There's a kids' parlor game called Gossip. In Gossip a whispered message makes its way around a giggling circle. The final recipient of the gossip message declares just what was whispered in their ear - and the one who started the gossip reveals what the message held originally.

The two reports are almost always hugely different. From mouth-to-ear, again and again, the gossip gets garbled, misheard, and turned backwards so that the original words have little in common with their final version.

The same inside-out transition can happen over the years to familiar old sayings as well. How many of you have heard the forceful expression, "Make no bones about it!" In our day, to our ears, this remark means "Make no mistake about it." Or, "Don't you doubt what I'm about to tell you next!" You make…