Appropriacy

You have words - now what do you do with them?
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Slava
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Appropriacy

Postby Slava » Fri Mar 15, 2013 8:22 pm

Appropriacy - using just the right word in the right way, shall we say.

Though perhaps an extreme example, the current signature from the Agora's own sardith sums this one up quite nicely:

“The difference between the right word and the almost right word is the difference between lightning and a lightning bug.” ~Mark Twain~
Life is like playing chess with chessmen who each have thoughts and feelings and motives of their own.

Perry Lassiter
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Re: Appropriacy

Postby Perry Lassiter » Fri Mar 15, 2013 8:49 pm

I too have enjoyed reading sardith's quote and frequently have it in mind as I write. However, "appropriacy" does not have that specific a connotation in my mind. Rather, if a statement is appropriate, it fits the occasion. Inappropriate not only fails to fit the occasion, but disrupts it. The Twain quote to me connotes a level above merely being appropriate. When we attain that exact, precise term, fireworks go off. One can mumble something appropriate and get by. Can anyone suggest a term for that lightning word that fits the occasion but also nails it?
pl

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Slava
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Re: Appropriacy

Postby Slava » Fri Mar 15, 2013 9:48 pm

Sorry, Perry, but I do believe you are conflating a previous GW Suggestion from me with this cousin.

The prior is an adjective or verb, whereas the latter is a noun.

Appropriacy, as I understand it, is far more exact than simply an appropriate word. "The" v "An".
Life is like playing chess with chessmen who each have thoughts and feelings and motives of their own.


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