Well, it seems like the flood of worm news is slowing down...or maybe I'm just noticing it less.
Worms, like everything else on the planet, have their upside and their downside. People use them to get rid of trash, and fishers use them to catch food. They aerate soil. But, they also can compact soil and harm land, as seen in the Great Smokey Mountains and in Minnesota.
Clearly, the earthworm has a good image -- they are helpers, little farmers, as one article called them. So then why do we insult people by calling them worms? According to Webster, one of the definitions of worm is "an abject, wretched, or contemptible person." So why do we think earthworms are great? Or does that definition of worm come from things like tapeworms, which are parasites? The original Middle English/Germanic roots suggest serpents, dragons and turning or bending. That's a physical description....hmmm. Maybe this is a case for the OED.
Posted by Julie Young at November 1, 2003 11:59 PM