Editor's Corner

I was looking at some of the questions that I have from you readers, which sit in my file for times like this (when I have a moment to do some research). The questions of the day are:

What do these phrases mean? Where are they from?

• Knock on wood
• Touch wood

From Wikipedia:

Knocking on wood (also phrased touching wood) is an apotropaic [KC – “protective magic”] tradition of literally touching, tapping, or knocking on wood, or merely stating that one is doing or intending to do so, to avoid "tempting fate" after making a favorable prediction or boast, or a declaration concerning one’s own death or another unfavorable situation. [KC – I had to laugh at this, “one’s own death or another unfavorable situation,” you know, like a hangnail or running out of toilet paper.]

Here is where I found widely different answers about where the phrase originated and who uses it. Religious sites give credit to Christianity and the “wood” is related to the crucifix. Then, as with numerous Christian customs, historians go back further and relate touching wood to paganism. Two or three of the articles specifically mention Celtic people touching wood to call on the spirits of the trees.

There were a couple of articles, including the one in Wikipedia, that said the phrase is still used in modern language because of a kind of tag called “Tiggy Touchwood,” in which players are safe from being tagged if they are touching wood.”

The phrase or action of “knocking (or touching) wood” appears all over the world. Here are a few of the items from the Wikipedia article:

• In Azerbaijan and Turkey, when someone hears about a bad thing they usually (along with gently pulling one earlobe) knock on wood thrice to prevent that happening.
• In Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Slovenia, Montenegro and Serbia there is also the habit of knocking on wood when saying something positive or affirmative about someone or something and not wanting that to change.
• In Denmark the saying is 7, 9, 13 / syv, ni, tretten (usually accompanied by knocking under a table), as these numbers have traditionally been associated with magic.
• In Israel the saying בלי עין הרע‎ b’lí ‘áyin hará’ ("without the evil eye") is said when someone mentions good things happening to themselves or someone else, or even when mentioning a valuable thing they own.

• In Latin America, it is also tradition to physically knock a wooden object. A variant requires that the object does not have feet (tocar madera sin patas), which rules out chairs, tables and beds.
• In Spain tocar madera and in France toucher du bois ("to touch wood") is something that you say when you want your luck or a good situation to continue, e.g. Ha ido bien toda la semana y, toco madera, seguirá bien el fin de semana ("It’s been good all week and, touching wood, the weekend will stay good").

There are many more phrases, but they’re all basically a wish for good luck, or a wish against bad luck. Here’s hoping your luck today is good, knock on wood!

Kara Church | Technical Editor, Advisory | Technical Publications

Pronouns: she/her | Call via Teams | jackhenry.com

Editor’s Corner Archives: https://episystechpubs.com/

Hi Kara,

I was at PI12 in Monett a few weeks ago. One night, when we were leaving, one of my team members said “toodle-pip” for goodbye, and of course that meant we hung around 15 more minutes discussing why people, particularly English people, say “toodle-pip”; maybe it’s a more common variety of “toodle-oo.”

It wasn’t long before someone asked me if “toodle-pip” is used in Scotland, and if not, what would the Scots version be. I came up with “cheery-bye” being the Scottish equivalent that carries roughly the same intent, as opposed to “cheerio” which is pretty much universal.

Maybe you’ve got some other happy, friendly ways we say farewell to each other to explore in Editor’s Corner?

Stephen

My dear friend,

First, I need some recommendations for British crime shows I can watch on the telly, preferably ones I could get on Netflix. Second, I don’t have much news for you on this topic, since you and your British brethren have a knack for using the best good-byes.

Here is my collection from several sites, memory, and research. The common thing about them is that they are described as playful, lighthearted, and somewhat informal.

<![if !supportLists]>§ <![endif]>à tout à l’heure [KC – I was told that this is where they think “toodle-oo” comes from. A misunderstanding of the French, which means “see you later,”
or literally, “to everything at the hour.” I couldn’t find anything definitive, but it sounds good to me!]

<![if !supportLists]>§ <![endif]>Adieu

<![if !supportLists]>§ <![endif]>Adios

<![if !supportLists]>§ <![endif]>After a while, crocodile.

