I swear. Some words surprise me.
I write about this often, I know. But it seems that the people who make up words and their definitions just get it wrong sometimes. Some words are off.
Take this one, for example.
assail
Assail is a verb. It is pronounced like this: ə-ˈsāl
According to the great minds at Webster, it means this:
1 to attack violently : assault
2 to encounter, undertake, or confront energetically
3 to oppose, challenge, or criticize harshly and forcefully
4 to trouble or afflict in a manner that threatens to overwhelm
That doesn’t sound right to me. This should be a word like bludgeon. Beat. Pummel. Obliterate. Annihilate.
But not assail.
When I assail, I am in a boat, riding along on the seven a-seas.
Or spreading my arms high up above and flying through the wild blue yonder.
I’m writing a letter to the people at Webster right now. I’m going to assail them.
“”””””””
“The only real mistake is the one from which we learn nothing.” — Henry Ford
“”””””””
“Mistakes are the growing pains of wisdom.” — William George Jordan
“”””””””
“Experience is simply the name we give our mistakes.” — Oscar Wilde
“”””””””
Getting in on the attack. But it shouldn’t be.
