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Legal Language. Every once in awhile I am stumped by a word that I have never encountered. My first inclination is always to ask myself, "What the hell does that word mean?" Then, I stop and think...does everyone else know the meaning...is it a word I should have learned somewhere in my college days...OMG!!...is everyone going to wonder how on Earth I could not know the meaning. Are they going to look at me and think...how did that one ever earn a college degree and a Master of Arts nonetheless...in English.

Then I realize it is often best to just "pretend" you know what it means.... you know, act cool when it's mentioned...go with flow like you've used it a thousand times before...use it in a sentence even if you have no idea what part of speech it could possibly be...let it roll off your tongue in passing...just please, whatever you do, don't let someone use it in a question for which I am supposed to know the answer...I am always thinking why sugar coat something that is eventually going to leave a sour taste in every one's mouth....even if they don't see it coming for years.

Sometimes these words blindside you as the meaning has the power to alter what was once reality. As I painstakingly look up the word in the dictionary, I am quickly drawn to the two simple words used which define what had alluded me at all cost previously..."illicit lover"...how important is knowledge when with it comes the instant that shatters your belief in all that once was...a single moment that forever changes the course of events in what should have been, could have been, would have been, but wasn't...one simple word with the ability to unleash destruction and wreck havoc...damn that dictionary. I shut it quickly hoping that maybe it was wrong. The dictionary wrong?? What am I thinking? I look the word up one more time...just to make sure I got the right one...always good to double check for accuracy. Nope, the meaning hasn't changed.

Now, wait one minute!!...illicit lover....hmmm, I am not sure about you, but back in the day...I believe that would have been labeled as the common slut...better known as...hussy..streetwalker or maybe even prostitute...aka...tramp..harlot..wanton... but, best and always remembered for what it truly is...a whore!!!

Now, I ask myself...why did they have to put such a strange label on something that isn't worth the litter in which my cats urinate and crap?...I am reminded of one of the timeless quotes from Shakespeare..."A rose by any other name is still a rose"...which leads me to conclude "A whore by any other name is still a whore"...if the shoe fits...and you damn well know who you are....something tells me this won't be the first or last time you hear that word. See you around...whore!

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