Thursday, September 20, 2007

Connotations (A Lesson for Backstreet's Back)

Words matter, and words that have somewhat similar meanings can and do carry vastly different connotations.

"He touched my face" can be worded as "He struck my face," but one is more accurate than the other depending on severity. "She's rather unwell" and "She's dying" can refer to the same thing, but there's a difference between someone who's simply under the weather and someone who's knocking on heaven's door.

Don't say "She's dying" when she has the flu, and don't say "She's rather unwell" when she's flatlining.

Rosie O'Donnell isn't "controversial." She's an attention hog.

Stevie Wonder isn't visually impared. He's blind.

Someone in convulsions from a drug overdose is not merely "buzzed," and someone whose brain is failing is not merely "high."

Put that in your Kool-Aid (sweetened with Splenda), and drink it.

3 comments:

  1. Anonymous2:02 PM

    It's Bradstreet, not Backstreet.

    Ugh. Backstreet?

    So much for being nice.

    ReplyDelete
  2. I'm so very delighted. I hoped that you would notice that unforgivable low-blow.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Anonymous10:23 PM

    It could be worse, I suppose. At least I'm not putting Splenda in my Kool Aid. Or even drinking Kool Aid, for that matter.

    ReplyDelete

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