Watch Your Language!

There is a peril to writing these days that you might not have thought of.  (Actually, that should be "of which you might not have thought," but that sounds so stiff and stilted.)

That peril regards what people have done to our English language/vocabulary.

 

 Words that were perfectly harmless and acceptable in my lifetime have been given double entendre meanings and now elicit snickers if not outright laughter if uttered or written.

I refuse to list these words to protect the innocent (and myself!)

But if you think for a few minutes, you can probably come up with quite a few.  I can.

I'm constantly on guard, avoiding certain perfectly good words and wondering if any I do use can be misconstrued and made suggestive.

I became very aware of this recently.

I accidentally left the book I was reading at the car dealership where I got my oil changed.

It was a book by C. S. Lewis, one of the most profound and revered Christian authors of all time.

The problem?  It is called The Screwtape Letters.

I made a special trip to the dealership, hoping it had been turned in.  Knowing that the girl at the reception desk had probably never heard of this (actually very well known) book, I rather timidly asked if it had been found. 
I don't think I allowed myself to sputter around and say it is a Christian book, but I was tempted.  

She looked for it and said, "No."  I didn't push it! 

Screwtape is a senior demon who writes a series of letters to his nephew, Wormwood, encouraging him in ways to promote sin among us, the "patients."  I wonder...had it been written today, would the publisher or other representative of the Christian book industry have said, 

"Mr. Lewis, we will need you to change the name of the 

title character to something less objectionable." 

I started to say "less titillating," but thought better of it.