<![if !supportLists]>§ <![endif]>Bye-bye

<![if !supportLists]>§ <![endif]>Catch ya on the flip side.

<![if !supportLists]>§ <![endif]>Catch you later.

<![if !supportLists]>§ <![endif]>Cheerio

<![if !supportLists]>§ <![endif]>Cheers

<![if !supportLists]>§ <![endif]>Cheery-bye

<![if !supportLists]>§ <![endif]>Ciao

<![if !supportLists]>§ <![endif]>Later

<![if !supportLists]>§ <![endif]>Later, gator!

<![if !supportLists]>§ <![endif]>Laters

<![if !supportLists]>§ <![endif]>Pip-pip

<![if !supportLists]>§ <![endif]>See ya!

<![if !supportLists]>§ <![endif]>See you

<![if !supportLists]>§ <![endif]>See you later!

<![if !supportLists]>§ <![endif]>Ta ta

<![if !supportLists]>§ <![endif]>Tatty bye

<![if !supportLists]>§ <![endif]>Toodle pip

<![if !supportLists]>§ <![endif]>Toodles

There probably isn’t anything new here for most people. Well, cheery-bye and toodle-pip are new to me. And they sound just as they are described: playful and lighthearted. One list did include “farewell,” but that doesn’t seem either playful or lighthearted.

Thanks for the topic and your input!

Kara Church | Technical Editor, Advisory | Technical Publications

Pronouns: she/her | Call via Teams | jackhenry.com

Editor’s Corner Archives: https://episystechpubs.com/

Dear Editrix,

I have a few questions for you.

§ What is the 21-gun salute?

§ Why 21 guns?

§ When is it used?

Sincerely,

Ammo Annie

Dear Annie,

Interesting questions. I checked the Arlington Cemetery website, the U.S. Army Center of Military History, and Wikipedia.

The salute has a history much older than our country. It is from the 14th century and it is a naval tradition. Back in the day of ships and cannons, a warship signified “its lack of hostile intent by firing its cannons out to sea until all ammunition was spent.” The British generally had seven cannons per vessel, so they’d shoot the seven cannons to signify peace. From the Arlington site:

“Because greater quantities of gunpowder could be stored on dry land, forts could fire three rounds for every one fired at sea — hence the number 21. With the improvement of naval gunpowder, honors rendered at sea increased to 21, as well. The 21-gun salute eventually became the international standard.

In the United States, the custom has changed over time. In 1810, the War Department defined the "national salute" as equal to the number of states in the Union (at the time, 17). This salute was fired by all U.S. military installations on Independence Day and whenever the president visited a military installation. In 1842, the 21-gun salute was designated as the "presidential salute," and in 1875 the United States followed Britain in adopting the 21-gun salute as its international salute.

One question I have after reading this excerpt is: Do we have seven people shoot three times now, or are there 21 people shooting? From what I could gather, we currently fire 21 guns, one human at the end of each. There is a chart on Wikipedia for different countries, including the U.S. and how many guns are used for certain occasions, for example: (from Wikipedia)

In 1842, the United States declared the 21-gun salute as its "Presidential Salute". While the "National Salute" had been formally established as the 21-gun salute, the current tradition holds the salute on Independence Day to be a 50 rounds—one round for each state in the union. This ‘Salute to the Nation’ is fired at noon on 4 July, on U.S. military installations. The U.S. Navy recognizes Presidents’ Day and Memorial Day with a 21-gun salute at 1200.

I’m sure that there are folks out there with more information, but that’s what this civilian could gather. I hope that informs you a little better. I am amazed that the salute has been going on for so long, and that it has remained such a steady tradition.

Thanks for asking the question and leading me to something new!

Kara Church | Technical Editor, Advisory | Technical Publications

Pronouns: she/her | Call via Teams | jackhenry.com

Editor’s Corner Archives: https://episystechpubs.com/

Good morning, peeps! Today is another one of those days, where we had a mid-week holiday, and many people are still out enjoying themselves (or nursing hangovers and cleaning up after messy guests).

