Grand Theft Thunder

[248 words] We know what it means when we say someone “stole our thunder.” It is a euphemism for when someone takes your praise, credit, or attention before you have a chance to. But it doesn’t make a lot of literal sense. You don’t own any thunder for anybody to steal. Unless you are John Dennis. As the story goes, Dennis was a playwright in the 1700’s. His play was mostly a dud, but part of it wasn’t. He had come up with a clever way of simulating the sound of thunder. When Dennis went to another play, he recognized his creation. He exclaimed, “The villains will not play my play, but they steal my thunder!” Now he made something else people would steal, his turn of phrase, and it seems he still didn’t get much credit for that. Oftentimes we think of stealing as a material only thing. But…