Explicit

[William Hupy]

No surprise here. This is from Latin. Plicare, meaning to fold. So I take it that explicit instructions are an unfolding.
On the other hand implicit is implied and therefore, in the above example the instructions would be implied. It appears that explicate comes from the exact root words as explicit. Anyone?

[Perry Lassiter]

Not sure on etymology here, but the meaning is transparent, clear and exact. To give explicit instruction would mean to leave no doubt about what you want done. Implicit would be the opposite, not needing to be detailed because it should be obvious.

I remember a writer for a preschool quarterly telling me that her editors wanted her to be explicit. Write "Get a pair of scissors and red construction paper and cut out a heart." To say cut out some red hearts would be implicit. Of course a teacher should know to get scissors and paper, but apparently not.

[Slava]

"Get a pair of scissors and red construction paper and cut out a heart."

Hmm... Whose heart are we supposed to cut out? What do we do with the construction paper when we're done?

[Perry Lassiter]

Obviously the instructor must have had Slava in mind...

[eberntson]

So things travel in groups of three, so where is the set of muddle instructions? Fooplicit.