• earwig • Part of Speech: Noun Meaning: 1. [Noun] If this seems
like a silly place to put a wig, you're right: an earwig is an
elongated insect with pincerlike appendages on its rear (see
picture). 2. [Verb] To catch someone's ear, to capture their
attention and attempt to influence them. Notes: In a recent blog
I discussed words that bear no resemblance to their meaning;
today's Good Word is rather obviously one of them. The earwig
got its name from an old assumption that they crawled into the
brain through the ear and caused insanity. Don't laugh: 200
years ago it was as good an explanation of mental disease as any
In Play: The phrases "put a bug in your ear" and "put a bee in
your bonnet" are extensions of the verbal use of today's Good
Word: "Rumor has it that Carl Rove still earwigs President Bush
on election matters." Otherwise, earwigs are household pests:
"I've been told I have earwigs in the house: should I call an
exterminator or a wig-maker?" Word History: Today's Good Word
has never been related