…the

That’s right: the word the. And not because I couldn’t think of another topic. Of course not. (Ha ha ha) But actually because it occurred to me that ‘the’ is an incredibly useful – and terribly under-appreciated word.

Think about it: how many books have ‘The’ in the title? Would The Fault in Our Stars (a best-seller on numerous lists in 2014) be as striking as just Fault in Our Stars? What about The Goldfinch as just Goldfinch. Would it have won the Pulitzer Prize without the ‘The’?

Imagine me writing an entire blog post without using the word ‘the’. Pretty difficult, huh?

Even Dr. Seuss, when challenged by his publisher to write a book with only 50 words, was allowed to use ‘the’. (The book was Green Eggs and Ham, if you’re wondering.)

So, what is ‘the’? According to dictionary.com, it’s a definite article, which means it specifies something, such as a proper noun, a title, or a specific chair in the living room, for instance.

Did you know that ‘the’ can also be used as an adverb? It sure can!

As for the word origin of, erm, ‘the’ – it is far more complex than you might have guessed, but mainly comes from Old English, as well as Sanskrit, Greek, Irish, and Gaelic. And, get this: “Old English used 10 different words for ‘the’, but did not distinguish ‘the’ from ‘that'” (sez dictionary.com).

Just for fun, I checked out ‘the’ in the quotes side of dictionary.com, and it only came back with 200 results, none of which are actually about ‘the’. Interesting.

My long-awaited (by me anyway) novel (see “E” post for an Excerpt) has ‘The’ in the title. I can’t imagine it any other way. (And no, I’m not sharing what it is. Call me superstitious, but I wouldn’t want my title to get stolen.)

So, there you have, erm, ‘the’ (not it).

T is also thank you for everyone who has cheered me on during this challenge (and oh, what a challenge it has been for me), and read my ramblings, and shared them, and provided nice feedback. All three of you are THE BEST.