How Great and Grand

Because of usage formal and informal, the words "great" and "grand" can be confusing, so let's step back and take a look at them for a few minutes, at least.

In daily use -- and I've heard and even muttered these from time to time -- one might sarcastically respond to bad news with, "Oh that's great" or "Oh, great, just what we need" or "Oh, isn't that grand?" But on the other hand, you might respond to someone else's good news with, "That's great" or "Great to hear!"

If you delve into your family's history in any detail, you'll quickly come across "grandparents" and "great-grandparents." Jeesh, how strange the distinctions between "great" and "grand" here!

Great often means "Really Big" or "Catastrophic" or "Universal" or "Epoch-shaking," as in:
The Great War, the Great Influenza, the Great Depression, the Great Recession. Here, French equivalents tend towards Grand or Grande, with terms like La Grande Guerre and
La Grande Dépression.

Which reminds me of memorable names like Grand Canyon, Grand Illusion, Grand Boulevard, Grand Hotel, Grand Ballroom and Grandmaster Flash & the Furious Five. Also, the Great Escape, the Great Fire and the Great Flood.

There's often so much confusion about the words Great and Grand that true understanding (and therefore effective communication) is in danger of being skipped over or misconstrued entirely. For instance, when I proposed a Great War and the 1920s class years ago, my academic dean at the time asked if the name could be changed, as she thought it sounded too much like Great as in Cool or Groovy War.  Once approved, the name of the course remained the same, because that's what the 1914-1918 catastrophe was called until 1939 or thereabouts, and "The Great War" recaptures its original context. Still, I understood her intitial concern.

There's also the Great Man (Person) theory, as in: Abraham Lincoln, now he was a great man; or, Queen Elizabeth I -- now there was a great queen of Great Britain. Let's not forget Alexander the Great.  

And finally, let's not forget sports, either -- terms like the Grand Slam, or Le Grand Chelem in French. Oh yeah, and the Grand Prix.

Today's Rune: Joy.