Red-letter Day

Brian asked about the origin of red-letter day. It means a day or date of special significance.

It tracks back to medieval liturgical calendars. The days that commemorated saints’ days or special festivals were literally printed in red ink to make them stand out. Less auspicious or less important days were printed in black ink, and were referred to as black-letter days.

SIDEBAR: Pet Shop Boys: A Red Letter Day

Available from McFarland & Co.: Word Parts Dictionary, 2nd edition

Check out Mike's program-based books here:
Arbutus Press
or at Amazon.com

Listen to Mike’s program in real time every Tuesday morning, 9:00 - 10:00 a.m. EST, by going to wtcmradio.com and clicking on Listen Now.

There is a collection of podcasts. Go to wtcmradio.com and click on Podcasts. Scroll down The Ron Jolly Show to find the Words to the Wise audio button.

Visit The Senior Corner at seniors.tcnet.org