"Life is a sexually transmitted disease that ultimately ends in death". - Spoken by Dr. Wayne Dyer, author and spiritual guru, I am not sure if he originated this quote. Another similar quote, I heard years ago in a time and place I don't recall, "Life is a disease and we are all at different stages of it". - unknown. I really don't mean to start this day off on a cynical or negative note..I just happen to find these quotes to be rather amusing, and partially true.
Oh, one question for the day. Why is it after people sneeze people say "Bless you"? I was told it was from the black plague centuries ago. However, my question is, when people today say it, most say "Blesh you". The word "bless" is often pronounced "blesh". Emphasis on the bleSH. WTF. Why is this?
Is this like the state of Maryland? It was named after Queen Mary. Yes, Mary (Mare - EEE - Land). Not "Mehr -ul- and". Or "Mur - lind". As most say it today, including myself. It should be "Mary Land". Was this pronunciation perversion a mutation of the 20th century? Or has this gone on since the days of the naming of that state? Attention linguists: please respond if you know. May you have some peace of mind today.
Posts
There was a Seinfeld episode where he talked about the "bless you" thing, and said if you want to make people feel better, wouldn't it be better to say "You're soooo good-looking!" after they sneeze? I happen to agree, but I don't want to be rude, so I say "bless you." I'm such a conformist. I also think it's funny that the Germans say "Gesundheit!" which literally means "Health!" Stop that sneezing! No sneezing! Choose health!!!
ReplyDeleteI have no idea why Maryland is pronounced that way. But the word linguist makes me giggle.
Au contraire mon Sistaire...I don't believe you are a conformist, I would put you in with the rest of us free thinkers, if I had to label but I don't like labels if I can avoid them. They do come in handy. Commie Pinko Card Carrying ACLU member!!! Just kidding...lol. That is funny about the German meaning of Gesundheit. I had never heard that, that is quite cool. And yes, the word linguist is a strange one. Yes, the cunning linguists have their annual convention, CunLingusCon! aka, CLC.
ReplyDelete