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Can You Pronounce Shibboleth? If Not, You Could Have Been Killed
The origin of the term for secret passwords
Have you ever shared a secret password with someone? People have been using simple passphrases for thousands of years. From a way to ensure the right person to pick up your kid to identifying unknown soldiers in a dark trench to getting into a speakeasy, people have been uttering these simple passwords in all kinds of situations for generations.
These kinds of special or secret words identify you as part of the “in crowd” as opposed to an outsider. They are known as shibboleths. If that sounds like an odd word, that is because it is. It is derived from ancient Hebrew and an obscure line from the Bible.
The definition of shibboleth is:
a word or saying used by adherents of a party, sect, or belief and usually regarded by others as empty of real meaning — Merriam Webster
One of the best examples of shibboleths being put to wide use was during World War I and World War II. In a dark trench, it is hard to see who is who. So, soldiers would call out phrases to one another and expect a specific response that would identify them as a friend and not a foe. These phases were often jibberish and had to do with American culture, something that, say, a German soldier might…
