The word "insinuate" first appeared in 1526, and stems from the Latin "insinuatus" from "insinuare" which means to "bring in by windings and curvings, to wind one's way into."
One day some friends and I were in the car, driving from a wedding to the reception, and had a fascinating conversation about insinuations or "hints" and "girl speak." You know what I'm talking about... those subtle hints which supposedly every woman is gifted in giving, and which, according to stereotype, every man is unable to comprehend. I somehow missed the memo inducting me into this secret society at birth, and as a result, am perpetually bad at both subtle insinuations and "hints" (both giving off and comprehending).
Our conversation was jump-started by one woman's comment to her fella' that she was going to the bathroom. According to one woman, this meant "follow me now, fool; we need to talk." Yet to another woman in my car, it meant "man, I need some space, leave me alone." To me, it just meant, "I've had too much to drink, and nature needs to take its course." But this brings me to my point...
Why do we beat around the bush? Why do we insinuate, hint, give "signals," rather than just tell the truth or say what we mean? And yes, while women tend to do this more, it is by no means a gender-specific observation... guys, you do it too. But the question is, why?
Do we do it to be "nice" or "kind"? to soften truth?
Do we do it because it's cute?
Do we do it to be subtle in our true intent? (Subtle, by the way, comes from the Latin meaning "thin in consistency.")
Do we do it out of fear, hoping the other person will "figure it out" so that we don't have to actually say what we mean?
I'll get off my soap box now.
But my point is this: who are we serving when we communicate through insinuations, hints, and subtle signals? Half of the time they just cause confusion, quarrels, and misunderstandings...
Wouldn't it be better if we would just felt the freedom to "speak the truth in love"?
Say what you mean. Say it directly, not cloaked or hidden. But say it in love. Receive it in love. And save the interpretation and translation for foreign languages.
One day some friends and I were in the car, driving from a wedding to the reception, and had a fascinating conversation about insinuations or "hints" and "girl speak." You know what I'm talking about... those subtle hints which supposedly every woman is gifted in giving, and which, according to stereotype, every man is unable to comprehend. I somehow missed the memo inducting me into this secret society at birth, and as a result, am perpetually bad at both subtle insinuations and "hints" (both giving off and comprehending).
Our conversation was jump-started by one woman's comment to her fella' that she was going to the bathroom. According to one woman, this meant "follow me now, fool; we need to talk." Yet to another woman in my car, it meant "man, I need some space, leave me alone." To me, it just meant, "I've had too much to drink, and nature needs to take its course." But this brings me to my point...
Why do we beat around the bush? Why do we insinuate, hint, give "signals," rather than just tell the truth or say what we mean? And yes, while women tend to do this more, it is by no means a gender-specific observation... guys, you do it too. But the question is, why?
Do we do it to be "nice" or "kind"? to soften truth?
Do we do it because it's cute?
Do we do it to be subtle in our true intent? (Subtle, by the way, comes from the Latin meaning "thin in consistency.")
Do we do it out of fear, hoping the other person will "figure it out" so that we don't have to actually say what we mean?
I'll get off my soap box now.
But my point is this: who are we serving when we communicate through insinuations, hints, and subtle signals? Half of the time they just cause confusion, quarrels, and misunderstandings...
Wouldn't it be better if we would just felt the freedom to "speak the truth in love"?
Say what you mean. Say it directly, not cloaked or hidden. But say it in love. Receive it in love. And save the interpretation and translation for foreign languages.
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Word.
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