Vocabulary is a rather beautiful thing. I don’t mean a collection of words but the actual polysyllabic word. Polysyllabic itself is a rather beautiful thing in much the same way. English is full of words like these. From A to Z, our language gives us everything from archaeological and anthropological on over to zoological and zoographical.
There are more of these big, long words that seem to have been designed to intimidate. Their usage often leaves folks scratching their heads, wondering exactly what that word means. For me, that is the actual tell. Because they do have a meaning. A meaning that is a generally singular definition, not to ever be confused by context or bothered by nuance. They’re like bodybuilders—they may look good, but can they really do much actual work?
My case in point is a humble word. A single syllable of just three letters that has such versatility that it can be a noun, a verb, or an adjective with multiple meanings in each of those usages. It is fitting that the word I speak of is “fit.”
Fit fits in so many places. It can indicate appropriateness and correctness, a healthy physicality, or even a state of preparedness. Turned the other way, it can be a dire judgment, Southern style. “It ain’t fittin’, it just ain’t fittin’, it ain’t fittin’.” When Mammy says those words in Gone with the Wind, it is an unquestionable disapprobation. (Disapprobation is a bodybuilder word whose only purpose is to sound more fancy than the more simple word “disapproval.”)
When it comes to something as serious as wisdom, fit can play in that arena. “If it don’t fit, don’t force it” is a wise maxim, even if it might inspire a titter or two the first time one hears it.
Unfit was once a label to be avoided at all costs, particularly in the context of an unfit mother. Is that still a thing? I think maybe we threw that out even before we stopped collectively considering whether our elected officials were fit for office.
Almost anyone who’s paid even the least amount of attention knows that the Republican majorities in both the Senate and the House are at risk this November. I want to be careful here with this wording because I keep hearing commentators talk about control of the Senate and the House. Having the majority and having control are two very different things. Just ask any of the last seven speakers not named Pelosi if they ever had control of the House. They didn’t. In the case of the current one, he doesn’t.
It’s rather amazing the assortment of folks put up by both major parties all over the country for all levels of office. Some of them seem rather unfit for the office they seek, based on previous behavior, life choices, and generally failing every character test presented to them. Neither party has a monopoly on these folks, although Ken Paxton, the Republican candidate for senator in Texas, is pretty much the poster boy for this kind of politician. (I’m compelled to point out that he isn’t from Texas, a fact that used to mean something to Texans.)
It seems now that fitness is not a particular factor in primaries considering some of the characters both parties have nominated. It also seems that, once a candidate has been chosen, it is expected that reliable party voters will vote based on the letter “D” or “R” associated with the candidate. I have heard lamentations from both sides of the political spectrum on this subject, which begs a question. Why didn’t I just say “moans” instead of another bodybuilder word?
The system as it is has many folks fit to be tied, and I might be one of them if I were twenty years younger. But I can’t work up a hissy fit about all of this, and a conniption fit is completely out of the question. I know that there are folks moving toward this upcoming election fit to kill with ambitions and expectations. But then there are more practical folks who are assessing the current political environment with the knowledge that you should cut your cloth to fit your pattern.
I suspect most of us don’t go through a day without saying or thinking that little word “fit.” To fit in is always a good thing, whether we’re talking about a sense of belonging or a pair of jeans. Words like vexatiousness are hard to fit into a conversation and aren’t much fun when they do.
Fit, on the other hand, is fun. Fit can entertain you. Fit is very versatile.
