Interesting, didn't know that. When I saw your question, shibboleth in the Bible came to mind.
(Judges 12:4-6) Jephʹthah then gathered all the men of Gilʹe·ad, and they fought Eʹphra·im; the men of Gilʹe·ad defeated Eʹphra·im, who had said: “You are only fugitives from Eʹphra·im, you Gilʹe·ad·ites in Eʹphra·im and Ma·nasʹseh.” 5 Gilʹe·ad captured the fords of the Jordan ahead of Eʹphra·im; and when the men of Eʹphra·im were trying to escape, they would say, “Let me cross over”; then the men of Gilʹe·ad would ask each one, “Are you an Eʹphra·im·ite?” When he would reply, “No!” 6 they would say to him, “Please say Shibʹbo·leth.” But he would say, “Sibʹbo·leth,” as he was unable to say the word correctly. Then they would seize him and slay him at the fords of the Jordan. So 42,000 Eʹphra·im·ites fell at that time.
Insight on the scriptures: SHIBBOLETH (Shibʹbo·leth). The password used by the men of Gilead to identify Ephraimites who tried to flee across the Jordan. It means “ear of grain” or “flowing stream.” Escaping Ephraimites, during their conflict with Jephthah, gave themselves away to the Gileadite sentries at the fords of the Jordan by mispronouncing the initial “sh” sound of this password. They would say “Sibboleth.” (Jg 12:4-6) Thus, it is evident that some variation of pronunciation existed among the tribes, even as in later times the Galileans had a manner of speech distinct from the Judeans.—Compare Mt 26:73; Lu 22:59.
There are two other meanings as well tex. They are
"A peculiarity of pronunciation, behavior, mode of dress that distinguishes a particular class or set of persons" A white sheet was the shibboleth of the KKK
"A slogan, catchword". Make America Great Again..a Donald Trump shibboleth
The dictionary also speaks of the Hebrew reference. "A word used by the Gileadites as a test to detect the fleeing Ephraimites who could not pronounce the sound "sh".
Thanks. Didn't knowed that. lol (I wonder if I will get pounced on again for posting a scripture again? Perhaps I shouldn't have as this is not in the religion section.)
A shibboleth (/ˈʃɪbəˌlɛθ, -əlɪθ/; listen )[1][2] is either a saying that people repeatedly cite that some think to be wrong,[3][4][5] or a word or custom whose variations in pronunciation or style distinguish members of ingroups from those ofoutgroups, with an implicit value judgment based on familiarity with the shibboleth.
I don't havea favorite.
This post was edited by my2cents at September 21, 2017 7:13 AM MDT