh" was killed on the spot. When English speakers first borrowed "shibboleth," they used it to mean "test phrase," but it has acquired other meanings since that time.

The best new word I learned from the WOTD is frigorific. Like Krusty the Klown says, comedy isn't about dirty words - it's about words that sound dirty but aren't.