Common – Uncommon…words that you wouldn’t have known originated from stories!

EDITION ONE, SEGMENT TWO

Growing up, I recollect, every evening my grandfather would be seated at our local quadrangle to observe people and enjoy a conversation with his friends. He would then return home and leave no stone unturned in letting my brother know how he distastefully viewed the decadent attitude and the slowly degrading jargon of the youth. He then grilled us about our knowledge of classics of different languages and would let us return to our frolic only when we successfully passed his tests. As years passed and we became busier, these frequent tests became a thing of the past and my grandfather’s advancing age shrunk his window to the world.

During the pandemic, my grandfather, employed us to become his teachers and guide him through the strange world of the Internet. The liking he had developed for trending memes was beyond description, yet his disapproval of the decadent attitude and degrading jargon remained the same! I wonder, how he skilfully sails through this ironic situation, even today. One fine day, he decided to quiz me about my knowledge of memes and I ruefully, admit, I failed this test. He jarringly asked me the origin of the word ‘meme’, and this time, I was left tight-lipped because of my inadequate knowledge.

Thereafter, just to redeem my lost self-respect, I embarked on a new journey of studying the genesis of words we all use mindlessly these days. My initial aim was to be triumphant over my grandfather in the literary quest, however the process, led me to discover, how the present Internet slangs are all off springs of the literature of the past. Who would have known, words like ‘meme’, ‘nerd’, ‘swagger’ and even ‘cyberspace’, have originated from stories!

I remember sharing my findings with my grandfather which made him giddy with excitement and pride, only to end the conversation with a smirk, to scar my soul for eons to come. I guess, keeping us grounded, is the only thing that plays on our parents or grandparents’ minds, whenever we achieve something… Ah well, here’s to hoping our lovely readers are full of cheerful responses after they finish reading all that I gained on this quest!

1. MALAPROPRISM – You are in a dialogue about something deeply philosophical in nature with likeminded intellectuals and you have an excellent point to add. You are ready to let the words flow seamlessly, however, you accidently used a similar sounding word with a different meaning that was slightly irrelevant to the conversation and now people are gawking at you awkwardly. Pro Tip- DO NOT PANIC. It’s best to calmly cover your honest mistake by shielding it with the canopy of malapropism and trust me, people will be mighty impressed. If you have a shaky belief in my advice and you think that history is the greatest teacher of all, take inspiration from the learned playwright Richard Brinsley Sheridan. He realized it early on that it takes human to err and a smart one to aid it with a literary twist, or you may ask his character Mrs Mapaprop in his play The Rivals (1775) to strongly prove my point. Doing this, might also help you reach the pineapple (pinnacle) of success, one may never know!

• CYBERSPACE – With its origins in the work of American-Canadian author William Gibson Neuromancer (1984), it was used to portray the creation of a computer network in a world filled with artificially intelligent beings. It didn’t take long for his words of fiction to become a hard-core reality of the current times.  Certainly, there seems to be something inexplicable about reality, fiction and 1984. In the modern context, the word describes a dynamic and virtual space that connects multiple computer systems. With the evolution of ever changing technology and its ethical parameters, cyberspace has become a favourite concept and theme for storywriters and scriptwriters, all over the Whole Wide World.

• SWAGGER – William Shakespeare definitely knew, how to keep his works relevant, even after four hundred years of his passing. It is time for him to take a bow for his timeless contributions. If somebody is working diligently to compile the most popular words of each century, I am sure, ‘swagger’ or ‘swag’ would find its mention in the top hundred words of the 21^st century. However, this word has been around since a long, long time. Precisely from the time Shakespeare coined it and used it in his play ‘A Midsummer Night’s Dream’ (1605), to show a confident and proud strut. This word has been used over the centuries with another meaning to its credit (promotional items that advertise companies and products) and it has recently been used as a slang to refer to stylish confidence. If the brilliant master of words would have been alive today, his swag at literary events and fests would have been unparalled!

• MUNCHKIN- American author L. Frank Baum, not only penned an enjoyable story for children but also, bequeathed a cute name for kids, consequently. Although the novel The Wonderful Wizard of Oz (1900), talks of munchkins as a race of small, childlike creatures, the modern world views the word to be synonymous with a small person or a child. It is lovingly used by adults to address shower affection and care on the young ones. If the little ones share their views of their mature counterparts, it is a matter of great concern and conflict, for it won’t be a surprise if the children take an offense to the literal meaning if the word and sign an online petition to bring about a desired change!  

• MEME- The word, the one word that made me doubt my place in the Gen Z troop, was coined by the British evolutionary biologist Richard Dawkins in his book The Selfish Gene (1976). Originally meant to describe a unit of cultural by spread imitation, it has evolved to have another meaning and led to the growth of another branch of occupations in the world. The term ‘meme’, a shortened version of the Greek work mimeme (imitated thing), has now come to refer to an interesting picture or video with captions that is circulated widely through social media, and the creative minds that work tirelessly to infuse life into these are referred to as ‘memers’. If someone ever decides to make a meme on my ignorant lack of knowledge about its origin, please let me know in advance, so that I can successfully let my grandfather enjoy a social media detox for some time!

Years have passed since, grandfather used to quiz me about my knowledge of literature yet, I still remember how he imbibed in me, an undying love for language and literature through his actions. He used to tell us, try learning about the origins of words, the genesis of expressions and the emotions hidden behind sentences, to truly appreciate the beauty of literature for it is actually the small things that make the big ones worth appreciating!

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Until the next time!

Cheers! 🌸

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