Sunday, July 11, 2010

shelter, tohu -bohu, foam


Posted by PicasaCat sheltering and defending its territory under a car.

Tohu-bohu is a French word which I have come across two or three times recently. It means confusion and disorder and according to Robert is derived from the Hebrew word for chaos. I have never heard it pronounced by a French person but, judging by the phonetic description  in the dictionary, it  probably sounds like "toyboy"  pronounced by someone with very constricted vowels. Rabelais wrote of the Isles of Tohu and Bohu. Heidi tells me that there is a German word Tohuwabohu with the same meaning. But I cannot find any word in English signifying chaos with a similar derivation. "Topsy-turvy", seems to have a different origin.

When flowers appear on the privet hedge it means that it's time to trim it again. In one sense it is a shame  because the white panicles are lovely to behold, like flecks of foam on a green sea.


1 comment:

CC said...

Looks like a sweet little bit frightened cat sheltering to me. Hope he/she knows to move on before the car does.