After reading the word "shibboleth" in a work of literary criticism that tries hard to be accessible to the general public and subsequently having to look the term up, I was struck fondly by the irony.


shib·bo·leth n.
1. A word or pronunciation that distinguishes people of one group or class from those of another.
2. a) A word or phrase identified with a particular group or cause; a catchword.
b) A commonplace saying or idea.
3. A custom or practice that betrays one as an outsider.