#wordfreak

Elision: [noun] the omission of one or more sounds in a word or phrase. Elide: [verb] to omit a sound or syllable when speaking or to merge something together. Elision was often used in poetry to assist in metre and rhyme, though more in classic forms than in modern poetry. I find it interesting as a linguistic term, and as a poetic device – but I like the word more than ‘gloss’ or…

I have to say I love a good “it’s never going to happen” idiom. Seems I’m not alone in this as there are many of these in many languages. This idiom kind is an adynaton, which is a kind of hyperbole that insinuates complete impossibility – so the wilder the claim the more impossible it is. This particular one is likely German in origin, first appearing in a dictionary published in 1616 : Wenn…