At a certain point, what people mean when they use a word becomes its meaning.
William SafireRead
Dangling punch lines to forgotten stories remain in the language like the smile of the Cheshire cat.
Interpretation
The quote highlights how unfinished tales linger in language, much like a lingering smile suggests a hidden story.
William Safire's quote suggests that incomplete narratives or unresolved tales persist in language similarly to the iconic smile of the Cheshire cat from 'Alice's Adventures in Wonderland'. This lingering presence points to the idea that language carries echoes of untold stories, inviting reflection on what remains unspoken and the deeper meanings hidden within communication.
In practice
In a literary discussion about the importance of language in storytelling.
At a certain point, what people mean when they use a word becomes its meaning.
Previously known for its six syllables of sweetness and light, reconciliation has become the political fighting word of the year.
Never assume the obvious is true.
Stop worrying about the 'dumbing down' of our language by bloggers, tweeters, cableheads and MSM thumbsuckers engaged in a 'race to the bottom' of the page by little minds confined to little words.
Is sloppiness in speech caused by ignorance or apathy? I don't know and I don't care.
Sometimes I know the meaning of a word but am tired of it and feel the need for an unfamiliar, especially precise or poetic term, perhaps one with a nuance that flatters my readership's exquisite sensitivity.
Purists behave as if there was a vintage year when language achieved a measure of excellence which we should all strive to maintain. In fact, there was never such a year. The language of Chaucer's or Shakespeare's time was no better and no worse than that of our own - just different.
After studying the Hungarian language for years, I can confidently conclude that had Hungarian been my mother tongue, it would have been more precious. Simply because through this extraordinary, ancient and powerful language it is possible to precisely describe the tiniest differences and the most secretive tremors of emotions.
Language is one of the greatest gifts man has devised for himself. It ranks, alongside the discovery of fire and the wheel, as a major influence in making modern man what he is today.
Language is a process of free creation; its laws and principles are fixed, but the manner in which the principles of generation are used is free and infinitely varied. Even the interpretation and use of words involves a process of free creation.
My language! heavens!I am the best of them that speak this speech. Were I but where 'tis spoken.
Long human words (the longer the better) were easy, unmistakable, and rarely changed their meanings . . . but short words were slippery, unpredictable, changing their meanings without any pattern.
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