Toast
Third Time's L'Chaim
Philologos’ columns on the possible origins of the famed Jewish toast has drawn sacks of mail from linguistically inclined readers. Drink up and read his final verdict!
Cheers! We're Not Poisoned — Or Are We?
Does the famed toast ‘l’chaim’ date back to a Byzantine custom of testing wine for poison? Philologos prefers to believe it evolved from an ancient expression meaning, ‘all right.’
L'Chaim a Bad Grammatical Error?
Jews have been toasting with the expression ‘L’chaim’ for centuries. Philologos investigates a reader’s complaint that we may have been wrong for just as long.
