The "Root" of the Oral Tradition

The Matriarchs have taught me a passion for language in written and spoken form. We are a family of natural communicators and I suspect that Carla’s experimentation with babbling and squealing is a sign of her eagerness to communicate.

During early childhood, I was lucky enough to frequently hear more than one language spoken and this encouraged an interest in language and banished any fear of foreign tongues.

Later in life, I discovered that it was not only foreign languages that I had adopted from my family; my Mother and Grandmother were also responsible for unusual words and phrases entering my English vocabulary. When I asked a friend whether the TV was “turned on at the root” and got a confused look in response, I realised that my family, like many others, had developed its own peculiar expressions which were unintelligible to others.

Here, for amusement, are a few special words and phrases used by my Mother and maternal Grandmother and which I am likely to pass on to the next unsuspecting generation:

“to turn something on or off at the root” – I am told that most people would use plug socket instead of root.

“a toe-cover” – a useless item, an ornament or piece of bric-a-brac (my Grandmother insists that this word comes from a book called The Return of the Egg but I have never met anyone who has either heard use of this noun or of the book from which it originates).

“skin-a-rabbit” – said to a child as you help it off with its clothes.