Chrysti The Wordsmith: Manger - 2

Greetings This is Christie the wordsmith from Montana State University in Bozeman at. Last time on this series we examined a term that recurs in our holiday lexicon manger a place where New Testament Scripture says that the infant Jesus was sheltered though the word may sound poetic to us. The object it represents is not so much a manger is literally an animal trough. The term is closely related to the French verb ma meaning to eat or feed. The word is common in the nativity story but we also encounter it in a familiar English expression dog in the manger shorthand for describing someone who begrudges others what they themselves do not enjoy. And here's the origin of that phrase. A dog seeking a comfortable place to nap curled up on the hay in an ox's manger when the hungry ox returned to his stable at the dais and the churlish dog snarled and snapped at the beast whenever he approached the hay. Exasperated the ox said dog I would share my dinner with you if you were inclined to eat hay but you can't eat it yourself nor will you

let me partake of it in this tale it was an innocent newborn in the feed trough. It was the selfish cur who had no business there. The dog in the manger manger also has an unsavory cousin in the word mange a condition in which small parasites eat away at their host's skin. This word reflects its relationship to the French ma J. To eat. I'm Christie the wordsmith Christie the wordsmith is sponsored by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting and Zoot enterprises a high tech firm in Bozeman Montana offering challenging careers and innovative solutions for the financial services industry. Zoot web dot com.