Painting with words

Athena – Pat’s Pithy Posts – January 6, 2021

Painting with Words

An author tells a story in words and when they paint a picture the reader is drawn into the scene. So word selection matters.

Consider the following.

Car - jalopy or vintage

House - cabin or cottage

Boy - hooligan or angel

Girl - pixie or peevish

Woman - sociable or solitary

Man - cad or gentleman

My last name is Gitt, but on a trip to Dundee, Scotland, noted author Wendy H. Jones informed me that if I spelled my family name with only one “t” it would have an unsavory meaning. Git – a worthless – contemptable – unpleasant person. When I asked my brother if he was aware of this, he said he was. Imagine my surprise for his not sharing this news with his sister.

To start 2021 off I am inviting you to send me your favorite words. I promise to post them in the next Post.

Until then, here are four of mine.

Kerfuffle – a fuss – confusion - disorder

Persnickety – placing too much emphasis on trivial or minor details

Plethora – a large or excessive amount of something

Nudnick – a pestering, nagging or irritating person