Tuesday, May 14, 2013

It's Not a Duck

Words have been my career, and passion, for many decades. I enjoy how elusive they can be, with different meanings, depending on subtleties of positioning and nuance. English is a fascinating language with many instances of words conveying several related meanings, like "responsibility" possibly meaning the ability to respond.

I also like examining colloquialisms. "If it looks like a duck, swims like a duck, and quacks like a duck, it's a duck." is one of my favorites. Who could contest the logic?

Me.

Take air. You might say, "If it's invisible, has no smell, makes no sound, it's not there."

There are plenty of other examples. The point? Things are seldom as described, often not as seen, and occasionally much more interesting than our lazy thinking would have them be.