The estimable Curtis “Caput” Smith, culinary instructor and prize-winning chef, once told me he’s convinced that “if every person on earth would be required to finish every sentence they started, completely, there would be a lot less confusion, anger, and resentment worldwide.”
I think he’s on to something. Call it the “Verbal Mulligan Eradication Act of 2011.”
For one thing, it would force us to choose our words more carefully. For another, it may very well reduce the fillers we use as we think through what we’re trying to, like, you know, um…say. Finally, it would shut a lot of annoying people up.
If you, like Chef Smith, have an idea that has the potential to fundamentally alter the way the world turns, please share. We’ll be happy to broadcast it to the three or four readers of the last word.
