Connecting Words: Unconventional Meaning from Conventional Words
Note from the Proprietor: This is my entry for the Connecting Words writing project instigated by Joanna Young and Brad Shorr.
The idea is to write about words you may have seen (or used) that caused a connection, a conversation, or maybe even a double-take. Doesn’t matter what they might be; just whatever caused you to stop and think for a moment or two.
Hrm. Grbl. Blx.
Well, to be honest, I can’t think of any instance when someone specifically responded to a particular term I used in a post or comment – try as I might. It may be that folks don’t think twice about unusual expressions coming from yours truly (and I’m really not sure what the heck that means, if anything).
But still, I don’t mind sharing a few of my favorite expressions, just to see if it strikes a chord here or there (sound of a D#-minor chord being struck). Hey, you never know…
You see, it’s not so much the use of typical words and phrases; heck, practically anyone can do that. Expressions such as “thank you”, “please forgive me”, “yes”, and of course, “I love you” – well, these are the most obvious and powerful connecting words I know of and 
will always go a long way toward connecting with other people. (Not to mention a big favorite of mine here at the Zone: A big tip O’ the hat to ya!)
Ah, but being the insane whack job unique individual that I am (and no snide remarks from the peanut section back there!), for me the real challenge is to take already existing connecting words and/or phrases and successfully change their meaning to something else entirely; to bend ‘em to my own indomitable will, so to speak. After all, who’s the master here (he said boldly) – the writer, or the words?
To that end (now there’s a strange phrase if I ever heard one – just who’s end are we talking about here?), I’ll just go down to the basement (sound of creaky door opening) and check the archives (sound of footsteps descending a rickety wooden staircase) for a few examples where I’ve redefined a term or two (sound of rummaging, followed by assorted rattles and crashes and a cat’s startled meow).
(Three days later…)
Hey, I’m back! Didja miss me? No? Er, sorry ‘bout the delay – I got distracted by my old Space Invaders game and got sorta carried away. Uh, where were we? Oh yeah – redefined words!
OK, I’ve ransacked the archives and (rather than turn this into a 10,000-word essay) narrowed it down to four specific words and phrases that I happen to enjoy using the most:
Ironic – made entirely of iron. Perhaps my all-time favorite word. To be brutally honest, I stole got it from Arthur Spooner, a character on the TV sitcom King of Queens. It doesn’t necessarily mean anything in particular; it’s merely a device I use every now and then just to see if you’ve been really paying attention. I must say though, most of the time I think my definition actually fits better than the, you know, actual one. Ironic, huh?
Waxing eloquent – to lay it on thick and polish it to a nice, shiny finish. This one comes from an old Peanuts comic strip in which Snoopy is busily writing his “It was a dark and stormy night…” epic. As a writer, I’m particularly fond of this one since it seems to capture pretty well the ultimate writer’s bane – falling so in love with your own words that you simply can’t stop filling the page with them until there are really no other words to say but you just can’t quite bring yourself to just stop it stop it STOP IT! Er, sorry. But you see what I mean. (Remember my “10,000-word essay” comment above?)
Je ne se quoi (pronounced “je ne se quoi” – does that help?) – various meanings, depending on the context. As a non-French-speaker, I take advantage of my poetic license (2007 license #T-72a073810-x7.5g/s, issued by the State of Insanity) to freely define this phrase pretty much any way I like. I mean, what the heck; it’s my blog and I can do what I want, right? This one came years ago from a Birthday card my sister gave me that read like this: “For your Birthday, I searched for a card with that certain je ne se quoi.” – which upon opening, read, “Card with no money in it.” I’ve been broke inspired ever since. And yes, we still speak to each other.
Voilá – various meanings, again depending on the context. Similarly (oddly enough, my grammar and spell checkers both agree that’s a correctly used word – go figure!) to the phrase above, I usually translate this into colloquial terms in keeping with my own Texas roots. Thus, it could mean literally anything – from “there ya go” to “whack me up the side of the head and call me Bubba.” So far as I’ve been able to tell, though, I don’t think anyone has trouble understanding what I mean – if you know what I mean.
