Meanwhile, back in Blue Thread, typography-loving Miriam is angry at her parents (for good reason) and thinks:
Stop controlling every jot and tittle of my life!”
Jot and tittle. Those of you familiar with the King James version of the Bible might remember this from Matthew 5:18:
For verily I say unto you, Till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the law, till all be fulfilled.”
Jot comes from the Greek letter iota, and has come to mean the smallest letter of the alphabet or the tiniest bit of something. The Greek letter, in turn, is related to the Hebrew letter yud, which is also the smallest letter in that alphabet, and the Roman letter “i.”
Tittle also means the tiniest amount, and it comes from a small stroke or point in printing. The dot over the “i” or “j” in current English type is technically called a “tittle.”
That’s it. Done. Bye!
My name is Ruth. I write books and articles for children and young adults. Blue Thread is my eleventh book, and the first one in which I have knowingly stretched the truth.