My Lovely and Loquacious wife Pat will sometimes fall into a lexical rut by using and re-using a theme or set of words. On rare occasion, the theme seems to run nasty, which catches the listener off guard as my wife is kind of heart. Most of the time.
This particular season had Pat using the idea 'compared to'. Someone says 'do you think my daughter's ears are too big?'.
Response: 'Compared to Dumbo, they're just right'.
'Oh dear, my house is a mess'.
Response: 'Compared to a pig sty, it's quite clean'.
After a few more 'compared to' statements missed the mark, I inquired: 'Just what are you going for with all the comparing?'. Pat explained that the comparing thing was supposed to make the listener feel better. That comparisons are done all the time and can be quite complimentary. This seems a little like brain surgery. A small slip and you have a real catastrophy.
'Compared to an elephant, you really did look thin'. And, compared to an elephant, she really really looked thin. See? But it seems people only hear their own name and 'elephant' in the same sentence. Nuances are lost in the 2000's. I blame the dumbing down of America.
A few more comparisons needed to be made. A few more quizzical looks. Then in a car ride home, Pat informed me she was burying 'compared to'. And it has remained dead and buried.
Always a gamer, The Lovely Pat charms her way through these fiascos the way dolphins glide through water. In fact, Compared to..... Ha! You didn't think I'd actually go there, did you?
© 2012 Jamie - 1/19/12