Now, as anyone who is attempting to communicate with the outside world will know, it’s not what you say so much as the response you get from the words you choose (good one, Joanna!) that make all the difference, right?
So in actuality, whether you choose to go conventional, or make up your own vocabulary – the proof is, as they say, in the pudding.
(Although… I’ve searched puddings for years and never found proof of anything. But you never know. In the meantime… uh, better hand me another pudding; I need to keep looking. I, er, happen to like banana pudding with lots of sliced bananas and those little vanilla wafers in it…)
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So what words or phrases do you think of as connecting words? Care to share some of them?
If you’re intrigued by the premise of the Connecting Words Project, why not drop by Joanna’s place and check it out. You just might want to contribute some of your own to the mix!
14 responses so far
Middle Zone Musings is a comfortable place to stop, have a cup of coffee, swap a few stories and share practical ideas for the real world. I don't ask for much, just a bit of your brain every now and then. Have a seat, take a load off, and relax...
Hi Robert, thanks for waxing eloquent in our little project. Warren Zevon used “je ne se quoi” in a song once. Now I know what it means, sort of.
Thanks, Brad! Hey, we all need a little je ne se quoi every now and then. C’est la vie, eh?
Thanks for the interesting project!
You do have a knack of jumping into deep philosophical waters… whole big meaning of language discussion going on here, not least that old “who’s to be master” question (are you remembering which character first asked that one…?)
But it’s “whack me on the side of the head and call me Bubba” that’s really making the connection with me – can I use it instead of voila? I mean, there aren’t other meanings that I don’t know of that people will wonder about if I was to say that? Or should I just not worry, seeing I can bend words to my indomitable will too…
Thanks for joining in and getting over your perplexity as to what we were going on about. This one certainly brightened up my Monday
Joanna
Not sure of your “master” reference, Joanna. But no worries, you can freely use anything you find here. My personal goal is to affect deep cultural change (something like inventing tribbles!)
I think of blog posts as my children, sent out into the world to make their own living. I’m responsible for seeing that they have a good foundation. What they make of themselves is up to them.
I love the idea of blog posts as children
This was the ref to ‘who shall be master…’ – from Alice in Wonderland
Humpty Dumpty:
When I use a word, it means just what I choose it to mean – neither more nor less.
Alice:
The question is, whether you can make words mean so many different things.
Humpty Dumpty:
The question is: which is to be master – that’s all.
Joanna
Aha! I remember now! Yes, it does seem like an appropriate reference, Joanna – thanks!
I really need to re-read Alice in Wonderland. I was just re-watching The Matrix last night and its a key thread throughout the movie.
And while we’re on French phrases, I’ll add “déjà vu”. . .also a key element from the film.
Anyone experienced déjà vu while blogging? Maybe déjà blu?
Erik, I could’ve sworn you just said that! Ah, well – se la vie…
Robert,
I really like your new meaning for “ironic”! It certainly gave me a chuckle! And your definition for “waxing eloquent” is–well, aside from being eloquent–apropos! (You’ll have to excuse me for using another strange French word, but after all, you started it!)
Very entertaining post!
Jeanne
Jeanne, your comment definitely had that certain… je ne se quoi (which as you know means sentiments straight from the heart!)
Thanks for dropping by the Zone!
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Hi, there! I was searching Google images for “handshake” and came across the drawing at the beginning of this post. Is it yours? Did you draw it? I love it so much and would like to use it as part of a logo for an outreach program we are starting in our community to provide free food and clothing to those in need. But I don’t want to break the law.
If the drawing is yours, would you be willing to “donate” it to our outreach program? If it is not yours, can you maybe give me information about where you got it and how I can contact the artist? Or do you know whether or not it is a copyrighted image? Please email me at the address provided above as soon as possible. I would be happy to email you a sample of what our logo would look like using the handshake drawing.
Thank you very much,
Becky Frame
Howdy, Becky! I’m sorry, but I found that drawing myself on Google image search a while back. I have no idea where it came from, and it doesn’t seem to show up anywhere but here.
But hey, thanks for dropping by! Hope you decide to stick around awhile…