Do you ever have a word or phrase that may seem familiar, but you aren't completely sure what it means? Sometimes I feel like the literary world is hitting me over the head with a word, just to make sure I know it.
My computer screen saver is a vocabulary word-a-day. Yesterday's was Gordian Knot ...
"The Gordian Knot is a legend associated with Alexander the Great. It is often used as a metaphor for an intractable problem, solved by a bold stroke."
I'd heard of this before, but couldn't have defined it. Then last night I was reading "August: Osage County" and they referenced "this Gordian Knot between us." It was such a great moment, because I had just learned what it meant and here it was being used in a book. It gave more depth to the moment in the plot because I knew exactly what the character meant.
It's the little things in life.
Photo from Musings In Monochrome
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