General / Language · 2006-02-14

Making Sweethearts

A friend told me today he’d written a poem for a special someone on the occasion of Valentine’s Day — an Ode to Sweethearts, in which the manufacturing process for making those little conversation hearts is glorified, along with lots of romance and innuendo.

That led me to the NECCO website, where I not only learned how they’re made, but also found the company’s announcement of new sayings to be printed on the little hearts this year. Be still my own heart — they’ve added a preposition (To) and a conjunction (And)!

Over the years, NECCO has introduced Sweethearts sentiments that are inline with current culture, but never before has its mix included grammatical “connectors.” With the addition of To and And, sweethearts can now “spell out” and communicate thoughts such as: ILU And Miss You; Kiss Me To Be Mine; or Love You And Home Soon.

A linguistic treat not to be missed, as is their complete list of seasonal Sweetheart products: I am pondering precisely what they mean by a Sweethearts Tart Laydown Bag. (Is it an imperative?)

Happy Valentine’s Day, all.