Don't you just hate it when your child or anyone asks you what a certain word means.... and you KNOW what it means... but you just can't figure out how to explain it? Can't recall the definition in an articulate manner? Eeew. I hate that.
Yesterday my son (who has an extensive vocabulary for a 3rd grader) asked me what "metaphor" meant. I utterly failed to explain. It was absurd. Like I don't know what "metaphor" means?!
- metaphor : (noun): a figure of speech in which a term or phrase is applied to something to which it is not literally applicable in order to suggest a resemblance, as in “A mighty fortress is our God.”
And here are some of my often-used favorites that I can never precisely define when asked:
- pithy: (adjective): brief, forceful, and meaningful in expression; full of vigor, substance, or meaning; terse; forcible: a pithy observation. Of, like, or abounding in pith.
- smarmy: (adjective): excessively or unctuously flattering, ingratiating, servile, etc.: the emcee with the smarmy welcome.
- moxy: (noun): courage, balls, intestinal fortitude. *Had to get this one from UrbanDictionary.com since it wasn't actually listed in the dictionary? Jeez.
Here's to not being discombobulated!
