golden thread
n.— «This reluctance to sign up for the army life is being ascribed partly to the merger last year of the six Scottish regiments into one, with the consequent loss of regional identity. This identity is referred to as the golden thread which would see today’s Scottish soldier risking his life in Basra under the same badge as that worn by his father on the streets of Belfast, his grandfather on the Normandy beaches, or his great-grandfather in the trenches at the Somme. It may be no bad thing that this golden thread is broken. It is no bad thing that our young people appear to have less of an appetite for war.» —“Not enough soldiers? Then turn to the Household Chavalry” by Tom Shields Sunday Herald (Glasgow, Scotland) Sept. 22, 2007. (source: Double-Tongued Dictionary)
Further reading
Eels, orts, and Wordle! Sweden awarded its most prestigious literary award to a book about…eels. The Book of Eels reveals the mysterious life cycle of this sea creature and its significance for famous figures from Aristotle to Sigmund Freud. Plus...
Some college students are using the word loyalty as a synonym for monogamy. Are the meanings of these words now shifting? Plus, a biologist discovers a new species of bat, then names it after a poet he admires. Also, warm memories of how a childhood...