Word

Words beginning with the »sn« sound in English are often unpleasant: snide, snob, snigger, sneer, snicker, snub, snert, snotty, snippy, snit, snarl, snore, sneak, snag. »Snow« is a word over which there is debate and even an annual change of heart. The first snowfall is almost always welcomed. Christmas snow is considered magical. But too much of a good thing for too long and March blizzards push »snow« into line with the rest of the »sn« words.

»«»«»«»«»«»«»«»«»«»«

Words are like leaves; and where they most abound,
Much fruit of sense beneath is rarely found.

»«»«»«»«»«»«»«»«»«»«


 – Alexander Pope (1688-1744)
 – An Essay on Criticism [1711], pt. II, l. 109

Which is more useful to you: a dictionary that tells you how to use a word or a dictionary that tells you how a word is used?

»«»«»«»«»«»«»«»«»«»«


There it was, word for word,
The poem that took the place of a mountain.


»«»«»«»«»«»«»«»«»«»«


 – Wallace Stevens (1879-1955)
 – The Poem That Took the Place of a Mountain [1952], st. I

The right word may be effective, but no word was ever as effective as a rightly timed pause.

(Mark Twain)

A word has the power to define, to bind, to create, to destroy. Truely, a poet has power undreamt of by kings.

“Be careful what you say—you may have to eat your words.”

I don’t think so much about eating my words as about wearing them. When someone sees me, the words come back to haunt like a miasma around me. No matter how colourful my dress, bad words turn everything grey and muddy brown.

»Therefore« is a word the poet must not know.

(Andre Gide)

What I feel for you,
I can't put in words,
language won't hold
my desire.

I bought one of those Word-A-Day calendars to improve my vocabulary for college.

reify – to regard or treat (an abstraction) as if it had concrete or material existence.

Isn't it weird that words work as well as they do? Think about it.

My favourite word in the English language is »language«. However, if you gave me a slightly larger set of words to choose from I might have more difficulty expressing a preference.

Words are the best toys you can give your brain.

The web of words wraps round the whole wide world, concealing the secret numbers underneath.

1001 1001 0110 1001 1010 1001