Flying Saucers in Elk County

[kdfrawg]

Oh, yes, surely she will. I hope that my post will not be Royally interpretted as in any way doubting the abilities of Her Highnes to perform any action whatever.

Heaven forfend!

[Rudy Taylor]

Forfend is to bend
verbiage to an end.

[kdfrawg]

Having used it, is there a past tense to "forfend?"

Forfent?

[Teresa]

Forbend.. forfent.. forcent .. forlint.. forzent  ...for. ...whatever!!!!

Men! 

[flo]

  dang, wish I could find my dictionary 

[kdfrawg]

That's not nearly the weirdest word in early and middle English. For my money, that prize may well go to "peradventure." That huge word means "if" so it's no wonder the word "if" was invented. We really needed it!

[flo]

  shows you what I know.  I would probably have said "seen some beautiful scenery peradventure I took to the country." 

[kdfrawg]

Well, Flo, your definition makes a lot more sense than the one that is correct. I guess we both suffer, in this case, from not being fifteenth century English persons.

[MarineMom]

I guess we both suffer, in this case, from not being fifteenth century English persons.

Be glad be very glad 'cos after having to read Chaucer and Shakespeare in high school I can only say that is a good thing to suffer from

[kdfrawg]

I wound up reading a lot of old and middle English and I can verify that they did indeed talk funny. It was a little like trying to decipher code, although part of the words were sort of familiar. In the overall scheme of things, that was not all that long ago. It is amazing how fast us folks can change things.