Who uses it: Financiers and commodities brokers
What it means: interchangeable; of equal value, without distinguishing features. "Fungible" means it's worth the same whichever one you have, whether it's dollar bills, herds of cattle, or boy bands.
How you can use it: To destroy anyone's delusions of uniqueness.
"Fungible" is my favorite word. It's hard for me to say, because of my lateral lisp, but I love the way it feels in my mouth, from the lip-biting "f" to the final tongue roll of the "le." Say it with me -- FUN-ji-bil.
Someone I know well -- who does not read this blog, but I'll keep this person's name out of it all the same -- recently sent me an e-mail photo of a new puppy, a yellow Lab named Fred. This dog succeeds this person's last dog, who was also a yellow Lab named Fred... who succeeded the dog before that, another yellow Lab named Fred. The puppy in the photo is at least the 8th or 9th dog this person has owned, most of them yellow Labs, all of them named Fred.
Am I wrong to find this horrifying? I understand loyalty to a particular breed of dog; I think I will always own pointer mixes, because they're such noble goofballs. But Dizzy has his own unique place in my heart, and any dogs I have in the future will have to find their own places. As F. Scott Fitzgerald wrote, there are all kinds of love in the world, but never the same love twice.
4 comments:
I love the fact that even though you're in "new blog" mode, you can't resist quoting. And that Fitzgerald one is great... Welcome back!
Yes, great to have you back -- and thanks mucho for that Fitz quote!
If not for quotations, I'd have nothing to say at all...
True. I go by the idea of not replacing your previous dog with the same breed. I changed my mind when I got my present dog...he is totally different in terms of personality and looks (even though the same breed....but terriers can look quite different from other terriers). The quote is so true....
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