I read this article about words related to common New Year’s resolutions, and I found some of them interesting. I’m just giving you my favorites, but you can see them all here: 30 Words For The Top 10 New Year’s Resolutions | Dictionary.com

• wabi-sabi: A Japanese term for a worldview that finds beauty in imperfection. Nobody is perfect, and realizing that fact goes a long way to building stronger relationships.
• amour-propre: A synonym of self-esteem or self-respect. This word reveals whose opinion matters the most when deciding to lose weight: your own!
• pecuniary: An adjective that means something involves or is related to money. [KC – This could be a good one to use if you’re hiding “pecuniary difficulties.” It sounds like maybe your pet bird flew away, or you don’t like the taste of asparagus. Definitely odd enough that people won’t ask for
  details.]
• Top of Form
• Bottom of Form
• nomophobia: An unofficial term for the fear of not having a mobile phone. Many of us have come to depend on our phones, which means a social media update is often just a thumb press away. [KC – I had to look for more details on this term because I know “phobia” is “fear of” but I couldn’t remember any Greek prefix “nomo.” It turns out it stands for “no mobile.”
  Fear of no phone access? I regard that as a glorious time to relax and enjoy the magic of true peace.]
• JOMO: This term, which means “joy of missing out,” refers to being so happy about your own life that you don’t worry about what other people are doing.
• meraki: A Greek word that means to do something with passion and pleasure. [KC – Fascinating! There is a new restaurant/event space in our neighborhood with this name. It’s hosted by a group of Italians, sounds like a Japanese word, but it’s Greek (from Turkish). I wonder what the food is like? It used to be the Moose Lodge!]
• arbejdsglæde: A Danish word that means “happiness at work.” [KC – I’ll take their word for it.]
• crapulous: An adjective that describes something as being related to overindulgence in drinking. Given to or characterized by gross excess in drinking or eating. [KC – I think this sounds like the perfect word for how you feel after a day or night of excessive drinking. “Don’t speak so loudly, Madge, I’m feeling crapulous today.”]

May your resolutions hold true and may your 2025 be spectacular, not crapular!

Happy New Year from Sylvie, too!

Kara Church | Technical Editor, Advisory | Technical Publications

Pronouns: she/her | Call via Teams | jackhenry.com

Editor’s Corner Archives: https://episystechpubs.com/

It’s that time of the year: the end! I have a selection of Words of the Year 2024, from three different sites: Merriam-Webster, Dictionary.com, and Oxford University Press.

Merriam-Webster

polarization

We define polarization as “division into two sharply distinct opposites; especially, a state in which the opinions, beliefs, or interests of a group or society no longer range along a continuum but become concentrated at opposing extremes.”

Polarization, and the verb polarize, date back to the early 1800s, when they first described light waves. That physical meaning of polarize—“to cause to vibrate in a definite pattern”—led to the political and cultural meaning that helps define the world today.

The polar in polarization is from Latin polaris, which describes the Earth’s poles. Polaris is also a name for the North Star. [KC – That’s a nicer place to end this definition rather than in politics.]

Dictionary.com

demure

The word demure experienced a meteoric rise in usage in 2024. Between January and the end of August, this term saw a nearly 1200% increase in usage in digital web media alone. This sharp rise is mainly attributed to TikToker Jools Lebron’s popularization of the phrase “very demure, very mindful” in a series of videos posted to the platform in early August. [KC – If you go to Dictionary.com, there still may be a copy of Jools’ TikTok video, which I
found sweet and hilarious.]

Though the term demure has traditionally been used to describe those who are reserved, quiet, or modest, a new usage has spread through social media — one used to describe refined and sophisticated appearance or behavior in various contexts, such as at work or on a plane. This increased focus on public appearance and behavior comes at a time when employees are increasingly returning to offices after hybrid remote work following the pandemic.

Oxford University Press

Brain rot

Brain rot is defined as “the supposed deterioration of a person’s mental or intellectual state, especially viewed as the result of overconsumption of material (now particularly online content) considered to be trivial or unchallenging. Also: something characterized as likely to lead to such deterioration”.

Our experts noticed that ‘brain rot’ gained new prominence this year as a term used to capture concerns about the impact of consuming excessive amounts of low-quality online content, especially on social media. The term increased in usage frequency by 230% between 2023 and 2024.

