Worms are good things, but we don’t want to be them. The word worm can be a noun or a verb, but when it refers to one of us—a human—it almost always has a negative meaning. See the examples below.
Noun: a weak or disgusting person
Example: She’s sneaky and underhanded. She’s such a worm.
Verb:
a) to worm one’s way into something
Example: He wormed his way to the front of the cafeteria line, even though many other students were there first.
b) to obtain information from someone by cunning persistence
Example: She wormed the secret out of her friend who had sworn not to tell anyone.
So in this new year, let’s aim to be the early bird and not the worm. Let’s be on time to events, to class and to family meals. Remember, as the video says in the Zeller Cellar section, the early bird has the advantage over others and is hard-working, sincere and successful.
Think time
Question: Based on the noun defined above, did you ever have a friend who turned out to be a worm? What did you do about it?
4 Responses
I think it’s really interesting that the meanings to ‘worm’ are negative. When you go fishing, you WANT to have worms! And like in the proverb, birds love to eat worms! I’ve heard of people eating worms, but that’s not for me! Leave them in the garden to enrich the soil and feed the birds.
Dear Linda,
Thanks for your comments. Worm is negative when applied to us humans, and yes, it is interesting that it takes on that meaning. Otherwise, as you and my blog state, worms are good things and have their place in the food chain and do indeed help gardeners.
CeCe
Loved the video! What a nice addition to this site. 🙂
Thank you, Paula. I know you are one of my faithful adult readers who remains a kid at heart.
CeCe