Teaching English is impossible. Words like ‘enough’ are enough to put anyone off, but they don’t even begin to scratch the surface. It so happened during one class that I had to pronounce all the words – though, thought, although, rough and plough. The hilarity and bewilderment are impossible to forget.
One particular class stands out in my memory as I write this. I remember once being asked what the word ‘hook’ means. I painstakingly explained the hook and the eye, as well as the hook you hang clothes on in the bathroom, and the hook often associated with the missing hand of a pirate. With my drawing-skills, it requires unlimited imagination to understand what I’m trying to communicate. I felt pretty victorious because my communication was successful, and because I had thought of all three usages. I then asked what the context was because there was still utter non-comprehension in the air.
Frowning, my student then asked, “Okay, what is ‘crook’?”
My heart sank. ‘By hook or by crook’ has little to do with hooks or crooks, I explained sadly.
varsha, i discovered this site some time last year and it sooo much fun and the entries so well written, i’ve been tripping on it for some time now (never mind that my leaky memory can’t hold all the interesting stuff that i read here!)
http://www.etymonline.com/
searching for ‘hook’ and ‘crook’ brought me some interesting stuff with relation to what you wrote. apparently words like crotch, crutch, croquet share a root with crook
🙂 I wonder if my sister knows about this site – it’s right up her alley! And yes, it’s amazing how many words are linked!