A debate has been raging around here about the pronunciation of a certain word. (Which, as a side-point, is not the word "pronunciation." There are certain people around here whose names I'll not mention but their initials are my husband, who think "pronunciation" is pronounced "pronOUNCEiation." That makes my toenails curl. It is pronounced "Pronunciation." "Pro-NUN-ciation." I wish someone would tell him that. The man is a professional. He's going to need to know how to pronounce pronunce.)
Anyway, the debate is centered on the words "Caucus" and "Coccyx." The question amongst the younger people in this household is whether or not they are actually the same word.
WELL OF COURSE NOT!
That's just silly. I don't know where they got the idea that "A meeting of the members of a legislative body who are members of a particular political party, to select candidates or decide policy" means the same thing as "a small, triangular bone at the base of the spinal column in humans and some apes, formed of fused vestigial vertebrae."
Unless it is because when one one goes to the meeting of the legislative body—called Caucus—in order to determine who the delegates and chairs and vice-chairs and reclining-chairs and secretaries and judges and treasurers and refreshment coordinators are, one spends hours, HOURS I tell you, listening to 300 people one can't hear because some bright person scheduled TWO caucus meetings in the same auditorium at the same time.
These 300 people shout who they would vote for and why. And why you should vote for them. And how they have lived in your tiny burgh for 3 years and learned to like it. And how they want to be involved in politics. And would you please take the 900 tiny pieces of voting paper that some little old lady stayed up all night cutting for you and write the names of all the people you don't know but that you want in office. Because this is a much better process than polls.
And by the time the whole thing is done three days later your COCCYX is killing you from having sat on it all that time in chairs made for skinny-butt little high school students.
Oh. That's why. Now I understand. Caucus and Coccyx can be used interchangeably.
Now all that's left to be debated is whether it is pronounced "Coc-IKS" or "Coc-SIX."
I'm going to bed.
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