Pashaw: used to express irritation or disbelief

Several months ago I was shopping at Tuesday Mornings in Kettering’s Town & Country shopping center where I’d purchased a beautiful shawl for Mother last year.

Mother wearing the shaw I gave her in 2017

I wandered through the store and found a rack of hanging items. One stood out and I took it to the cash register for purchase.

The clerk held it up and said, “Oh, this is pretty, isn’t it?”

“Yes,” I responded. “I bought my mother one from here, last year, and she loves it. It looks good on her, too. I love this texture – it’s unique.”

“Looks good on her?” she asked.

“Yes. The shawl.”

The clerk paused a moment before continuing. “You do know this is a bath rug?”

“A bath rug?”

She began laughing. “Yes.” She showed me the broad cardboard tag.

“Well, I’ll be damned. Thank you for pointing this out to me.”

She offered to put it back for me and said they’d be getting shawls into the store as the cooler weather kicked in.