Oh my gosh. Sometimes I'm so blonde even I can't believe how blonde I am. There is not enough Clairol hair color in the world to equal my very own blondness.
This morning, I was helping Meems out of the car at church. As I was pulling her up out of the seat, I asked her if she needed a wench to get her out of the car. Then, I laughed and said, "Oops! I guess that I shouldn't have used a word with such a spicy double meaning! You know...the wench that they use to pull something out of something AND the OTHER kind of wench! Ha!" Meems with soft little ha-has, "So that means you're a wench?" "No! I'm not a wench. I'm ACTING like a wench. The MECHANICAL kind."
We slowly made our way into the building. On the way to our seats Meems made a couple of comments about her daughter, the wench. From her mouth to God's ears, for Pete's sake!
We sang a few songs, then extended the "right hand of fellowship" during greeting time. As the music began for the next song, Meems leaned over and said in her "outside" voice, "WHAT'S A WENCH?" I leaned over and told her in my outside voice that I would tell her later.
When later came, she seemed to have forgotten the wench conversation. I decided not to bring it up at Sunday Brunch at Raider Ranch with Nana and Leonard at the table. Instead, I was silently penning this blog post.
Here's the kicker.
At the Ranch I decided that I would copy and paste the official meanings of "wench" at the end of said post. So, I looked it up on the Merriam Webster website.
1
a : a young woman : girl
b : a female servant
2
: a lewd woman : prostitute
See wench defined for English-language learners »
See wench defined for kids »
(The above links led me to "tamer" definitions - "a young woman" and "a servant girl." Now, I want to look up other wenchy words to see how Merriam Webster would explain them to immigrants and young children.)
Origin of WENCH
Middle English wenche, short for wenchel child, from Old English wencel; akin to Old High German wankōn to totter, waver and probably to Old High German winchan to stagger — more at wink
First Known Use: 14th century
Related to WENCH
Synonyms
bimbo [slang], chippie (also chippy), doxy (also doxie), fancy woman, hoochie [slang], hussy, Jezebel, minx, quean, slut, tramp, trollop, floozy, whore
Related Words
siren, temptress, vamp; grisette, harlot, prostitute, trull
more
Rhymes with WENCH
bench, Bench, blench, clench, drench, french, French, Hench, quench, stench, tench, trench, wrench
2wench intransitive verb
Definition of WENCH
: to consort with lewd women; especially : to practice fornication
— wench·er noun
First Known Use of WENCH
1590
My, oh, my. I totally thought that there was a piece of machinery called a "wench." NO, I'm not confusing it with WRENCH. Am I going crazy?
Do. Not. Answer. That. I. Mean. It. I. Really. Really. Mean. It.
Update: Thanks to my friend, Julie, that reminded me of the device called a WINCH. What a difference a vowel makes!
Do. Not. Answer. That. I. Mean. It. I. Really. Really. Mean. It.
Update: Thanks to my friend, Julie, that reminded me of the device called a WINCH. What a difference a vowel makes!
winch
noun \ˈwinch\Definition of WINCH
1
: any of various machines or instruments for hauling or pulling; especially : a powerful machine with one or more drums on which to coil a rope, cable, or chain for hauling or hoisting : windlass
2
: a crank with a handle for giving motion to a machine (as a grindstone)
See Illustration of WINCH
Origin of WINCH
Middle English winche roller, reel, from Old English wince;akin to Old English wincian to wink
First Known Use: before 12th century
2 comments:
You're not totally crazy. There IS a tool called a winch that's used on boats and such to crank cables: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Winch
Oh, Kaitlin! You're the 2nd wench (young maiden, in your case) that has reminded about the WINCH! LOL!!!
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