Jack Spratt

Jack Spratt could eat no fat,
His wife could eat no lean,
And so, betwixt them both, you see,
They licked the platter clean.

As a child, I learned this version of the fairy tale.  It's what I memorized and still spout to myself anytime I think of fat and thin.  I specifically remember the word "betwixt" in it and "you see," but this morning I had trouble finding that specific wording in any of the versions online.  I also remembered "Spratt" with two Ts, but nearly all that I found had only one.  The version above is from The Little Mother Goose (1912), and the illustration is from the Volland edition of 1915.  Even though it is not the one that was in my childhood book, I like the exaggerated fatness and thinness in the image of Jack and his wife in this illustration.

Word of the Day

be·twixt / bəˈtwikst / preposition / adverb = archaic term for between.  Example:  "And so, betwixt them both, you see, they licked the platter clean."  (Betwixt is archaic, except in the phrase "betwixt and between," which means being in an intermediate position; neither altogether one nor altogether the other.)

Hmm, does this word memory mean I'm archaic?  At 80, I'm ancient, anyway.  Maybe I should be quoting "The Rime of the Ancient Mariner" instead of nursery rhymes.  Or maybe I should "rite" the "rime" of the ancient Bonnie.

Phrase of the Day

"Avoid it like the plague."

I saw that someone posted on Facebook:  "We're gonna have to retire the expression 'avoid it like the plague' because it turns out humans do not do that."

Sad, but I know it's true when I look around at all the people who have decided NOT to wear a mask — or wear it hanging off one ear.  Why wouldn't we want to "avoid the plague"?  Because "it's a hoax," or "it's uncomfortable to wear a mask."  Because "I'm young and it won't affect me," or because "I'm not sick, so why should I?"