What are you trying to say?
I have a bad case of writer’s block. Here’s how bad it is. Last night, instead of facing the blinking blank page on my laptop, I chose to clean the cat’s liter box. But then a re-run of the British TV show, “How to Look Good Naked,” saved my blog.
Have you seen this show? Regular women strip down to their skivvies and let experts tell them what underwear will help hold their breasts in their proper place and how certain clothes will make them look – and feel – better.
Except, since the show is set in London, they learn about the proper knickers to make their bangers look good.
So how did all this knickers and undergarment talk help cure my writer’s block? It reminded me that it is okay to choose my words cautiously. The same word can mean wildly different things to different people.
Bangers in Great Britain refer to a certain female body part. Down the street at Fionn MacCools restaurant, bangers are a kind of sausage that go well with mash (potatoes for you non-Irish types). And knickers? Those can be underwear or old-fashioned pants or a nickname for a basketball team.
See what I mean? This is why copywriters often use “lorem ipsum” – nonsensical placeholder text – in early graphic design. It prevents clients from analyzing a paragraph before it is finalized.
It is natural to assign meaning to a word based on your understanding of the word or phrase. Meaning also comes from culture and generational differences. That’s why it is so important to choose not only the right word, but to understand how your audience is going to read it.
Don’t believe me? Try explaining what a tweet is to your grandmother.
What fun words or phrases do you know that have multiple meanings? Share them here to prevent future writers everywhere from getting their knickers in a twist.
