Disclaimer: This essay leans satirical and intends no offense toward the original author or to any Disney character. I offer my thoughts into the world merely so that I may stop thinking about it.
The Pile
An article was recently written in my local paper in order to assuage worries that were raised by multiple community members. Apparently, the authorities wanted citizens to know that there was no need for alarm and that they could stop calling the police and fire departments to report their concerns.
The 219-word news blast basically reports that ‘fires’ called in to local authorities were in fact a pile of dung in a pasture that was smoldering due to the unseasonably intense temperature of our late June weather. Based on the plethora of resulting comments spilling over onto social media sites, numerous community members were concerned while others were remarkably entertained.
Here is the bulk of the actual article:
Steaming Pile Of Manure Prompts Multiple False Fire Calls: Bel Air Official
A steaming pile of manure along Conowingo Road has prompted people to report a fire. Officials note the pooh is simply steaming due to heat.
Kristin Danley-Greiner, Patch Staff
Posted Thu, Jun 20, 2024 at 11:59 am ET
BEL AIR, MD — Multiple callers have reported a smoking pile of pooh sitting on a rural property located in the 2600 block of Conowingo Road. But the Bel Air Volunteer Fire Company has reiterated on social media that there is no fire risk.
"There is no need to call 911 to report a 'fire,'" the fire company stated on social media.
While the manure pile appears to be smoking, it's not actually on fire, officials explained.
"Smoke will continue to rise from the pile, especially with the hot temperatures we are experiencing," the fire company said.
Pooh is ‘Simply Steaming’
The images that flashed across my mind as I read that phrase in the subtitle, ‘Pooh is simply steaming,” had nothing to do with the actual drama that was taking place. The first image I imagined was of a very angry Pooh Bear…a Pooh Bear, if you will, who is ‘simply steaming!’ Something like this:
But later in the article, it says that the ‘pile appears to be smoking,’ which somehow translated in my mind as ‘Pooh appears to be smoking,’ like this:
But, in actuality, the author intended for the audience to understand that this was simply a pile of Pooh/poo/pooh/poop/manure/insert other word as you see fit.
Now, I cannot STAND the following graphic, no matter how cartoonish or cupcake-topping-like it is formed, probably due to my overload of said graphic based on my daily exposure to the middle school student’s mind, but for the sake of explanation, THIS is closer to the illustrated reality:
Pooh vs. Poo
But this brings me to the question of language. If I see the word ‘Pooh’ (P-o-o-h) or even ‘pooh’ (p-o-o-h) without the proper noun capitalization, I see a beloved teddy bear with his trademark red crop-top emblazoned with his name in yellow letters across his fuzzy chest. If I see ‘poo’ (p-o-o) or ‘poop’ (p-o-o-p) or an assortment of other terms, then I see what our kind author here most certainly, and unfortunately, wanted us to visualize.
Well, I just had to know if it was only me who was thrown by the use of ‘Pooh’ (P-o-o-h) in the subtitle. We can’t just go around allowing writers to soil the name of the cherished teddy now, can we? So I began a deep dive into poop.
I will spare you the messy details of my research, but ultimately, I feel most vindicated for myself as well as on behalf of Mr. Bear by this explanation:
According to Grammarist.com, Pooh is an interjection used to express disdain, contempt, or disbelief. There's also the informal verb pooh-pooh, which means to express contempt for or to speak ill of. In today's English, poo refers to defecation and the product of defecation.
Aha! There! I am reassured that I am not completely off my honeypot in my befuddlement of terminology or my defense of dear Pooh Bear. But THIS now reminds me of another issue entirely.
The Debate
I am hereby reminded of the great Homophone/Homonym debate of 2002, in which six of my fellow second grade teachers and I engaged in rigorous discourse regarding the clarification of terms that describe like-meaning or like-sounding words and how best to relay this definitive understanding to our young learners.
It was, and may remain, a debate for the ages and I honestly cannot recall exactly where we landed as far as our instructional delivery approach. But, for those similarly etymology-minded word nerds out there, I offer you this to chew on:
Merriam-Webster.com reminds us that Homophones are words that sound the same but are different in meaning or spelling. Homographs are spelled the same, but differ in meaning or pronunciation. Homonyms can be either or even both.
Well, that explains it all. I suppose?
And, here is an excellent visual provided by Wikipedia that clears any remaining confusion.
Crystal clear.
Easy, peasy.
Dare I say, clear as poo?
Right?
In Defense of Pooh
I conclude that the original, very well-intending and dutifully informative journalist, may have been wiser to select the term ‘poo,’ ‘poop,’ or some other derivative of the offending word so as not to confuse, amuse, or befuddle her concerned audience.
I considered creating my own Venn Diagram to illustrate my point further, but my attempts quickly showed me that was a pointless endeavor. You try it; I would love to see your designs!
Note
I typically finish my posts by sharing stimulating writing prompts for extending the given topic into classroom writing tasks or coaching activities with clients. I do not recommend this particular topic for use with coaching clients.
However, I must admit that I am strongly considering having my students try their hand at creating the triple-Venn Diagram for the excrement-related terms presented above, even engaging in their own vigorous debate after finalizing their graphics! After all, they are middle-school students; they would probably love it.
Be well,
Nicole
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Love it. I can imagine middle schoolers diving deep into this poo(h) thing. A fun post. 🧡