To give your word is to make a promise. If you keep your promises, then you’re as good as your word. You can put in a good word for someone, or have the last word, meaning ‘to make the closing remark of an argument’ but when something is the last word, it means it’s the finest example, such as ‘the last word in luxury’.
Word for word, when describing a quote or report etc, means using exactly the same words as those in the original. Word also means a command, as in ‘The tyrant’s word is law’.
By word of mouth refers to information spoken from one person to another, as opposed to the written word. When the reputation of an efficient business is spread in this way, advertising is often not necessary.
How confusing is this? To have a word with someone (or a word in their ear) is to have a short conversation – “Can I have a word?” – whereas having words with someone can mean disagreeing or scolding. Just by pluralising ‘word’ you give it a very different meaning.
If someone didn’t say something in so many words, it means he didn’t say it exactly but he implied it. And when you can’t get a word in edgeways, you’re unable to break into a conversation because others are talking all the time.
A word to the wise is a brief comment assuming the listener is smart enough not to require a long explanation. If you are at a loss for words, you can’t think of anything to say.
If you’re going to say a few words, you’ll give a brief speech – in other words, you’ll express the same idea in a different way. If you take the words out of my mouth, you say exactly what I was about to say but if you have to retract what you said, you will have to eat your words.
It’s not just when we’re talking or writing that we use words – even when we’re thinking quietly, words help us to form ideas and describe them to ourselves.
As Rudyard Kipling wrote “Words are, of course, the most powerful drug used by mankind.”
Happy Puzzling!
