I read an article once written by a psychologist who pointed out that some people tend to think mostly in pictures, and others think mostly in words. Interestingly, picture people and word people tend not to get along. They don't communicate well, and each type thinks the other type is stupid. Pinpointing and explaining the difference can help this situation.

Anyhow, I'm a picture person. If somebody says his guitar is crappy, I imagine soft, stinky brown material struck between the strings. This is really offensive when I'm eating or supposed to be in a pleasant situation such as a family party. And it's just lazy. He doesn't want to bother to use his brain and determine that the guitar doesn't stay in tune, is too big for him, rings too much or has too much yellow in the varnish.

I was gonna explain what happens when somebody is called an asshole, but I guess I won't. Again, it takes a little brain to say something accurate. Is the a-hole a liar, a bully, lazy, a thief, a deadbeat, a con man, a fake leveller? Use real language and give the listener a truly helpful heads-up.

It is true, however, that I wish people would stop using "alright" for "all right" and "most" when they mean "almost," (As in "Most everybody thinks spelling is important.")