Thursday, April 7, 2016

Wordplay Wednesday™ April 6, 2016 – CRAW-stuck



Let’s play Throwback Thursday Words!

Since I missed Wordplay WEDNESDAY – I’m going today, for a Throwback Thursday word.

Who remembers when something you saw or heard became stuck in your … nope, not mind 
CRAW (krô) n. – 1) the crop of a bird or insect; 2) the stomach of any animal – to stick in the (or someone’s) craw, to be unacceptable or displeasing to someone. [WW #54]

Growing up in the country lends itself to a different type of colorful vocabulary than one learns in school, or the cities – especially when that growing up took place in mid-twentieth century America.

Rurally speaking, most everything once (now, not so much) revolved around animals – their importance to country life went far beyond providing meat for dinner – their survival and “happiness” were paramount to ours.

So we took notice when something was stuck in their craw. It could have been life threatening – before they were fat enough to make the centerpiece of Sunday’s dinner – or often as not, become your lifelong friend.

While the phrase in relation to people isn’t so dire, it is definitely irritating and undesirable to have something stuck in your craw.

My grandfather used the word fairly often while my father’s generation applied the analogy to someone who has a stick up their …. well, you know that phrase.

However you say it, adapting comparisons of animals to humans often makes for graphic and amusing colloquialisms, don’t you think?

Word of the Week: CRAW. Can you fit it into your next writing?  


                       

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