Peggy’s Prompt—sharp as…..110311

Sharp as….a tack, a marble, not the sharpest pencil in the pencil box, sharp as a knife, a razor, an ax, this reminds me of those internet thingys that go around purporting to be things kids say—as in, sharp as a sharp marble---well, maybe the things the kids says really ARE funnier. Sharp is one of those words that the more I type it and really look at it, the less it seems like a real word. Sharp---gets me thinking like I did when I was a kid about how words got invented. So what relation, if any, does the word “sharp” have to its meaning as something that’s not dull.

Now that I think about it, almost all words are “meaningless” in the sense of conveying something of their meaning in their sound or their spelling. But, then again, some words, like “splat”---there’s a good word that sounds like what it is. And “ethereal” and “evil”, especially if pronounced in a long drawn-out manner. And “cool”, as in not too cold. Likewise “sweaty” and “luscious” and “creamy.”

And I love those “z” words—jazz and razamatazz and paparazzi, and zephyr and zipper and fizz and dizzy and fuzzy and tizzy and zenith and zeppelin and buzz and fizzle.

Sizzle has the connotation of “hot” as in steaks on the grill, or dancers in a sexy number, or frying eggs on the sidewalk during a hot spell. It’s not the kind of word you would use loosely. Not like “nice” or “real nice” or “sorta nice.” No, if you say that woman sizzles, you know exactly what you have in mind, and so does the woman. On the other hand, if you say the water in the tap fizzled out, you know it didn’t quit abruptly, it dribbled its way to a halt. And that’s all I have to say about zee words.