The first recorded use of ‘brain rot’ was found in 1854 in Henry David Thoreau’s book Walden, which reports his experiences of living a simple lifestyle in the natural world.

So, there you have them. A few words of this year to sum up politics, TikTok presence, and the result of watching too much of both. I’m going to go for Jools Lebron’s use of demure as my favorite.

I wish you all a very peaceful, joyful, and happy new year. Since that feels a little dull, I’m going to make an AI card to celebrate.

Kara Church | Technical Editor, Advisory | Technical Publications

Pronouns: she/her | Call via Teams | jackhenry.com

Editor’s Corner Archives: https://episystechpubs.com/

Good morning, folks! I accidentally skipped yesterday’s message, so here it is today.

I hope that you got everything you wished for if you are one who exchanges gifts during the holidays. I had just one thing that I wanted, and I got it for myself. My husband and I made a deal a few years ago that we wouldn’t buy a bunch of things and try to guess what the other person wanted. We have what we need and if we don’t, we talk about it and make a plan…or just buy it.

But this year, my sweet husband surprised me. He got me this, and I adore it!

It is a soft capybara night light! You squeeze it and it turns on; you squeeze it again and it gets brighter; you squeeze it once more and it turns off! It is a thing of joy.

I know, I know. It has nothing to do with grammar or English or new words. Trust me, I’m getting to today’s topic. This “gift” is something that my mom asked for. The email went something like this:

Kara,

I find this absolutely fascinating and I want one.

Mom

She attached this photo:

Chatelaine

I’m assuming my mom was referring to the chatelaine the woman is wearing, not the cigarette in her hand. So, what is a chatelaine?

From History Facts:
“Long before pockets became commonplace, humans had other resourceful ways to carry everyday essentials. Wearable pouches such as belt bags date back more than 5,000 years, and as early as ancient Roman times, people wore brooches that had hooks for hanging personal grooming tools. Similar items were used for carrying keys throughout the medieval period and beyond; by the 18th century, the tool had evolved into an elaborate piece that came to be known as a “chatelaine,” a word derived from French, referring to the keeper of a castle.”

Of course, the woman in the photo is also carrying a purse, but you can see she has a bunch of other things on her chatelaine. I see scissors, what looks like a watch, and who knows what else? If that were my mom, one of those would be holding lipstick.

When my husband and I were in Amsterdam, we went to the Museum of Bags and Purses, looking for a time-filler. It was amazing, and I remember many the chatelaines and small purses they had on display. COVID closed the museum, but the preceding link shows some of the collection, including these cool little gadgets. I’ll see what I can do with creating a likeness and sending it to my mom. Here’s what I have so far:

Kara Church | Technical Editor, Advisory | Technical Publications

Pronouns: she/her | Call via Teams | jackhenry.com

Editor’s Corner Archives: https://episystechpubs.com/

Good morning!

Is there anybody out there? I hear an echo when I shout, “Happy Holidays!”

I don’t have an official Editor’s Corner today. I have an idea for one, but I think I’ll leave it for next week. Right now, I simply wanted to take a moment to wish each of you joy, peace, and happiness today and in the new year. Whether you are celebrating Christmas, Kwanza, Hanukkah, the winter solstice, or something you made up, I hope you have a lovely holiday.

Thank you for reading, sending in your questions, offering ideas, and being part of our exploration of the English language.

Have a lovely day off tomorrow.

Kara

Editor’s Corner Archives: https://episystechpubs.com/

Holiday greetings!

The other day, while rummaging around on the internet, I ran across a brief list of weather-related words, some of which I’d never heard before. So, I started looking a little more intentionally and found a few more that I thought I’d share with you. Now that summer is a distant memory, and the autumn leaves are mostly a thing of the past, and winter is upon us, it seems like a good time to talk about the weather.

One of my workmates prefers the long, snowy winters in Michigan to the endless sunny days in Southern California. And my spouse absolutely loves stormy days. While I snuggle up on the couch with my dog and a book, he bundles up and disappears for hours out into the downpour, like it’s some kind of cleansing ritual—and I guess it is, because he comes back happy and renewed. To each their own.

I hope that the following weather words help you appreciate whatever conditions you’re experiencing.

