In Chapter 11, Scout asks her father what the term "nigger-lover" means. Atticus tells Scout that it is a term that really doesn't mean anything, similar to the term "snot-nose." Atticus goes on to say that ignorant people use it when they feel that somebody is favoring Negroes over themselves. Atticus also says it is never an insult to be called something that somebody thinks is a bad name because it says more about the person and doesn't hurt you. I would agree with Atticus' statement concerning derogatory comments and insults. I do believe that insulting comments are a reflection of the person who says them. In regards to racial slurs, I believe that they significantly reflect the person's character when spoken. I also agree with Atticus when he says that ignorant individuals use derogatory terms. However, I do not agree with his assessment that insults do not hurt others. Insults can be hurtful and many people take offense to them.
Does anybody know the etymology of the phrase "sweet dreams"? I tried googling but did not find anything satisfying. Is this a relatively new phrase of the modern world or has this been in use for some time? I think it's the latter one. Answer The OED has the interjection as "a farewell to someone going to bed" from the 20th century: 1908 Sears Roebuck Catal. 198/1 Tenor Solos..Good Bye, Sweet Dreams, Good Bye. But it goes back until at least the 19th and possibly 18th centuries. John Wolcot, writing under the pseudonym of Peter Pindar, used it in his poem "Orson and Ellen; A Legendary Tale" published in 1801: Also from 1801 in The infernal Quixote (Page 287) by Charles Lucas: In the March 1776 of The Universal Magazine was published "The Serenade. A Pastoral Tale. From the German of Gesner" , where the shepherd Daphnis watches over his beloved as she sleeps and sings: The same tale appears in 1776's as Idyl XI, " Daphnis ...
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