Page 1 of 1

Gist

Posted: Tue Aug 06, 2013 3:15 pm
by Perry Lassiter
"upshot" was used by MTC in another discussion, and I got distracted researching it. In the process, I found that "gist" differed from how I have always read it and used it. The word originally meant a bird's resting place. It went on to mean the pith or central meaning of a sentence, paragraph, chapter, or speech. Now many media articles I read begin with what academic articles used to call an abstract, but the current term is "take-away." The gist of what I am saying is I always thought the word referred more to a quick scan of a document and a loose statement of what all it said, a short summary. But the word seems much more specific than the implication I gave it.

Re: Gist

Posted: Wed Aug 07, 2013 11:55 pm
by Philip Hudson
Perry: "Gist" is a common word amongst us Red Necks. If one understands the essence of a speech, document or etc. then he/she has got the gist of it. That is pretty close to the dictionary definitions I have read. I don't say it, but it seems trendy to use word "drift" in place of "gist" as in, "if you get my drift."

Re: Gist

Posted: Thu Aug 08, 2013 7:06 am
by call_copse
The gist of my thinking on this is that the only take-away I'll be having involves a good curry or Chinese, perhaps a pizza, if you catch my drift.