Jesse Rivest's Blog
This blog is old and is now sealed off for historical preservation. As a result, neither new posts nor new comments are possible.
Tuesday, May 12, 2009
Swine flu brings back the word "swine"
Does anyone mind if I make light of a dark situation? When I first heard tell of the recent global "swine flu" concern, I couldn't help but grin at the word "swine". In my defense, I was also lightly concerned for humanity - but it does appear that the swine flu is treatable and that some general precautions are being made to prevent a global epidemic. So, I'm going to proceed with the casual hope that we'll keep it under control.
How about the word "swine"? This word had somehow disappeared from my vocabulary; I had completely forgotten it. I don't recall any of the previous "swine flu" incidents or epidemics that the Internet and news inform me of. Was I just a child when I last knew this word? When I was retrospectively traumatized slaughtering and sticking a pig with my father and brother, was I considering this word? I've now been in New Zealand for 2.5 years, and I spent nearly a year in Australia - both places that have wild swine running rampant in the bush - and I simply don't recall hearing this word. It's always "wild boar" or "wild pigs". Has the word fallen out of fashion (was it ever in fashion)?
I suppose it's an old word... an Old English word, perhaps. I believe "swinish" is an adjective, for example: "He was acting rather swinish towards the other patrons in the bar so the barkeep removed him from his premises." I imagine that the word was associated with pigs first, and analogies to disgusting, contemptuous, or brutish people came later. I made the following search and it seems this word was common in Shakespeare's literature, and appeared in an array of classic literature, of which titles I've read none within the past 10 years.
Well, I am glad to have this word back; I've been enjoying using it. I've been brewing batches of my own Winter Recession Soup with Free Range Swine, and devouring every last ration of it. When friends mention friends that go hunting, I ask if swine are an intended target... nope, just ducks. Shucks. I think of Wilbur from Charlotte's Web and I can't bring myself to categorize him as "swine" - he was such a likable pig. I've yet to appropriately refer to any person as a swine, but I'm on my toes, waiting. The word is in my jowls; it's my word of the month; it's my wry grin.
How about the word "swine"? This word had somehow disappeared from my vocabulary; I had completely forgotten it. I don't recall any of the previous "swine flu" incidents or epidemics that the Internet and news inform me of. Was I just a child when I last knew this word? When I was retrospectively traumatized slaughtering and sticking a pig with my father and brother, was I considering this word? I've now been in New Zealand for 2.5 years, and I spent nearly a year in Australia - both places that have wild swine running rampant in the bush - and I simply don't recall hearing this word. It's always "wild boar" or "wild pigs". Has the word fallen out of fashion (was it ever in fashion)?
I suppose it's an old word... an Old English word, perhaps. I believe "swinish" is an adjective, for example: "He was acting rather swinish towards the other patrons in the bar so the barkeep removed him from his premises." I imagine that the word was associated with pigs first, and analogies to disgusting, contemptuous, or brutish people came later. I made the following search and it seems this word was common in Shakespeare's literature, and appeared in an array of classic literature, of which titles I've read none within the past 10 years.
Well, I am glad to have this word back; I've been enjoying using it. I've been brewing batches of my own Winter Recession Soup with Free Range Swine, and devouring every last ration of it. When friends mention friends that go hunting, I ask if swine are an intended target... nope, just ducks. Shucks. I think of Wilbur from Charlotte's Web and I can't bring myself to categorize him as "swine" - he was such a likable pig. I've yet to appropriately refer to any person as a swine, but I'm on my toes, waiting. The word is in my jowls; it's my word of the month; it's my wry grin.
