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Saturday, April 24, 2010

DAY 24 – FIND A PHRASE

NaPoWriMo Day 24
For Read Write Poem




With words like codswallop, it’s clear that Read Write Poem member Marie Gauthier means business! Now is not the time to let your NaPoWriMo work ethic slack.
Clichés, idioms, what-have-you. As points of inspiration, you might think they’re dead in the water, but that’s a load of codswallop. Time spent investigating word origins is never time wasted. “Left in the lurch” is one example. Here’s what The Phrase Finder says about it:
There are suggestions that lurch is a noun originating from lych – the Old English word for corpse, which gives the name to the covered lych-gates that adjoin many English churches. The theory goes that jilted brides would be ‘left in the lych (or lurch)’ when the errant bridegroom failed to appear. The lych-gate is where coffins are left when waiting for the clergyman to arrive to conduct a funeral service. Both theories are plausible but there’s no evidence to support either and in fact lych and lurch are unrelated.
For our purposes, it doesn’t matter whether the derivation pans out as true or not. Your inquiries are meant to be catalytic crackers. Surely “lych-gate” stirs an idea or two!
So for today’s prompt, travel a while on The Phrase Finder website until you find the phrase or phrase origin that most interests you.
There are no hard and fast rules. The Phrase Finder has phrases from the Bible, from Shakespeare, phrases coined at sea, something for every taste. Take some notes, do a free-write or three, and see where a little word exploration takes you.


http://www.phrases.org/meanings/163400.html GOOD MEN AND TRUE

Meaning
Dependable men, of rank and honour. The phrase was adapted later to 'twelve good men and true', indicating the twelve (originally all men, now both sexes) of a criminal jury.
Origin
From Shakespeare's Much Ado About Nothing, 1599:
DOGBERRY: Are you good men and true?VERGES: Yea, or else it were pity but they should suffer salvation, body and soul.

Here's mine:

A study of Good Men,
uses of the word ‘Good’,
and what we believe to be True.
Finishing off with comparative and superlative forms of ‘Good’.
Good – adjective; Better – comparative; Best - superlative


GOOD MEN AND TRUE

Good patients follow
the good doctor’s advice;
avoid Caffeine; Alcohol.
If they know what’s good for them…

As for my good self,
this is good news; and bad.
… I don’t like Irish Coffee…
but I do like a good drink…

I’ll try to be good,
armed with good intentions
(whether I agree, or not).
What good would complaining do…?

A good thing I know;
one good deed deserves
another one in return,
and good things come to those who…

Wait…! Think, my good man.
The Good Book tells us Jesus
could turn water into wine
and saved the good stuff till last…

That was a good gig!
A good night had by all;
a wedding to remember,
followed by a good night’s sleep…

Good morning…! Headache…?
A good hangover cure;
a cup of strong, black coffee,
as brewed in the good old days…

I’ve lived the Good Life
and I’ve Fought the Good Fight,
but soon I’ll draw my last drop.
All good things come to an end…

A good point to note
before I say ‘Good-bye’.
A better world awaits me
… to the best of my belief…

18 comments:

  1. htp://vivinfrance.worpress.comApril 24, 2010 at 2:34 PM

    I always look at yours first, to impel my mind in the right direction when I'm struggling with the prompt. This poem is the exemplar!

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  2. Thanks ViV; Don't try too hard to think of something original; it's all been said before. Concentrate on the presentation.

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  3. Ta, Stan. Presentation on my Wordpress blog didn't work properly: I couldn't get it to single space my poem, which was intended to be in couplet stanzas.
    ViV

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  4. Hi again ViV; For single spacing, try pressing 'shift' and 'enter'. A tip I learnt from Wanda Mc Collar.

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  5. A great tip, Stan; thank you. I've been struggling with the double spacing on my blog ever since I started it.

    I like what you've done here. Good work :)

    http://thelaughinghousewife.wordpress.com

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  6. Thanks Laughing Housewife; Glad to be of service. :)

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  7. Can't keep a good man down, Stan. Well done!

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  8. Oh bravo! This is a very good read!!! Good job!

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  9. Very well done (well=form of good!!). This reads so smoothly...really enjoyed all of it, but the last stanza was quite the conclusion.

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  10. Well done! very unique and sweet!

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  11. Thanks to:
    Derrick; Cheers!
    Marianne; Down the hatch!
    Lucychili; Bottoms up!
    Robin; One more for the road.
    Stiletto; Never again...
    Pamela; My head hurts.
    Dan; No sugar in mine.

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  12. Thanks Wayne; 'Good' of you to visit...

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  13. Stan, more good stuff and good use of the prompt. Update from the medical types: two glasses of red (make that award winning Oregon Pinot Noir) are actually good for you!
    Cheers to your poem and to you.

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  14. Thanks JD; Can you get it on prescription?

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