Le mot juste*

“A new word leaped off the front page at me this week, ‘tranche,’ which I’d never seen before. This is exciting when you’re 77, like being approached by a platypus on the street wearing a sign, ‘Look before you leap.’ I’ve seen a platypus before but not a platitudinous one.

“‘Tranche’ means a portion of something, and it’s used in finance, so that’s why I don’t know it. The New York Times said Congress had subpoenaed Secretary Pompeo, ‘demanding that he promptly produce a tranche of documents.’ 

“I imagine the Times said ‘tranche’ rather than ‘portion’ because it sounds more important: ‘portion,’ to me, means two small potatoes, a cup of peas, and one slice of meatloaf.” 

—Garrison Keillor, writer and blogger, “Another fine week here in the republic,” Oct. 4, 2019.

• Editorial Comment: The newspaper of the common man. 

*Le mot juste: the appropriate word for the situation.

 

PeezPix

Good night, boats

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“I don’t think writers are sacred, but words are. They deserve respect. If you get the right ones, in the right order, you can nudge the world a little.” —Tom Stoppard