And Now, Something A Little Different

I have often been amused by certain words and terms. I mean sometimes they just don't sound right.

I went to the grocery store the other day and tried to go through the "self-check out" lane and saw a sign on the scanner that said, "OUT OF ORDER".

What did that mean?

Should I have done something else first?

Would it work if somebody brought some "ORDER" to it?

That's along the same line as when someone says. "It's out of whack!

"WHAT???

Out of whack? Why I've never seen any whack. (And if I had, I don't think I'd tell anyone!) I suppose it's too simple to say, "AIN'T WORKIN'!"

But that leads us down another road. "AIN'T" Some people say that "AIN'T" ain't a proper word to use.

Excuse me!!!! Some people say "AIN'T" isn't a proper word to use.

Well for a word that's not proper, it's sure been around for a while. Since 1685 to be exact, more or less.And think of all the people that have used it, besides me. Sojourner Truth gave a speech entitled, "Ain't I A Woman?" Lewis Carroll used "AIN'T" in his "Through The Looking Glass" as did Al Jolsen in the Jazz Singer. The use of the word "AIN'T" even cropped up in the last presidential election when Sarah Palin used it during the vice presidential debate and Barack Obama used it during his speeches on the stump to say, "That ain't right!"

And lest we forget, Bugs Bunny's, "Ain't I a stinker?"

© 2008 Barry T Horst


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