• bombogenesis: the process by which a storm intensifies in a very short amount of time
• derecho: a fast moving line of ferocious thunderstorms
• drouth: the perfect weather during which to dry clothes
• firenado: a tornado made of fire
• haboob: an intense sandstorm
• mizzle: a light or fine rain
• scud: a sudden brief rush of wind
• swullocking: humid
• toad strangler: an extremely heavy downpour of rain that can often lead to flash flooding
• virga: a ghostly precipitation that never makes it to the ground
• williwaws: violent squalls

Whatever your weather, I hope you have a lovely day and the happiest holiday season.

Donna Bradley Burcher |Technical Editor, Advisory | jack henry

Pronouns she/her/hers

Remote – CA

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Good morning, folks!

The other day I sat through some AI training. For today’s Editor’s Corner, I’d like to share a couple of things I learned about: heat maps and histograms.

I know, those sound more like something the doctor ordered, but to those out there who are familiar with managing data, they are likely common terms. Let’s have a look at what they are.

From TechTarget:

A heat map is a two-dimensional representation of data in which various values are represented by colors. A simple heat map provides an immediate visual summary of information across two axes, allowing users to quickly grasp the most important or relevant data points. More elaborate heat maps allow the viewer to understand complex data sets.

Maybe a better way to explain is to give you an example. Here’s something I pulled up in an internet search for “heat map.” It’s very generic with the “team members” and undefined skills, but the idea is to get information from the colors. I put a black outline around two different rows to give you an idea of what you can deduce from the colors and a little information.

For example, I’m exploring this data to decide what kind of training the team needs.

• Looking at Skill 2 and the red in that row, you can see that many team members are deficient in Skill 2. Skill 2 might be a good candidate to focus on and teach.
• Looking at Skill 6, you can see that all team members have some competence with knife handling…I mean Skill 6…all the way up to being an expert at that skill. Skill 6 might be a talent that can be put at the bottom of the list for teaching.

The heat map is used for many different types of data analyses, and as you can see, it is pretty easy to make deductions using it.

And now for histograms.

We are all familiar with histograms, I just didn’t recognize the word. Apparently “histo-“ means “upright” or “tissue” in medicine. “Gram” is Greek for something written. I think the “tissue” definition is throwing me off.

From Merriam-Webster:

histogram: a representation of a frequency distribution by means of rectangles whose widths represent class intervals and whose areas are proportional to the corresponding frequencies

Ugh, what a wordy definition! How about this instead? A “graph that shows the distribution of data.” Even better, a screen capture, showing six common types of histograms:

So, welcome to my AI training. I don’t think graphs were the intended target of my learning, but that’s what I got out of it. Enjoy!

Kara Church | Technical Editor, Advisory | Technical Publications

Pronouns: she/her | Call via Teams | jackhenry.com

Editor’s Corner Archives: https://episystechpubs.com/

Good morning, folks. I hope I haven’t bored you to death with my Editor’s Corner topics that are only slightly related to English and mostly related to new things I learned on vacation. Only one more to go. This last one is about the Allerton and McBryde National Tropical Botanical Gardens, and more specifically about the state tree of Hawaii, the kukui nut tree, or candlenut tree.

Here’s a photo of the kukui nuts up in the tree:

They fall to the ground and look like this:

They are about two inches wide. There is a good reason that the kukui is the state tree of Hawaii. They grow well and provide delicious shade from the sun, but they also provided the original Hawaiians with much more. After gathering these nuts from the ground, you can use a rock to clear the fruit off the nut. It looks something like a baby coconut:

The white part inside the nut is the oily substance used to light torches. Your favorite tiki torch is probably a replica of the original. Each nut provides about 15 minutes of light. The nuts were also used for medicine, cooking, and they were polished to make leis. This is not my photo or my husband, but it is a polished kukui nut lei:

And one more photo from the garden, which is a scene used in many American movies (Jurassic Park, Pirates of the Caribbean, 6 Days, 7 Nights, etc.).

I hope you learned a few things during my vacation review. Mahalo for reading!

Kara Church | Technical Editor, Advisory | Technical Publications

Pronouns: she/her | Call via Teams | jackhenry.com

Editor’s Corner Archives: https://episystechpubs.com/