Monday, September 1, 2008

Heaps of Ert

...We have a large number of negative words—inept, disheveled, incorrigible, ruthless, unkempt—for which the positive form is missing. English would be richer if we could say admiringly of a tidy person, “She’s so sheveled,” or praise a capable person for being full of ept or an energetic one for having heaps of ert.

-Bill Bryson, The Mother Tongue, 68.

1 comment:

Unknown said...

i really like this quote. it really gets IT. i don't think i can respond with an adequate amount of profoundness.