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stranger
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stranger
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A Belgian friend of mine living in London described an acquaintance as being a woman of few but wise words. She asked if there was a word in English to simultaneously convey both qualities. I haven't been able to think of one. The closest I can get is taciturn or laconic, neither of which necessarily implies sagacity. Any help?
Bill
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Carpal Tunnel
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rare?
/run and hide emoticon
formerly known as etaoin...
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old hand
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old hand
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addict
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addict
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lacosapient adj. of few but wise words.
ORIGIN via Latin from Greek Lakonikos, from Lakon ‘Laconia, Sparta,’ the Spartans being known for their terse speech and Latin sapient- ‘being wise,’ from the verb sapere.
Okay. I made that up.
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Pooh-Bah
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dalehileman
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Can we be realistic about it? It's not that hard to keep your words wise when you use few.
I would call her a WWofeW. (Wise Woman of few Words).
Why does the owl represent wisdom? That big-eye stare, immobility and silence.
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Pooh-Bah
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Pooh-Bah
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... the Spartans being known for their terse speech ... heh
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Carpal Tunnel
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... the Spartans being known for their terse speech ... heh And their soft, doe-like eyes.
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Carpal Tunnel
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Aww-ww...she is great, isn't she?
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stranger
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stranger
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"Effectiveness of assertion is the Alpha and Omega of style." -George Bernard Shaw
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old hand
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old hand
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Carpal Tunnel
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formerly known as etaoin...
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addict
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So long as I live, I will never understand the spelling of apophthegm.
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Carpal Tunnel
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apophthegm is but a variant of apothegm, but stems from Greek apophthegma; an apothegm is a maxim, which is a terse pithy saying.
I don't think our wanted word relates all that much to maxims.
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stranger
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stranger
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Well, you all made me laugh this cold Chicago morning as the first El of the day awoke me [grumpily] in my hotel. (The next six passed by in the succeeding two minutes.
I particularly like lacosapient. I only saw the definition at first. "Okay, I made that up" was revealed only upon scrolling down.
Aphoristic, pithy and compendious seem to more imply quick wit rather than wisdom necessarily. Prudent seems to have more of a sense of caution than wisdom and laconic could refer to the farmer who confines his speech to yep and nope.
Knowing I haven't overlooked the obvious helps. I vote for coining one. It would be a lot more useful than a lot of coinage. That said, lacosapient might be just a bit stilted.
Bill
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