A THOUGHT FOR TODAY:
When I get a little money I buy books; and if any is left I buy food and clothes. -Desiderius Erasmus, philosopher, humanist, and theologian (28 Oct 1466-1536)
2022/10/27
Todays Thought
A THOUGHT FOR TODAY:
I think there is only one quality worse than hardness of heart, and that is softness of head. -Theodore Roosevelt, 26th US President (27 Oct 1858-1919)2022/10/26
sandboy
sandboy
PRONUNCIATION:
MEANING:
noun:
1. A very happy person.
2. One who deals in sand.
1. A very happy person.
2. One who deals in sand.
ETYMOLOGY:
From Old English sand + boy. Earliest documented use: 1796.
NOTES:
The term is typically used in the construction “happy as a sandboy”. Who was this sandboy and why was he so happy? If you have ever seen a child building sandcastles or digging canals on a beach, it would seem obvious.
The reality is more grim. In Dickensian England, a child was more likely to be toiling in a factory or on the streets than playing on the beach: Consider these lines from a 1804 poem “The Rider and Sand-Boy: A Tale”
Originally, a sandboy was someone, not necessarily a child, who delivered sand to a pub, for example, where it could be used to soak up spilled drinks. Sandboys were paid for their labor in drinks. After a hard day’s labor, finally sitting down with a drink in hand and you can see why they’d be very happy. There’s also the term sand-happy, meaning very drunk.
Did you hear about the sandboy’s career change when he became an adult?
He now deals in sleep.
The reality is more grim. In Dickensian England, a child was more likely to be toiling in a factory or on the streets than playing on the beach: Consider these lines from a 1804 poem “The Rider and Sand-Boy: A Tale”
A poor shoeless urchin, half-starved and sun-tanned,
Went by the inn-window crying, “Buy my fine sand!”
Went by the inn-window crying, “Buy my fine sand!”
Originally, a sandboy was someone, not necessarily a child, who delivered sand to a pub, for example, where it could be used to soak up spilled drinks. Sandboys were paid for their labor in drinks. After a hard day’s labor, finally sitting down with a drink in hand and you can see why they’d be very happy. There’s also the term sand-happy, meaning very drunk.
Did you hear about the sandboy’s career change when he became an adult?
He now deals in sleep.
USAGE:
“And the carefree Costa Ricans, 12th in the contentment league, are not alone. Arabs and ex-pats in the United Arab Emirates (17th) are happy as sandboys. The UK rates only 18th, below Luxembourg (a made-up country), Belgium (ditto), Israel (all right if you’re not an Arab), the USA (ditto if not black), and Austria (the dull country).”
Paul Routledge; Stuff Your “Happy” Nations. GB’s Best; The Daily Mirror (London, UK); Apr 6, 2012.
See more usage examples of sandboy in Vocabulary.com’s dictionary.
Paul Routledge; Stuff Your “Happy” Nations. GB’s Best; The Daily Mirror (London, UK); Apr 6, 2012.
See more usage examples of sandboy in Vocabulary.com’s dictionary.
2022/10/24
Todays Thought
A THOUGHT FOR TODAY:
Remember, we all stumble, every one of us. That’s why it’s a comfort to go hand in hand. -Emily Kimbrough, author and broadcaster (23 Oct 1899-1989)2022/10/20
Todays Thought
A THOUGHT FOR TODAY:
The meeting of two personalities is like the contact of two chemical substances: if there is any reaction, both are transformed. -Carl Jung, psychiatrist (26 Jul 1875-1961)Todays Thought
A THOUGHT FOR TODAY:
How would you describe the difference between modern war and modern industry -- between, say, bombing and strip mining, or between chemical warfare and chemical manufacturing? The difference seems to be only that in war the victimization of humans is directly intentional and in industry it is "accepted" as a "trade-off". -Wendell Berry, farmer and author (b. 5 Aug 1934)2022/10/19
Todays Thought
A THOUGHT FOR TODAY:
A thing is not necessarily true because a man dies for it. -Oscar Wilde, writer (16 Oct 1854-1900)Todays Thought
A THOUGHT FOR TODAY:
A man of courage never needs weapons, but he may need bail. -Lewis Mumford, writer and philosopher (19 Oct 1895-1990)2022/10/18
Todays Thought
A THOUGHT FOR TODAY:
Maybe all one can do is hope to end up with the right regrets. -Arthur Miller, playwright and essayist (17 Oct 1915-2005)2022/10/13
Todays Thought
A THOUGHT FOR TODAY:
They'll tell you you're too loud, that you need to wait your turn and ask the right people for permission. Do it anyway. -Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, US Congress member (b. Oct 13, 1989)2022/10/12
Todays Thought
A THOUGHT FOR TODAY:
True patriotism springs from a belief in the dignity of the individual, freedom and equality not only for Americans but for all people on earth, universal brotherhood and good will, and a constant and earnest striving toward the principles and ideals on which this country was founded. -Eleanor Roosevelt, diplomat, author, and lecturer (11 Oct 1884-1962)2022/10/07
Todays Thought
A THOUGHT FOR TODAY:
The opposite of a correct statement is a false statement. But the opposite of a profound truth may well be another profound truth. -Niels Bohr, physicist, Nobel laureate (7 Oct 1885-1962)2022/10/06
Todays Thought
A THOUGHT FOR TODAY:
O, what a tangled web we weave, / When first we practice to deceive! -Walter Scott, novelist and poet (15 Aug 1771-1832)2022/10/05
Todays Thought
A THOUGHT FOR TODAY:
Permanent good can never be the outcome of untruth and violence. -Mohandas K. Gandhi (1869-1948)2022/10/03
Todays Thought
A THOUGHT FOR TODAY:
Once a country is habituated to liars, it takes generations to bring the truth back. -Gore Vidal, writer (3 Oct 1925-2012)
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