Word of the Day: Gnash

It’s not a good look when people become angry and gnash their teeth.

Come on; you know what I’m talking about.

Imagine your father becoming agitated and yelling at you for staying out too late or perhaps even sneaking out to see your ‘special’ friend.

OK, before we go any further here, I’ll have to correct your pronunciation.

If you’re reading today’s word with a hard G sound, you’re mispronouncing it.

You should be saying ‘nash.’

That’s right; the G is silent.

We’ve got that out of the way, and I can continue.

So, when you gnash your teeth, and yes, don’t deny it, you have done it before, you bring your teeth together and pull your lips back.

Try saying Grrrr like a bear that’s been woken up early from hibernation.

The sound is a growl, but the action is gnashing.

Remember, the G is silent – nash.

I must admit I’ve made my beautiful wife gnash her teeth at me more than once during our nearly twenty years of marriage.

She still looks cute when she gets angry, but the gnashing part can sometimes be a bit unnerving.

It’s the signal that I should make myself scarce or, in other words, get out of her sight before something comes flying at my head.

Whenever you see a person or an animal gnash their teeth at you, it’s a natural warning sign to stop whatever you’re doing and back off immediately.

It’s called a facial expression, and it means back the (insert four-letter-word here) off before I turn you into hamburger meat.

It’s understandable, don’t you think?

Everyone has limits; if we push their buttons too often, they will get upset and gnash their teeth.

Flesch-Kincaid Readability Test

This post is understandable by someone with at least a 7th-grade education (age 12).

On the Flesch-Kincaid reading-ease test, this post scores 76.

The easier a passage is to read, the higher the score on a scale of 0 – 100.