Sharpen Meaning by Comparison
“Wit is a lean creature with a sharp, inquiring nose, whereas humor has a kind
eye and comfortable girth. Wit, if it be necessary, uses malice to score a point
like a cat it is quick to jump—but humor keeps the peace in an easy chair. Wit
is a better voice in a solo, but humor comes into the chorus best. Wit is sharp
as a stroke of lightning, whereas humor is diffuse like sunlight. Wit keeps the
season’s fashions and is precise in the phrases and judgments of the day, but
humor is concerned with homely eternal things. Wit wears silk, but humor is
homespun that endures the wind. Wit sets a snare, whereas humor goes off
whistling without a victim in its mind. Wit is sharper company at a table, but
humor serves better in mischance and in the rain. When it tumbles, wit is
sour, but humor goes uncomplaining without its dinner. Humor laughs at
another’s jest and holds its side, while wit sits wrapped in study for a lively
answer.”
From “On the difference between Wit and Humor”
By Charles Brooks
Use any two words that occur on one line as the basis for a comparative
paragraph, patterned after the one above:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
tourist/explorer/tramp/gypsy
courage/bravery
slender/skinny
resident/squatter
recapitulation/repetition
dispense/apportion
mob/crowd/gathering/crush/
horde/body
8.
stunted/paltry/scanty/meager/
small
9.
10.
11.
12.
13.
14.
15.
16.
17.
18.
19.
20.
passion/spirit
sensuous/sensual
soul/heart
tremble/flutter/thrill
alluring/appetizing
rational/reasonable
deception/bluff/white lie/deceit
outspoken/frank/undiplomatic
perspire/secrete
discomfort/discontent
prize/booty/loot
deprive/waste
21.
22.
23.
24.
25.
26.
27.
28.
29.
30.
31.
32.
33.
34.
35.
work/exercise/conduct/labor
record/report/commemorate/file
eerie/ominous/mysterious
gear/property/apparel/personal
effects
grim/austere/sullen/implacable
hate/dislike/repugnance/antipathy
impoverished/barren/depleted
land/soil/earth/ground
friend/acquaintance/neighbor
outfit/getup/wardrobe/fashion
plaintive/sad/melancholy/doleful
sleep/snooze/nap/doze/slumber
witless/dense/idiotic
tall/lanky/gangling/towering/lofty
snicker/giggle/titter/chuckle
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Samples, Sharpen meaning through comparison
P1
1. Eerie is a thick fogbank slowly crawling over a silent harbor. Ominous is a violently tumultuous
thundercloud rolling recklessly across the sky. Eerie is an aging dilapidated Victorian mansion.
Ominous is a large Gothic cathedral, its elaborate stained glass and granite configuration towering
haughtily above the streets below. Eerie is a small silver dagger, light gleaming off its finely honed
blade. Ominous is a nuclear missile, waiting forever patiently for its orders to kill. Eerie wails
plaintively, while ominous bellows forebodingly. Eerie slinks in the shadows. Ominous creates its
own blinding light. Ominous is the beginning of life. Eerie is the end.
Richard Bake
10th Grade
2. A friend is someone you know, whereas an acquaintance is someone you see. A friend enjoys your
company in more than one situation; an acquaintance knows you only in one surrounding. A friend is
always there when you need him; an acquaintance can’t be reached. A friend is someone you talk
with; an acquaintance is someone you talk to. A friend sits with you at your sister’s wedding; an
acquaintance sits with you at lunch. A friend is someone you seek out; an acquaintance is met
unexpectedly. A friend is with you forever; an acquaintance is someone you wave to at a reunion. A
friend is an acquaintance who’s been promoted.
Doug Rierdan
12th Grade
3. Skinny is usually referred to as the absence of fat on limbs of a skeletal torso, whereas slender is
described as slim and trim and “no, the scale isn’t lying—you weigh 105 pounds.” Skinny, if I may
be bold is an old woman, about 130 years old, in a convalescent home, struggling desperately to pull
the tube from her left arm, but slender is a gorgeous blue-eyed blonde walking down the red carpet
runway in a fashion show. Skinny is a fragile, puppet-structured, bone-rattling skeleton, compared to
slender, which moves softly in the gentleness of the breeze. Skinny is an exaggerated form of
anorexia, whereas slender is a size 7. Skinny frays at the slightest of touches, while slender possesses
a silent strength. Skinny eats four meals a day to gain a pound or two hopefully and sufficiently to
satisfy one’s own self-image, whereas slender works endlessly to maintain that perfect, flawless
figure. Slender sashays from one point to another, moving like a snake, always ready to uphold any
challenge, yet skinny sits in the darkest of corners in a placid, crippled heap.
Greg Nelson
12th Grade
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