TIL this about handcuffs.
This week, I surprised a customer by embroidering a tiny pair of handcuffs in the pocket of the bridal jumpsuit I’m making for her. There was a precedent to this; it was a bit of an in-joke following several inappropriate giggles during fittings with her and her fiancée. Also, I stitched it so it was easy to remove if I really had misread the room.
Fortunately, not only did she like it, it was even more appropriate than I’d imaged. The bride is a native Spanish speaker and told me that the word for handcuffs in Spanish – esposas – also means wives.
This naturally tickled my etymological tastebuds and it turns out both words stem from the Latin spondere, meaning to bind, so it’s not hard to see how each word evolved.
Not too dissimilar from the (usually sexist) English expression ‘ball and chain’.
But let’s not forget that husband shares its Old English roots with bondage.
However you want to keep the magic alive.
