The question of words
Author: Art on Wednesday, November 11, 2009

Anyone who knows me knows that words are an important thing to me. But it is really the meaning of the word that matters. If I say, "I'm going shopping," it may mean something entirely different than if my wife says, "I'm going shopping." The result of my statement could take an hour or two depending on the distance I have to travel, while the result of my wife's statement could mean an all day excursion. The part of the sentence above that changes the result is the difference between what I consider to be "shopping" and what my wife considers to be "shopping". 

CAUTION!

This section may be difficult to follow
If you live for any number of years past ten, you are probably aware of words that have changed their meaning during your lifetime. If you are not past ten years of age, you are probably just not aware of the words that changed meaning during your lifetime. Sometimes the words change because they have fallen into the hands of a group of people who don't know of another way to say what they are saying, so they use a word that doesn't mean what they are saying to say it. The word changes meaning after it becomes common to use the word that way.

Some words are changed because it is to the advantage of some that they change. I once read an article where the person started out redefining some pretty common words and terms. Even though I didn't agree with what he was saying, I found myself being less disagreeable as he continued to use those phrases and words to make his point. The reason I was more agreeable is that the meanings only changed in my head and not in my person. He wasn't really saying what he was saying no matter how you looked at it.

Danger Over

Although this doesn't have anything to do with the last paragraph, it is a fun and convenient example. Tonight, LaFonda came home and told me that our friend wasn't feeling well, so she and her husband were not going to be coming over. The result of that was that we were, then, without a meal since she was bringing it. So LaFonda was going to go up and make one. I told her that a simple meal would be fine. Here is where the words come in. What does "simple" mean to you?

When I am home alone for dinner I want a simple meal. I will pull out some peanut butter and bread for a sandwich. I may have an apple and will certainly have something to drink. This will keep the dish usage down and the amount of preparation to a minimum. LaFonda came down after preparing her simple meal.

She brought one plate with a cluster of grapes in one corner (square plate), a pile of turkey breast in another corner towards the center, with a small bowl of fancy mustard in the actual corner. There was a small bowl of sliced bread and butter pickles in the opposite corner with a small pile of sliced cheese in the center. The final corner had some cream cheese with a salsa laid over it. We ate this with crackers. It was eye appealing, and satisfying. That is LaFonda's "simple" and my "simple" in a nut shell.

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Category: | 2 Comments

2 comments to “The question of words”

  1. pistolsnprincesses November 11, 2009 at 10:58 PM

    I love your example! It made the paragraph preceding it easier to understand and personable. It was also a great example of the difference between yours and mom's personalities.

    Love ya,

    Your Daughter Who Has A Blog

  1. LaFonda Dunlap November 11, 2009 at 11:47 PM

    Thanks for appreciating our differences. Thanks more for sharing the simple meal with me with such gratitude!
    So since you acknowledged that we understand the word "shopping" differently, and since you also noted that I spend way more time when I go shopping, do you think you could understand that I might need more money than you when I go? Just thought I'd ask.

I appreciate your comments. Thank you.