10. Peccavi: Revisiting Perry Mason and the various tortfeasers he encountered, one of the most dramatic moments in those early dramas was when Perry Mason had trapped some miserable tortfeaser into admitting their guilt. Sometimes the treacherous tortfeaser was completely submersed in denial and was carried away screaming their innocence, sometimes the tortfeaser would defiantly insist that the murderee earned and deserved their demise, and sometimes we will be treated to a bland almost grateful admission of guilt – the weight of the crime proving too heavy for the tortfeaser to bear. The last of these Masonic denouements is referred to as a peccavi – an admission of guilt.
Sir Charles Napier made the meaning of this direct-from-the-Latin word utterly clear, when in 1843 he led a small army of 2,800 British and native soldiers into Sind – a large region which is now a Southern province of Pakistan. At Mlani he won a bloody battle against a numerically superior force of 22,000 Sindhis. Following the battle he sent back a one word despatch to London which read “Peccavi” (I have Sind or I have sinned).
Some historians believe that Napier meant it both ways since he was known to be opposed to the rampant establishment of colonies and he’s believed to have been unhappy at being ordered to do a bit of land grabbing. Either way it was an impressive pun.
10 Curse Words You Don’t Know
10 Insulting Words You Don’t Know
10 Nonsense Words You Don’t Know
10 Words You Don’t Know With Limericks
10 Units of Measure You Don’t Know
Click here for the full list of postings: Words You Dont Know
Click here to BUY the book: Words You Don’t Know on Amazon
~ Thomas Jefferson
