Three favourite words

They all turn. Maybe that says something.

A Friday question—and an invitation.

Language week ends with something personal: three favourite words or phrases. Mine first.

However. It pivots. It keeps the door open. It says: I heard you, and—however.

Mercurial. It moves like the weather. Unpredictable, alive, impossible to pin down. I’ve always liked mercurial people—and been a little afraid of them.

That said. The diplomatic cousin of however. It softens without surrendering.

And three phrases I find myself returning to: having said that, on the other hand, and to be honest, which is really an admission that everything before it was slightly less than honest.

What do these six have in common? They all turn. They qualify, reconsider, leave room. Maybe that says something about how I think. Or write. Probably both.

Now, your three. Leave them in the comments. I’ll read every one.

Nick

Photo by Markus Winkler on Unsplash