Gist

Use this forum to suggest Good Words for Professor Beard.
Perry Lassiter
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Gist

Postby Perry Lassiter » Tue Aug 06, 2013 3:15 pm

"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.
pl

Philip Hudson
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Re: Gist

Postby Philip Hudson » Wed Aug 07, 2013 11:55 pm

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."
It is dark at night, but the Sun will come up and then we can see.

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call_copse
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Re: Gist

Postby call_copse » Thu Aug 08, 2013 7:06 am

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.
Iain


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