Friday, 13 May 2011

Word To Use Today: worm.

People should care more. No, really, they should. I mean, worms have feelings, too...

...possibly...

...ANYWAY, worms are fine creatures who do all sorts of sterling work eating dead leaves and turning it into compost. And how do we repay them? By attaching their fine and ancient name, worm, to all sorts of alien creatures like glow-worms and shipworms and inchworms (if you're in the USA) just because they're longish.

Which is about as sensible as calling a man a salmon.

NB. Cutting a worm in two only makes two bits of dying worm. Really.

Word To Use Properly Today: worm. Over the years this word has been wyrm, wirm, wurm, ormr, waurms, vermis and romos, which is Greek for woodworm.

Mind you, woodworms aren't actually worms at all, so I suppose it's our worms that are the imposters.

I should have known. Honestly, worming their way into their name like that...

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