"Just Words"

Our recent trip to Williamsburg was very enlightening, many things spoke to my heart like the struggle of those early settlers and the devotion of our founders; I noticed the sometimes harsh, but common sense of their justice in the courts and also among people dealing with people.

One thing I had not expected to learn about was origins. Much of the common phraseology we use today, found its birth among those early Americans. Here are a few:

"approaching the bench" - this is a term we use in courtroom settings referring to an attorney drawing near to the judge to discuss some procedural issue or the like. You remember on those old Perry Mason reruns ...

In colonial days, and even prior to that, there was not a single judge but rather a number of justices that would hear a case and they sat - not behind a desk but at on a bench.

"passing the bar" - the second legal term I learned about from the courthouse in Williamsburg. A fence or "bar" separated the counselors from the common folks only those individuals studied in law could step pass the bar.

{in the picture to the right, you can see both the "bar" and the "bench"}

earmark - Okay, I overheard a colorful guide tell his group about these stocks ... he said that the point of the punishment was humiliation and so the perpetrator would be forced to face the

crowd, they would nail his ear to the side of the stocks. When he was released- sometimes days later- he had the choice of removing himself by working his earlobe over the nail head or someone could clip his ear - at which point he would be "earmarked".

"knock on wood" - Finally, in Yorktown as we toured a Continental Army Encampment, we learned about food. They made these sort of dehydrated biscuits that were hard as a rock. The good thing about them is that they could be stored in a barrel for two years (not unlike our refrigerator at times). When they were removed from the barrel, the hungry recipient would tap them against the side of the barrel in order to knock the weevils off (I guess it was considered unlucky to eat weevils).

Now this information won't likely get you into one of our institutes of higher learning, but it might just come in handy when their is a lull in the conversation at the next gathering you attend.