mental quibble

[darkoshi]

After reading several arguments on the spelling of "to say one's peace" versus "to say one's piece", I've grudgingly been convinced that "to say one's piece" must have been the correct or original way to write it.

To me, "to say one's peace" implies that one feels at peace, having stated one's opinion, and that one doesn't plan to argue about it regardless of further discussion. Whereas "to say one's piece" doesn't imply one's emotional state - one might feel at peace and finished with the subject, or one might still be willing to consider other opinions, or one may feel argumentative and/or dismissive of other opinions.

This re-evaluation of the phrase's meaning comes after Qiao calmly ended a discussion with, "I've said my peace [piece]". At first I heard it as "peace" and and interpreted it in that manner. But after reading about the correct usage, it seems that he must have said "I've said my piece", which means that he may not be at peace with it after all. Considering the context, I suppose he wouldn't likely be at peace simply for having stated his opinion. Does anyone ever feel at peace simply for stating one's opinion?

I wonder if I saw it written as "peace" in any books I read as a child, or if I never saw it written and always misheard it.

Comments

[randomdreams.livejournal.com]

I've always seen it as 'piece' and thought of it as an archaic westernism: "I done said my piece." As such, I've always seen it as definitely not being at peace, but as being more like "this is my final word" -- a statement that the person doesn't care to hear what you have to say in response, so a fairly aggressive statement.