Chicken is such a delicious food . . . And yet–ironically enough–if one boy called another boy “chicken” when I was a young lad, them thar was fightin’ words extremus maximus and it was almost impossible NOT to fight over such an insulting label: truly did it give such offense!!
And there were kids, myself included, who more or less firmly resolved not to fight as a way to settle differences, but the one taunt that could break down even the most heartfelt resolution was that one terrible challenging provocative insult.
If the offender kept at it, dangling the word on all sides– “chicken,chicken, CHICKEN!”–eventually your resolve would break down and fall to pieces. Pretty soon the issue must be settled in hand to hand combat like the jousting knights of medieval times . . . charge! Black eyes, bruises, and bloody noses were the order of the day.
And every boy knew this about every other boy: that the accusation of “coward” found in the taunt of “Chicken!” struck at the very heart of one’s self-image–at the heart of his sense of courage and conviction. It simply could NOT be allowed to go unchallenged! One’s very manhood depended on chastising the offender!
Oh yes, life was simple in those days . . . or so it may seem now in retrospect, since we as children tended to be blissfully unaware of adult dilemmas, nor had we learned to recognize swift-flowing social currents churning right beneath our feet. We were happily oblivious to a hell of a lot but at least we knew this much: if another kid taunted us with “Chicken!” it required swift and decisive action!
Thus do words take on double meanings while our ability to make a “smart decision” often depends on how well we understand the meaning of the word in context, along with any subtle nuance or “slant” the speaker may wish to impart through intentional vocal inflection . . .
Yes, this is a story of long ago, of a much simpler time of black and white, of good and evil. We were completely unsophisticated compared to this modern hip generation. I’m sure no sophisticated reader today would take the slightest offense if I were to call him “chicken” . . . or would he??!!
