I will never forget Bethany Sparks. One of the talented young actresses on the Maysville Players stage at the Washington Opera House, she also excels in writing.
Bethany once wrote a newspaper column that began with one of the finest openings I have ever had the pleasure of reading. Her subject for the article, while lost in the fog of my ADD addled brain, was described as “the object of my material affection.”
Words are wonderful playthings. In the right hands, they can be crafted into works of art as beautiful as the most vibrant sculpture, or as delicate as the most precious flower. Bethany is living proof that one need not look far for inspiration. Literary gems are nestled everywhere; it is just a matter of looking carefully.
And for me, lightning has struck again as far as beautiful prose from local talent. It came recently in the form of a commercial I heard on WFTM. The ad was for the Kentucky Gateway Museum Center. The pleasant voice of the announcer urged listeners to visit the exhibits on display “before tomorrow becomes yesterday.”
Naturally, I went on an expedition to see who wrote that wonderful turn of phrase. A trip down the rabbit hole led me to the Center’s web site, where that inspirational line was, in a large font, for all to see.
In case you haven’t noticed, I am a sucker for a good turn of phrase. Simply put, turns of phrase are prosaic ways of saying something. Using “significant other” instead of “partner,” for example.
Look at my favorite phrase du jour. “Before tomorrow becomes yesterday” opens up an Aladdin’s lamp of possibilities. I mean, the prospect of seizing the day, because it only occurs one in your lifetime, is deep. Something to think about.
If I had a quarter for every road I’ve had laid out before me, only to sit idly at the crossroads snack bar, I would be wealthy, indeed. However, as the phrase suggests, retrospection is easy when you let experience pass you by.
Turns of phrase have presumably occurred since Grog and Krom shared witticisms over the caloric content of a mastodon. One of the first recorded examples came, however, in 1567, courtesy of the English cleric Matthew Parker, who wrote “Then some in prose: most learnedly, have tourned the phrase and worde.”
As for the actual verbiage, the first use of the expression ‘turn of phrase’ seems to have come from the Aphra Behn translation of “A discovery of new worlds from the French” in 1668: “The nearer the Idioms or turn of the Phrase of two Languages agree, ‘tis the easier to translate one into the other.”
Words of wisdom for sure, yet I prefer the simplicity and profundity of Sigmund Freud who said, “Sometimes a cigar is just a cigar.”
The next time you have a conversation with a friend, listen closely. A phrase might hit you like the words of Bethany Sparks or the Unknown Kentucky Gateway Museum Center scribe have affected me. It’s food for thought – eat well
