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Sunday 3 February 2013

Sunday Rest. Word Not To Use Today: swastika

There really isn't anything good or loveable about this word.

No word has fallen further, either.

It used to be a symbol of good luck in India, though why something which looks like a mutilated spider should be a sign of good luck I do not know.

But then I don't have to live with Indian spiders.

Since then a swastika has become a symbol of very many loathsome things.

You can hear the nastiness of it in the tarry and hissing and spiteful sound of the word.

I can only suggest that if we must refer to one then we use its alternative name, fylfot.

The word fylfot word is, admittedly, silly.

But then silliness is a colossal improvement.

Word Not To Use Today: swastika. This word came into English in the 1800s from the Sanskrit word svasti which means prosperity.


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