Now, what does shibboleth mean again?
A shibboleth is a kind of linguistic password or way of speaking (a pronunciation, or the use of a particular expression) that identifies one as a member of an in group. The story behind the word is recorded in the biblical Book of Judges. In the story, two Semitic tribes, the Ephraimites and the Gileadites, have a great battle. The Gileadites defeat the Ephraimites, and set up a blockade to catch the fleeing Ephraimites. The sentries asked each person to say the word shibboleth. The Ephraimites, who had no sh sound in their language, pronounced the word with an s and were thereby unmasked as the enemy and slaughtered.
