No, please don't do this.
A single simper can be enough to wreck a huge and passionate relationship:
'What do you want Rhett?'
'I'll tell you, Scarlett O'Hara, if you'll take that Southern-belle simper off your face. Someday, I want you to say to me the words I heard you say to Ashley Wilkes. I love you Scarlett...'
Simpering is for the self-important, the pompous and the patronising. That is, utter, utter fools.
Really, it'll do you no good. A simperer reeks of falsity and self-centredness. You can suss out a simperer in a second.
If you're not blind, probably even faster.
Thing Not To Do Today: simper. This word arrived in English in the 1500s. It's quite like the Middle Dutch zimperlijc, which means elegant, but there's a Danish dialect word simper which means affected or coy.
I first learnt the word 'simper' as a child while reading The Bash Street Kids, and it was something to do with Cuthbert, the hated teacher's son - I can't even remember the context, but it will be forever associated with that comic and that boy!
ReplyDeleteI loved the Bash Street kids too. Apart from Cuthbert Cringeworthy, of course.
ReplyDeleteFor me, it's the word Plug that gives me the madeleine moment, though.