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I offended Richard Lederer
Re: Root of Testimony
Well, I made a bad mistake yesterday. I sent an email off to Richard Lederer, but it didn't occur to me to check what my display name was. Unfortunately, because my name was still displayed as "Nigger Stole My Truck," I offended him. So, the reply I got was not as verbose as I had hoped:
I'm offended by your racist e-mail address and will not respond to any additional e-message from such a source, But because I am a language teacher,. I'll briefly answer this one inquiry.
There is a widely circulated theory that testify and testimony are related to the testes and the practice of men clutching their gonads when giving testimony, as Abraham does in biblical Genesis. As your online etymology indicates, this theory is false. The words are derived from Latin for "witness."
So, I suppose I was right, but I sure don't feel so good now, having offended someone who I considered to be a 'hero' of sorts. Naturally, I'll be sending him an apology. But, I still feel a bit of pride for sniffing out an urban legend. Link to related debate here (scroll down a little).
Well, I made a bad mistake yesterday. I sent an email off to Richard Lederer, but it didn't occur to me to check what my display name was. Unfortunately, because my name was still displayed as "Nigger Stole My Truck," I offended him. So, the reply I got was not as verbose as I had hoped:
I'm offended by your racist e-mail address and will not respond to any additional e-message from such a source, But because I am a language teacher,. I'll briefly answer this one inquiry.
There is a widely circulated theory that testify and testimony are related to the testes and the practice of men clutching their gonads when giving testimony, as Abraham does in biblical Genesis. As your online etymology indicates, this theory is false. The words are derived from Latin for "witness."
So, I suppose I was right, but I sure don't feel so good now, having offended someone who I considered to be a 'hero' of sorts. Naturally, I'll be sending him an apology. But, I still feel a bit of pride for sniffing out an urban legend. Link to related debate here (scroll down a little).
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