Saturday, March 22, 2008

'cling to'

Young Min asks:


Is there good word instead of 'cling to' in paraphrasing?

Cling to is a tricky expression because it implies desperation. The metaphor is something like a child hanging onto its mother's leg or an animal hanging onto a branch. There is some fear of letting go because of either a perceived or actual risk. We often speak of people "clinging to" the past or to old ways of doing things.

So, if you want to avoid the implications, you may want to consider retain, which means simply to continue to have something, sometimes with an implication of preserving it. This seems a bit shorter and more neutral. If you want the same meaning with a positive implication, you could even use remain faithful to, but that's a little bit longer, and you're looking to paraphrase.


Sorry for the delay in responding; your questions arrived right before I went on a week-long trip to Peru.

Tuesday, March 4, 2008

'solve' vs. 'resolve'

HyeYoon wants to know the difference between 'solve' and 'resolve.'

There's a big difference between them.

Solve implies that there is a problem or a puzzle (or a puzzle-like problem) which you are trying to work out. When you solve the problem or puzzle, you have found its solution, which is the noun derived from the verb 'to solve.' 'Solve' and 'solution' both emphasize that the problem or puzzle has been completed, but also may suggest (to my mind, anyway) some ambiguity in either that it is only one way of solving the problem, or that the solution may not be permanent, or that the solution is hypothetical and has not yet been applied to the problem. Because puzzles usually have only one solution, we usually use 'solve' when talking about them; the ambiguities arise more with problems in real life or in more complex thinking.

To resolve, when used in relation to a problem, addresses the ambiguity of 'solve.' When something is 'resolved' or there is a 'resolution', it emphasizes that the problem has been permanently (or at least durably) solved. We often talk about a resolution to conflict, which means that an answer has been reached that all parties involved are happy with, and the conflict has ended. We usually talk about solutions to the Israel-Palestine conflict because it's a complex situation with no obvious solution, and because the solutions that have been proposed are often theoretical and/or have not been applied to the situation and/or have not been long-lasting solutions.

Monday, March 3, 2008

'struggle with' vs. 'wrestle with'

Young-min asks:

Is there any difference between 'wrestle with' and 'struggle with'?


Both mean virtually the same thing. Both mean to have a hard time understanding or accepting something, usually something abstract even though both clearly refer physical actions. Both also imply that the person (or group) 'struggling' or 'wrestling' is trying to resolve the issue, whether successfully or unsuccessfully.

Wrestle with has always seemed to me to be the stronger of the two. People usually wrestle with things that are harder to understand or accept--they wrestle with the truth, with the idea of a divorce--where they struggle with lesser problems--which present to buy someone, whether to attend an event. Actually, it seems to me that 'wrestle with' tends to suggest a greater possibility of them not resolving the issue, whereas 'struggle with' suggests that they are capable of handling it or are likely to resolve it.

Also, because both involve an issue that may or may not have been resolved, it is usually common to report whether or not it was. In fact, both are commonly used as ways of setting up the result of the struggle, highlighting that a decision or resolution was not easy to come to:

After years of struggling with overeating, John finally was able to control his eating habits.

Despite years of wrestling with balancing the budget, congress is still spending wildly.


Thanks for the great question! Keep them coming! I miss answering your questions.