Page 59 - some-stuff-i-wrote-and-some-stuff-i-didn't-(2011)-h-morris-williams
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Some Stuff I Wrote and Some Stuff I Didn't (2011) H. Morris Williams
Column March 19, 2006
‘JUST’ READ THIS ‘LITTLE’ COLUMN
I write a newspaper column so you might suspect I am interested in how
words are used. I notice that two old words have taken on a new use in
recent years, ‘ju st’ and ‘little .’
First the word ‘ju st’. Quite a few of my friends use the word ‘ju st’ when
they pray and I have heard it used several times in television prayers. For
example, “Lord, we just thank you for this beautiful day. We just ask
your blessing on our service today. We just pray you will give us safe
travel home.”
Some people might say the prayer would have the same meaning if you
‘ju st’ left out the word ‘just.’ Personally I like the way it sounds— it
resonates certain warmth I find appealing.
Along a similar line, is ‘forever and ever’ longer than just ‘forever’? Or
does ‘forever’ pretty well cover the eternal time span? Does ‘forever and
ever’ add emphasis?
The second word is ‘little .’ Sometimes people tell me they read my
‘little ’ column, though this column is the same length as other columns.
A friend speaks of her ‘little ’ yardman who stands six feet tall and weighs
200 pounds.
Football coaches and announcers describe a lot of their plays as being
‘little .’ CHS Coach Danny Green sometimes speaks of running a “little ’
counter play. FSU’s Coach Bobby Bowden said the Seminoles ran a ‘little ’
reverse option. South Carolina Coach Steve Spurrier said his offense ran a
‘little ’ quarterback draw. All these plays looked the same size as the
other plays to me.
Understand I’m not being critical. These are all outstanding, winning
coaches and who cares how they talk if they win football games?
Actually I enjoy these ‘little ’ variations in our language— they spice it up.
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