“It,” “Them”—What’s the Diff?

Terrifyingly Large Ant, courtesy of Amy Stewart

Last year I had a problem with ants in my kitchen, but at the hardware store there were several different kinds of poison and each package said, “Will kill this kind of ant, but not that kind.” So I went back home to figure out what kind I had.

The first step was to capture one, which wasn’t hard. The second step was to capture one without squishing it, which took a little longer. Once I had one in captivity, I went online to identify it by looking at pictures and descriptions and comparing them to my ant under a magnifying glass. “Does it have a slender waist?” Hmm. Where exactly was this guy’s waist? (Did we learn in school that ants have waists?)

I gave up. Instead, remembering how many times the hardware store employees had given me great household advice, I took the ant in its container back to the store, found the man in insecticides, and asked, “Do you know what kind of ant this is? I want to buy the right poison for it.”

Trained to be super helpful, he said, “Heck, I’ll kill it for you right here if you want.”

When I was able to speak, I thanked him and explained that there were actually more at home. Unfazed, he showed me what I needed and I went home to slay the ants.

The moral (yes, I’m determined to relate this story to writing and editing) is that a failure to choose our words precisely is not usually a matter of life and death, nor is it usually very funny, although in the rare instance like this one, it could be both. In any case, care in word choice is almost always a good idea.

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Image of ant by Joealfaraby, courtesy Pixabay.com.

Comments

[Mary Ellis]

Excellent, entertaining article.

[Maria Boyer]

Point well made, and humorous too! Thanks for sharing!

[Richard Beattie]

I always enjoy your blog, so thanks for that, but I think you should poison the last paragraph in this bit. Cheers.

[Rick Moskovitz]

Fun article. I own a green pest control company in a Chicago suburb (Skokie), A-Plus, & even when I am out socializing people are always coming to me & saying, "I have these little black bugs at home. What should I do?" I always give them free advise. Did you ever go to a party & ask a doctor to diagnose the pain in your arm? In any case, It's OK. I am always willing to help. Keep asking me.

[Menka]

Superb! Makes the point :)...

[Caterina]

Yes, we learned ants have waists. Because insects have a three part body (like us), while arachnids have a 2 part body. One of the ways to differentiate them.
Now, whether we were all awake in biology class to learn it, I won't speak to. ;-)

[telofy]

Great anecdote. :-)

In German “it” and “them”, in that very specific context, are actually the same word, “sie”. (Well, at least the same spelling and pronunciation.)

[Ed]

Funny story. It could also come under the heading of asking the right question. :-)

I used to get ants every rainy season. Each time, I easily traced them back to where they were getting into the living space of the house--a gap in the drywall or whatever--and sealed it with caulk or putty. Problem solved without using poison. Those gaps are still sealed so now I rarely get ants.

[Mary C]

I am sitting hear smiling even though I have spent the last 3 hours trying to find the rigth words for my coahcing challenge this week - thank you for lifting my spirits

[Lisa]

Ha! BTW, aspertame kills most kinds of ants. Just saying.

[Aegtranslations.blogspot.com]

Nice post! To be fair, you never said you wanted to kill the ant. The employee assumed this. It is possible that you wanted the right kind of poison for that specific ant to... hold over its head as a threat?