"Nuances of Language" (20-21)

Pichu Little: "I didn't realize that there were so many meanings for one word!"
Pikachu: "Its meaning is often effected by the context and how it is commonly employed."
Pichu Big: "Wow, that sounds interesting! Let's look at the meaning of these words."

20) willowy

• Source 1: "For each of the following words or phrases, list at least two synonyms that have more negative connotations than the given word... c. Willowly" (Norton).

• Definition: adj. "resembling a willow: a : pliant; b : gracefully tall and slender" (Merriam-Webster).

• Source 2: "By casting the willowy, awkwardly beautiful Jessica Chastain as the movie’s protagonist, she has set us up from the start."
• Oliphant, James. "Zero Dark Thirty Is a Gut Punch to Our Concepts of Justice and Revenge."NationalJournal. National Journal Group, 10 Jan. 2013. Web. 10 Jan. 2013.

• Commentary: Many females would appreciate being described as willowy. It has a positive connotation and is typically used to describe humans as a compliment. 

21) sot

• Source 1: "For each of the following words or phrases, list at least two synonyms that have more positive connotations than the given word... g. Sot" (Norton).

• Definition: n. "a habitual drunkard" (Merriam-Webster).

• Source 2: "That popular fable of the sot who was picked up dead drunk in the street ... and assured that he had been insane--owes its popularity to the state of man, who is in the world a sort of sot, but now and then wakes up, exercises his reason and finds himself a true prince" (17).
• Emerson, Ralph Waldo, and Henry David Thoreau. Transcendentalism: Essential Essays of Emerson and Thoreau: Literary Touchstone Classic. Prestwick House Inc.: n.p., 2008. Google Books digital file.

• Commentary: A sot is usually looked down upon in society, similar to the wino in "Shame", written by Dick Gregory, where the wino was chastised with a beating by the store owner when he was unable to pay for his food. Sots are often poor and drunk, and are thus treated similarly.

Works Cited

Source 1:
Norton, Jeffrey S., and H. Leigh Francisco. The Nuances of Language: Diction Exercise. N.p.: n.p., n.d. Print.

Definitions:

   "Definitions and More from the Free Merriam-Webster Dictionary." Merriam-Webster. Merriam-Webster, n.d. Web. 06 Jan. 2013.