snit

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David McWethy
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snit

Postby David McWethy » Mon Sep 15, 2014 3:31 am

It's not in the GW Dictionary, but recognition must be given to my 5th-grade English teacher, who instructed her students to "illustrate the use of the word", thereby giving more than one student an opportunity to submit a drawing of a angry woman with frizzled hair, at the wheel of what looked like a cross between a Packard and a Studebaker--truly a succinct "illustration" of "a woman driving off in a Snit".
"The time has come," the Walrus said, "to talk of many things...."

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Slava
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Re: snit

Postby Slava » Mon Sep 15, 2014 6:59 am

Definitely a fun and very useful word. It would be great if the Dr. could come up with new research on its origins. They look buried at present.
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David McWethy
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Re: snit

Postby David McWethy » Mon Sep 15, 2014 9:56 am

I've frequently felt that another word with mental-graffiti potential is "Huff"; I can easily imagine 5th-graders fulfilling the teacher's instruction to produce an "illustration of its usage" by submitting a picture of a scowling, swarthy, hirsute, cigar-chomper, roaring away in a Huff (a vehicle which most resembles an overloaded moving van).

My personal favorite is the difference between "prostitute" and "prostrate": Depending on the context and the quantity of alcohol consumed (much like "the difference between a dog and a fox is six beers") the first would be a fallen woman while the second would simply refer to one who had temporarily lost her balance.

(For ten points extra credit, name the source of that jewel of a play on words).
"The time has come," the Walrus said, "to talk of many things...."

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Slava
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Re: snit

Postby Slava » Mon Sep 15, 2014 10:18 am

Can one go off in both a huff and a snit? It feels right to me.

As to the quote, it sounds like something from Hollywood Squares. Wasn't it Paul Lynde who did this kind of thing a lot?
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Perry Lassiter
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Re: snit

Postby Perry Lassiter » Mon Sep 15, 2014 3:31 pm

If one can go off in a Huff, he can go off in a Huff and a Puff, which brings to mind the pufferbillies of the children's song.
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