This and that about thoughts

It was great that three Americans visiting France were able to overpower a gunman on a train.  They, along with a Briton, received France's country's highest honor yesterday.

Spencer Stone, 23, Alek Skarlatos, 22, and Anthony Sadler, 23, three friends on a European vacation, and British businessman Chris Norman, 62, were awarded the Legion d'Honneur by French President François Hollande at the Elysée Palace.

Thorne in my side

Another great aspect of this for me, as a lifetime lover of words and languages, was that news reporters trotted out the word "thwart" as in, "American heroes thwart terrorist...details on NewsCenter 87 next!" Thwart, meaning to stop someone or prevent something, dates back to the 13th Century.

It strikes me that a lot of cool words begin with "th." Thrice comes to mind.  We all say, "I tried to call you twice last night" but who ever says "I called you thrice, so you must not have been home"?

Thud. Thong. Thump. Thirst. Thorax. Throes. Thrives. Thirsty. Thermos. Thieves. Thrombus.  Thronged.


David Letterman used to say that any word with the "k" sound was funnier than any other word that mean the same thing. I am all for using th- words as thoroughly as I can. And of course, you can find plenty more of them in any Thesaurus.