Stitch in your Side

Hello, you have A Way with Words.

Hi, this is KK from L.A.

KK?

Yes.

Okay.

It’s my initials.

Oh, it’s your initials.

Okay, KK.

Well, it’s great to have you.

What would you like to talk about?

Well, the other day, my co-worker was telling a funny story, and he ended, he wrapped up his story with, and they were all in stitches. And so I heard that, I was like, huh, I know what it means, but I wonder where it came from. So I’m asking you guys.

This is a really good one.

Do you run marathons?

No, but I do run.

Okay.

I’ll tell you what. I had an experience the other day. There were two chihuahuas loose in my neighborhood here in San Diego, and a bunch of other people tried to chase them down, and we did not catch those little guys. They were euphoric and happy and running at top speed.

But as I was running, I got a stitch in my side. And the stitch that we talk about when you laugh, you laugh so hard that you get stitches, it’s that same feeling, that feeling that a muscle has tightened or something has kind of poked you there in your belly. And you’re like, oh, yeah, I’ve got a spasm. That’s a stitch in your side. And that’s the stitch we’re talking about. Like, yeah, they were in stitches. It was so funny. It’s exactly the same stitch.

Interesting.

And there’s another interesting thing, part, that I love about this. It is directly connected to the stitch in sewing. It’s the same stitch. But it used to be that the stitch meant the poking of the sharp tool and not actually the thread that’s left after you poked the sharp tool. And this word goes back with basically the same kind of meaning to the year 1000. This is a really old English word. It’s one of those English words that is just kind of like lasted and lasted.

And so at some point in history, it could mean the feeling that you get or the experience of having a sharp spear or arrow poke you. It could be anything, a thorn, a horn, a knife, what have you. So it went from meaning a poke, like something that pokes through, into a pain.

Yep.

And then now we just use it to say, oh, they were in stitches. They were laughing really hard. But you can still get stitches. If you run marathons and you’re not prepared, if you’re not warmed up, you will get a cramp in your side. And that is called a stitch. It’s a stitch in your side.

Yeah.

Even Shakespeare used it that way, right? You’ll laugh yourself into stitches.

Interesting.

Thank you. That sounds like a fun place to work. We appreciate your calling.

Thank you for having me.

Yeah, sure.

Take care.

Bye-bye.

Okay, bye-bye.

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