piano/violin

[Susan Kline]

At 05:10 PM 06/10/2001 +0200, you wrote:
> >Dave Nereson, RPT, cellist, pianist, nit-picker
>
>Well said Dave Nereson... Now, please tell me....that last word you
>used..."nit-picker" (hey, I like that mucho!) what does that mean?
>picking nits, picking nits, picking your zits, picking your wits, picking
>nit-wits... (?)
>
>Antares
>
>a bit 'flabbergasted'... (another funny one I do not understand, maybe I
>should stick to European lingo?.....)

<grin> OOR, a "nit" is the egg of a louse, or sometimes, a young louse.
Picture the monkeys going through each other's fur, taking out parasites.
But we've sort of forgotten that picture, and use it for people who use
a large magnifying glass to look for itsy, bitsy problems or weaknesses,
especially in someone else's work or way of doing something.

As an example of a nitpicker in action --- I bought my nice elderly
piano teaching friend a lovely young tree for her yard. It glowed with
health; it was a perfect shape; it was everything that one would want
a tree to be. Another teacher, a crusty sort of guy, visited her and looked
at it. One leaf was a little chewed up by the wire from the tag. He homed
right in on it, and in seconds he said, "What's wrong with that leaf??"

"Flabbergasted" is a great word, isn't it? Picture someone whose jaw has
dropped open in astonishment. My old dictionary mentions "flabby" and
"aghast."

Vriendelijke groeten,

Susan