There’s an automatic word that comes to mind when I think of this question. One that’s easy to slip on the lips. A lie that often doesn’t get taken back.
If I gave up a word, it would be “fine.” Not in the sense of fine dining, but in the sense that “everything’s fine.”
Fine is a lie. We say fine when we don’t want to admit our true feelings. When we don’t want to be a bother or burden, or we say it when we don’t trust the person we’re talking to. How are you today? And, often the automatic response is “fine.”
Fine is surrender. When someone isn’t listening, we give up an argument or discussion by saying “fine.” We don’t get our way and we walk away. The conversation ends on a sour note, but everything’s fine.
Fine is lazy. A single word response. Doesn’t prompt anything beyond four letters.
If I were to give up a word. It would be fine.
nikki diekemper 