In our last God’s World News Professor Wordbrain explained this word, eschew. To quote:
“It is pronounced like a sneeze, es-CHOO!… The meaning is quite simple, really…. It’s so simple, you could say the same thing with words like “avoid” or “shun” or “shy away from.” As a matter of fact, that is most likely what you do say…. The word “eschew” can be traced back something like 660 years to the French word eschiver and to a later English word eschewen…”
Later in the week as I was reading a ” A Coffin For King Charles,” by C.V. Wedgewood, I came across that same word in chapter 4, on pg 73. It reads
“In spite of Puritan preaching and propaganda directed for the past seven years against the noisy celebration of “the twelve days of Christmas,” many Londoners still clung to their old convivial habits, and eschewed all work between Christmas Day and Epiphany.” (emphasis added)
When I told Mom this she asked, “Haven’t you heard the phrase ‘Eschew Obfuscation‘? ” Is that not funny!
I really enjoy reading something for pleasure or school, and then being able to come across a reference to it in another book and know exactly what the author is talking about.