Sent an e-mail the other day in which I used the phrase 'to a T' (was informed it was an idiom. Made me nervous as that word's awful close to idiot, which is even more close to the truth). My e-mail followed the T with (tee, tea?). Lame attempt at humor. H - we don't know each other well enough for me to involve H in this drivel - sent me a site to click on that ran me through the history of the phrase (idiom). My interest piqued (peeked, peaked?), I did further research and figured the weight of speculation ran back to the time of the King James Bible and its use of the word tittle, as in 'not one jot or tittle'. Over time the word was shortened to T, meaning to hit the nail on the head and also to keep the grammar police from working overtime. The shape of the T got me thinking of the cross and Christ being nailed to it. Read somewhere that back in the day when crucifixion was the thing to do the typical cross was shaped like a capital T not a lower case t. 'Course that brings up the controversy of whether Christ was roped or nailed to the cross and I don't want to go there.
All by the by till I recalled the days of my youth when I used to closely follow football. Came to remember one of the premier pro quarterbacks, name of Y. A. Tittle (coincidence?). Think he went by that moniker 'cause his full name was Yelvington Abraham Tittle. I figure it was shortened to his initials to allow the TV announcers to spit his name out before the start of the next play. Anyhow, Tittle played back in the days when the T formation was in vogue. Tittle was one heck of a passer. Most of his flings were works of art, perfection. His throws usually hit the receiver on the button which suited the fans to a T. Top that off with Abraham being in the King James Bible and you've got yourself something to ponder.
Emil: "Yeah, it's drivel alright."
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