I’m fond of the word “vex”. My recent report on pangrams reminded me of this fondness.
You’ll recall that a pangram is any sentence (shorter the better) that contains every letter of the alphabet at least once. Since working “v” and “x” into the same sentence can be a vexing challenge, it’s no wonder pangram composers turn to “vex” and its variants.
But that isn’t why I like the word. I like it because it’s short and punchy and has a neat ring.
To vex is to annoy, irritate, frustrate, or bother – especially with trivial or frivolous matters. (Harking back to another post – I suppose annoying is the denotation, and triviality the connotation.)
Here in the US, we don’t hear “vex” used very much by itself, in short form. We seem more likely to hear it in its adjective form (“a vexing problem”) or as a noun (“vexation”).
In Grenada, when Cheri and I served there as Peace Corps volunteers, we heard “vex” all the time: “So-and-so vexes me”. “I’m vexed by this dry climate.” The word was part and parcel of the local speech pattern.
Whether that was true then in other parts of the Caribbean, I’m not sure. Nor can I say with confidence whether it’s still true: Languages do evolve. That’s part of their charm, but can also vex those of us who pay attention.
In the pangrams I found online, “vex” popped up repeatedly along with offbeat variants as “vext” and “vex’d”.
Standard advice to writers is never to use a long word when a shorter one will do. “Vex” is shorter than most of its synonyms (except for “irk”).
Can anyone think of a one-or-two-letter word that means roughly the same thing as “vex”?
(This article is part of my series on words that are #worth1000pictures.)