Parable

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As of September 2017, what we believe to be a brand new coinage: “parable".

Context: “are you framing this as a parable to draw from for this new transaction?”

Meaning: parallel, analogy, comparison.

Bonus point for being biblical. But also for sheer degree of difficulty. This takes you right to the knife edge of mockery: you must deliver it with whole-hearted conviction, certitude and a self-confidence which is beyond most non-Americans, lest your conversational partner collapses in laughter.

“I’m reminded of the parable of the nine virgins. Eight of them were wise, and used their tin-openers diligently, but the ninth was a clumsy, loud-mouthed virgin who kept wittering on abou —”

—The Very Reverend Andy Simpson, Not The Nine O’Clock News

See also

• Sing from the same hymn sheet