By Brenda Cannon Henley
Words that make phrases and complete sentences are such interesting things to me. I have long been fascinated by the use of words – Both written and spoken. I have several friends that send me new words or quotes frequently. When they learn or see an odd, unusual, or brand new word to them, they will often pass the word on to me or expound on the actual meaning and sometimes the incorrect way we use a word.

It is not a secret that my favorite board game is Scrabble and that our family delights in stiff competitions, some yelling, and earning fierce bragging rights to a hard fought victory. There is the occasional red face and once or twice over the years, an apology for an ugly spirit or unkind remarks.

All of my grandchildren of any age have been seated at the Scrabble table and most are decent, if not good, players. Vacations, trips, and holidays almost always include one or more Scrabble boards. Over the years, I have accumulated several diverse boards including the famed anniversary edition glass one my sister in law bought me for my birthday the year before she died.

Playing Scrabble together is not just about winning, although Brendan, Steven, and Callie take victory or loss very seriously. We will not discuss my son, Brent’s passion for being crowned champion.

It is about being together, sitting around a table, talking, learning, laughing, and matching wits. Our fun is usually accompanied by our family favorite – Chilled cream cheese and olive dip served with Fritos, homemade chocolate fudge cake, and ice cold Pepsi or Coke. If we are hungry, we might add homemade cheeseburgers, barbecue, hot dogs, or piping hot sloppy joes.

In years past, my precious sister in law, Teresa Stancil, and I read many books and often exchanged copies to cut down on the expense. She was known to store big $5 words in her mind and would whip one or more into her conversation just to keep us on our toes. It became such a good natured joke that every time she would use one of her $5 words, I would be prepared to give the basic, common meaning. To a Wordie, this is a fun game.

For instance, we were attending a big concert in Atlanta and we both worked for the church. I told the pastor, who was our supervisor, that we were going to the event. Teresa spoke up and said, “But we could go ‘incognito’ if you like.” I immediately added, “Because we would not want everyone to know we had front row seats to see Elvis,” thus explaining her use of her big word.

The game became so popular among the church staff that almost every member was listening and playing. We all continued our education and improved our vocabularies along the way.

I am intrigued to determine how words and phrases came into being. “Pull no punches” is an interesting idiom meaning “to hit as hard as possible; to attack with full force; to be perfectly honest, or to not hold back.” One might say, “Tell me what you thought of my latest book. Don’t pull any punches.”

The Book of James has much to say about our words and our pattern of speech. We are to guard our tongue and not offend, but we can have fun with our words.

If you have a favorite new word to you, share it and its meaning with us. Words fitly spoken are magical.

Brenda Cannon Henley can be reached at 409 781 8788, or
[email protected]