Working together, they spoke a new language. “Needs more leverage on the left!” Mr. Gable shouted. “That’s a fortuitous knot, Professor!” “Don’t let it go askew !” cried Mrs. Gable.
Professor Finch, seeing an opportunity, cleared his throat. “My dear woman,” he intoned, “this is not merely ‘tricky.’ This is a persnickety entanglement. A knotty, labyrinthine conundrum of canvas and cordage.” bombastic words meaning
Mr. Gable blinked. “A what?”
Mrs. Gable paused. She looked at the tent, then at Finch. “You know,” she said slowly, “it is persnickety. It’s being very particular about how it wants to fall down.” Working together, they spoke a new language
“It does, it does!” Finch clapped his hands. “That’s a fortuitous knot, Professor
That evening, at the village pub, Professor Finch was surrounded. Mr. Gable bought him a pint. “You know,” he said, “all those fancy words you use… they’re not just for showing off, are they? They actually mean something. More specific. Like, ‘persnickety’ isn’t just ‘hard.’ It’s annoyingly hard. It’s hard with an attitude.”