🔍 Approximately🔍
This term has been floating around since the thirteenth century, tossing precision to the wind and gifting us the ability to be exact-ish. “Approximately” is the verbal wink that permits us to avoid committing to hard facts, a cosmic shrug wrapped in syllables.
Humorous Quotes & Literary Mentions:
-
“More or less, but rather less than more,” comments Phoebe on her engagement to Wilfred in W. S. Gilbert’s play The Yeomen of the Guard. This epitomizes the charming indecisiveness wrapped in approximate language.
-
Shakespeare chimed in with, “A little more than kin and less than kind,” from Hamlet (Act 1, Scene 2). Here, slightly more precise but still swimming in the pool of ambiguity.
-
Robert Browning famously asserted, “Less is more,” in his poem, “Andrea del Sarto.” The phrase has morphed into a mantra for minimalists everywhere.
Related Terms:
- Around: “Around 5 p.m.” - Showing up any time from 4:30 to 5:30, it’s your social get-out-of-jail-free card.
- About: “About 100 miles away.” In other words, “I’m close enough to scrap worst-case scenarios together.”
- Circa: “Circa 1900,” often used for impressing others with your historical uncertainty.
- Roughly: “Roughly a dozen.” A Baker’s delight in uncertainty, could mean 10 or 14.
- Estimate: “An estimate is what we give when we’re not particularly eager to do the math.”
Synonyms:
- Nearly
- Almost
- Practically
- In the ballpark
Antonyms:
- Exactly
- Precisely
- Definitely
- Specifically
Inspirational Proverbs & Idioms:
- “To err is human; to approximate, divine.” – Surely, some wise person, somewhere.
- “Close only counts in horseshoes and hand grenades.”
Fun Literature and References:
- The Approximate Man and Other Writings by Tristan Tzara: Dive into Dadaist surrealism and revel in delightful ambiguity.
- “Approximate Man Experience” by Max Gimblett: A riveting thesis on the human element of near-accuracy.
- Explore musical profundity with Trent Reznor’s “Closer,” a song that’s all about embracing incompleteness.
Movies Featuring Approximate Themes:
- The Secret Life of Walter Mitty – A joyous romp about embracing the inexact and turning it into life experiences.
- Catch Me If You Can – Navigating life through approximations and elaborate, yet charming, deceptions.
Interactive Quiz Fun Zone:
And there you have it! Next time you find yourself in a precise pickle, embrace the approximate—it’s like an intellectual hug, just tight enough to be friendly.
Published by the Hyperbole Horizon Publishing House
First Edition: October 2023
With perplexing positivity,
A. V. Guesstimate
