For a craft project I needed a piece of muslin and some silk so I visited my neighborhood Walmart.
The clerk in the fabric department was surrounded by several aisles of quilting, crochet, sewing supplies, and stacks of rolled cloth. This was the right place so I asked the young lady if she had "any muslin." Her eyebrows suddenly arched and she responded, "what" in a less than friendly tone. I sensed she heard Muslim when I asked for muslin so I expanded my request and clearly stated "muslin cloth". Her expression was still a study in puzzlement as she stated " I don't know nothing about muslin cloth." Finally, I spelled the word "muslin" sensing she might still think I was asking about something Muslim. Her tone and demeanor softened and she finally related that the store didn't carry muslin. Then, I asked about silk. She didn't have any, but cheerfully pointed out several faux silk materials.
I was disappointed that one of my favorite shopping venues couldn't fill my order.
However, I was most intrigued and slightly amused that a single letter in the six letter words of muslin and Muslim could panic, confuse, and possibly anger a sales associate in a major retail store. Muslin is a very old word describing a common fabric and Muslim is a very old word describing a complex culture and religion.
To the very old adage "that words have meaning" I would suggest that some letters within words also make a difference.
The clerk in the fabric department was surrounded by several aisles of quilting, crochet, sewing supplies, and stacks of rolled cloth. This was the right place so I asked the young lady if she had "any muslin." Her eyebrows suddenly arched and she responded, "what" in a less than friendly tone. I sensed she heard Muslim when I asked for muslin so I expanded my request and clearly stated "muslin cloth". Her expression was still a study in puzzlement as she stated " I don't know nothing about muslin cloth." Finally, I spelled the word "muslin" sensing she might still think I was asking about something Muslim. Her tone and demeanor softened and she finally related that the store didn't carry muslin. Then, I asked about silk. She didn't have any, but cheerfully pointed out several faux silk materials.
I was disappointed that one of my favorite shopping venues couldn't fill my order.
However, I was most intrigued and slightly amused that a single letter in the six letter words of muslin and Muslim could panic, confuse, and possibly anger a sales associate in a major retail store. Muslin is a very old word describing a common fabric and Muslim is a very old word describing a complex culture and religion.
To the very old adage "that words have meaning" I would suggest that some letters within words also make a difference.
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