tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24498105.post7886068423972816845..comments2023-09-09T06:12:55.689-07:00Comments on Word Daze: The Word Lover's Almanac: April 22: Earth DayAnonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01035788831248898639noreply@blogger.comBlogger1125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24498105.post-76199344210664864892008-04-22T23:25:00.000-07:002008-04-22T23:25:00.000-07:00>> Celebrate Earth Day by mining the language for ...>> Celebrate Earth Day by mining the language for expressions (idioms) containing the words ... <BR/>mud, grass, dust, water <<<BR/><BR/>MUD<BR/>Lot's wife turned into a pillar of salt (Hebrew NaTZiB MeLaX, using X for het), a rather harsh punishment for merely looking BACKWARDS when told to not do so. Actually we have to look at this phrase backwards to understand that she suffered a stroke / thrombosis < Greek throm = trama + bos < Hebrew BoTZ = mud. She became paralyzed and couldn't talk or move, as if stuck in the mud (due to mud in the veins ?).<BR/><BR/>NaTZiB is a reversal of BoTZeN = like mud. MeLaX is a reversal of XaLaM = to be strong, healthy. She became frail and weak. The modern Hebrew word for stroke/apoplexy is SHaBaTZ = caused by/result of BoTZ = mud.<BR/><BR/>GRASS<BR/>The grass in the phrase "grass widow" is probably derived from Hebrew/Yiddish G'RooSHah which means "divorced woman".<BR/><BR/>DUST<BR/>The dust in the expression (they had a) dust-up is the translation of the Hebrew word @aVaK. In Hebrew, this word is a homonym that also means "quarrel, fight". So the translation "dust" is a euphemism for its other meaning.<BR/><BR/>WATER<BR/>The water in the expression "a diamond of the first water" is derived from meter/measure. If one fails to fully close his mouth when pronouncing an M, the result sounds like W. There are a lot of W-M parallels:<BR/>wer-/vir - man<BR/>world - monde<BR/>wane/wax - min/max<BR/>(wrist)watch - Hebrew MaD SHa3ah = measure + hour<BR/><BR/>Ciao,<BR/>Israel "izzy" Cohenizzy cohenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08636949944962809285noreply@blogger.com