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Tuesday, August 20, 2013

Nice

Love is supreme and unconditional;
like is nice but limited.
~ Duke Ellington
- - - - -
 
I don't like the words "nice" and "good" as descriptors.  They don't really say anything.  And I think our language is big enough that we can do better.
 
That said, sometimes you can use "nice" to convey a simple plainness.  I think "nice" is fine as an umbrella term, but it's good to go further and explain what we mean when we use it.
 
For instance, one might start a book or a chapter or a short story like this:
 
The judge was nice.  He was nice in court and played well with the other justices on the court.  But no matter what, he always agreed with the majority.  Even his handwriting was nice.  He wrote in concursive.
 
Or, one might choose not to do that...  since now it would be plagiarism.  And plagiarism is a lot of things, but it is not nice.

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