The Daily Word for August 9, 2021

 

gee-gee - noun - British informal - a horse (Lexico.com)

Once again, I am borrowing Lexico's "Word of the Day" to make a point: Be careful of what abbreviations or nicknames you go with these days as you never know what they might remind people of or even mean in another part of the world. As mentioned in yesterday's post, the Brits like slang. Informal English usually doesn't bother me at all, but it depends on the word and its meaning, though. The English can do what they like since they are responsible for the language we Americans speak although we tend to take advantage just to make it our own, particularly when it comes down to pronunciation. Admittedly, before today, I had never seen or heard "gee-gee" used in any context. I'm glad I found it as I've gotten dangerously close to using it as a shortened form of my own name. I have nothing against horses, but to refer to myself as one might have been an insult to them as well as to me. 

My name, Gwyn, Welsh for blessed, is constantly misspelled and mispronounced as Gwen, the more common form, in the United States. The Brits have no problem with it. (Maybe I should move there.) Because I own such a difficult name, I have explored a range of nicknames as possible alternatives. My sister and some of her friends call me "Quimp" or "Quimpie, " which is a hybrid term, a combination of "Quimble" and "Shrimp," two somewhat derogatory monikers she assigned to me as a pre-adolescent. My father called me "Pinkie," which wasn't much better. And "Q," which my nephews invented, is too close to Q-anon for comfort. God forbid someone should mistake me for that individual. Sometimes I call myself "Gee" for G., but after today, I think I'll refrain from getting too close to horse country. Now I could just change my name to Gwen to make life a lot easier, but I have an aversion to anything common or easy. I do not perceive of myself as either. If you met me, you'd agree. 

So, I'm stuck with my name. Apparently, very few people genuinely like their names, but are too ensconced in them to consider change. Who likes change? Very few. 

If you are in the aforementioned category and really despise your label, you have my deepest empathy. Just remember Shakespeare's line from Romeo and Juliet: "A rose by any other name would smell as sweet." Even if you were to alter your name, you would still be wonderful you. 

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