Word-in-a-Word Wednesday: "Gossip"

Today's word is "gossip".

The word within it is "sip" - gosSIP.

I just love this one!

I picture a cocktail party.  People sipping drinks and chatting about other people in the room.

I also like how we actually tend to sip gossip.  Unless, of course, it's a doozy.  Then we gulp!

What do you picture?

How do these two words connect in your mind?  What about your life?

Happy "leap" day!

Click here to read all the "word-in-a-word" exercises so far.

Keitharsis is a blog on creativity, roots and the portfolio life.  It is written for creative writers and artists.  New essays are published each Tuesday and Thursday.  Creative exercises (like this) are offered on Wednesdays.

Comments

[Eileen]

I think I have seen both extremes. The subtle sipping gossip and the gos"gulp". In my work environment, I hear gossip often and it becomes so normal that you don't even realize you are sipping it in. Sometimes, I just have to leave the room. All that sipping leaves a bad after taste.

[Elizabeth Rago]

I had a conversation with a parent at my child's school the other day and she was gossiping about a parent who had failed to sign up for our children's class event. While she bashed this parent for being less than nurturing, I reasoned that maybe the parent forgot. Or was having an off week. It turns out the neglectful parent was ME! I am so glad I stood up for myself. ;) The parent then approached me and apologized for gossiping about me to ME and I had a hearty laugh.
Gossip is so easy to slip into. Nice thought provoking post!

[Keith Jennings]

Eileen,

Sipping, like snacking, is so easy to do without realizing it. Then one day, we discover we can't button our pants.

[Keith Jennings]

Elizabeth,

I'm about the share a big secret with you! Are you ready?

You wrote the post today. Not me.

What I do is create a landscape. And that landscape allows you to create.

Look at your comment. It's a short story. It's a stand-alone post. And it even has a lesson!

The secret is that I don't write for consumption. I write for creation. And when I read comments like yours and Eileen's, I get really excited!

So thank YOU for the post today!

[Suzie Gallagher]

A sip of gossip, sure it's no harm is it? A tiny tantalising morsel that can feed a person for days as they tattle and tale. Au contraire, gossip is insidious, it is the one word in Galations 5 that people take little heed to.

I struggle in my non-fiction writing when using real-life analogies; how to balance the real story whilst maintaining confidentiality.

Just as one titchy wee bite from an apple caused the fall so one tiny sip of gossip causes a hardened heart.

[Keith Jennings]

Suzie,

I'm loving how these exercises bring out mini-essays in the comments! That is exactly what I hope (and design) all my posts to do. Not just these Wednesday word exercises.

On a related note, I've read strong theses arguing the fall actually happened before the bite, in Eve's heart. So, it seems, gossip stirs us even before we sip. That's some potent stuff!

And I've always liked the idea the forbidden fruit was a fig or grape. Regardless, it sure left a bad aftertaste! Which is my attempt to allude to Eileen's comment :)

Thank you so much for your comment! You got my brain going!

[Karen]

LOL Keith... I love your response to Eileen
Sipping, like snacking, is so easy to do without realizing it. Then one day, we discover we can't button our pants

I'm stuck with this one for some reason! but I like your quote above!

[Keith Jennings]

Karen,

Of course, that's NEVER happened to me! It was the dry cleaner. They shrank my pants! Yeah, that's it.

[ThatGuyKC]

Keith - every time I read your stuff it surprises and/or inspires me and I can't for the life of me imagine why 1) you haven't written a book yet 2) you work for a medical corporation.

[Karen]

Im with "thatguy" why dont you have a book? or do you?

[Keith Jennings]

KC,

1) I've learned to value maturity - both in myself and my work. I want to put out the equivalent of fine wine, rather than soda. I encounter too much half thought-out crap and don't want to add to the heap.

I don't want my work to sell a million copies and fade. I want it to still be in print, read and relevant to my grandchildren's generation.

2) One of my heroes is William Carlos Williams. He was a practicing physician AND major American poet. Healthcare pays the bills and frees me to experiment and take creative risks without fear that my stuff won't sell. Plus, it helps me keep one foot in the "real world" which is where the best stories hide.

[Keith Jennings]

Karen,

I've ghostwritten book chapters for others, but not myself. With 3 going on 4 kids, a day job and a private business, I have limited time to write.

So I spend my writing time on poetry and literary essays, which tend to be "collected" into books once there is a respectable amount of thematically-related work. I've never had an interest in writing "how-to" or "inspirational" books. But my wife and a few friends (like KC) keep challenging me on this.

[georgia]

ooooo... this word really gets me riled up. because the act of gossip gets me really riled up. i don't know if there are many things in this world {or at least in my world} that make me more frustrated than gossip. i hate it! so much, that i hate when i catch myself doing it, because i never want to. it bothers me so much when i discover it happening to someone else and when i find out that i am the subject of others' gossip.

i think what probably made me so sore about the subject is some of the past workplaces i have been in that had the classic instigating gossip that you think only exists in movies... so much so, that the very first day i started, i was approached by the person and told who not to like in the company before i even had a chance to meet them all. that fired me up!

i think, for people like that, it is an addiction... like alcohol is for others {which is why it is interesting that you would use an analogy of drink here}... and as is the case with alcohol, people get very sloppy and careless with their gossip when they've had a few too many sips.

i run away from gossipers.

[Keith Jennings]

Georgia,

Your comment rocks! I have nothing to add!

[georgia]

hahaha. glad you liked it. after your reply here, i had to read my comment again. funny you should say you have nothing to add, because after reading it again, i thought of one more thing to add {although, if i had included it originally, it might have been over the top... better just to leave it to the deductive mind of the reader, i.e., you.} but i did think of this... some gossipers are just as dangerous as drunks who get behind the wheel... their words and accusations can wreck and destroy peoples' lives... sadly.

well, i read all your replies {thanks for them, as always}, but since you totally stumped me on your w.i.a.w.w. post today {on both rat and labor}, i had no comment there. so i'm leaving one here instead... while the comment form is still open.

[Keith Jennings]

Georgia,

And, like drunk drivers, they often walk away unharmed, while the victims get seriously injured or killed.

Great point and analogy!

The reason I turn off comments is to create a sense of urgency so that amazing creatives like you will hurray up and share something! OK, and to minimize spam.