A Little Grammatical Knowledge (in the wrong hands) Can be a Dangerous Thing

I met some new people at church today.

I don't know about you, but I have trouble remembering people's names; recently, I've been trying more intentionally to remember them. Near the end of the conversation I often try to re-state the names of the people to help me remember them for next time. I did that today: "Well, Stephen and Winnie, it was good to talk to you."

One of them responded, "Oh, we're not together. We just live around the corner from each other in the village and happened to be talking this morning."

And, as I live and breathe, it is only by the extreme grace of God that I did not utter the next thought that entered my head: "Oh, I didn't mean 'and' in the copulative sense!"