Slick. Oily.

Smarmy is a good word, don’t you think?

I am trying to think about how many smarmy people I know.
Let’s see. If we are smarmy It means we are smug, or ingratiating. That we give off a sense of false earnestness. Or it could mean that we have lowly, sleazy taste, or qualities. Why don’t they write songs about the smarmy? “Ahhhh. Look at all the smarmy people…. Ahhhh. Look at all the smarmy people…. ”

We sure do have a lot of good words, I’ll tell you. Why. Just in that definition of smarmy, we have ingratiating. The thesaurus goes crazy on that word. Sycophantic, toadying, fawning, unctuous, obsequious; flattering, insincere; smooth-tongued, slick; greasy, oily, saccharine; smarmy, slimy.

This rolling rock is gathering moss, I’ll tell you. Look at those amazing words. Sycophantic. Toadying.

I have to stop there for a moment at toadying. I mean, I really like toads. I think they are completely cool animals. But if we are toady, it doesn’t seem that we are toad-like.  No.  It means we have become a brown-noser, lickspittle, flatterer, sycophant (again), flunky, lackey, trained seal, doormat, stooge, cringer; bootlicker, suck-up, yes-man;  @ss-kisser.

A trained seal. Lickspittle?

When I start thinking about really good words, I get this extremely strong urge to use them. Like, the compulsion to walk up to someone I do not even know, point at some other person I do not even know, and say to the first person: ”Holy Hell! Would you have a LOOK at THAT Smarmy Little Lickspittle.” And then shake my head, and walk away in disgust. Talking, under my breath, as I walk. Arms flailing.  And then, I would just start skipping.

That would be completely superfluous. Unnecessary, unneeded, redundant, uncalled for, unwarranted. But completely worth it at the same time.

Divergent and incongruous behavior.

Today, perhaps, it might do us all good to skip to a slightly different beat.
But maybe not in a smarmy way.

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“I am a rare species, not a stereotype.”
― Ivan E. Coyote

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“Being different is a revolving door in your life where secure people enter and insecure exit.”
― Shannon L. Alder

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“Being a one of a kind means we are automatically the best in the world at what we do.”
― Victor WIlliamson

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