Dear Members:
triskaidekaphobia
Congratulations to all my excellent colleagues who have submitted such wonderful answers! Marvellous! Terrific! FANTASTIC!
Unfortunately, they are all WRONG!
They have omitted to mention the Great Vowel Shift of Thursday, the 30th of February, 1931.
This was one year after I was born. I remember the day well.
King George the 5th, the grandson of Queen Victoria and Prince Albert, was sovereign on the throne.
King George the 5th was also the son of King Edward the 7th.
It is not generally known that Queen Victoria, despite having 9 children, was a prude regarding �bodily functions�.
She thought that breast-feeding was "Disgusting!" So, she engaged one of her serving-maids to perform this function for her. The girl acted as A Wet Nurse.
Queen Victoria thought that the use of toilets was "Disgusting", also. So, her serving-maid performed these actions for her, too!
It is recorded that their son, Edward, once told his parents, Queen Victoria and Prince Albert, a Knock Knock Joke.
Ed: "Knock Knock".
V&A: "Who�s there?"
Ed: "Dunnup".
V&A: "Dunnup-poo?"
Ed: "Oh! That is DISGUSTING!"
A V E R Y L O N G p a u s e - - -
V&A: "We are NOT amused!"
But, I digress --- triskaidekaphobia
The British, (particularly the English), are very fond of Rhyming Couplets, and also Alphabet Rhymes.
"A tisket, a tasket, I�ve lost my yellow basket"; "A deck, B deck, C deck, E. This is what my mother taught me". "Phobia, phobium; Podia, podium; This is what comes of life in Cambodium".
Dear Members: You can easily see that triskaidekaphobia is an invented word. It means: "You should visit the beautiful country of Cambodia. If you choose to live with the lovely people of this country, they may be superstitious, or they may not be be superstitious --- just like every other country in the world."
Les Douglas
