Quite

 

Quite what to make of it is a good question. Quite, what to make of it, is also a good question. Is the same question, you might think, or even quite the same question. Yes, quite. Indeed, quite is a presence in our language that may or may not be saying something meaningful at any one time. Quite how it is used hangs in the air with an air of significance. While ofttimes seeming to be making motions of quivering and vanishing. The word acts as an intensive, but in some instances with such variations of effect as to make it almost nebulous. For example, to say the sky is quite blue today could mean the sky is about as blue as we are ever likely to see the sky. At the same time, it could mean about as blue as we could hope or expect given the conditions. Or even, blue enough, certain parts of the sky, what with the quite obvious imminent arrival of a large thunderstorm. Then there is its use as a quantity or measurement. Asked did we enjoy the symphony, we answer in the affirmative, oh quite. This may be construed as 100% approval of the symphony, or anything between that figure and the 1% of enthusiasm that is simply making an effort to accept that a symphony took place. This yardstick of excellence, or something anyway, anything sometimes, is frequently difficult to gauge in other contexts too, as when we speak of someone that we like them quite a lot. Is that more than a lot? Or less than a lot? It can depend entirely on the tone of voice and expression of face. And what’s a lot? Yes, well, quite. Quite a lot ranges anywhere between they’re okay through to reverencing the ground upon which they quietly tread. We are warned against overuse of quite, how a habit turns into a mannerism that can never be quite broken. Quite may get slightly, or even quite, out of control. There are worse verbal tics, it could be said, and anyway used with skill quite adds mystery and authority to many situations. It is true to say that words mean exactly what they say. Or do they? This truth is specially meant to be the case here, where the word is quite what it means, neither more nor less. Question being, what does it mean? One answer is it means just what it means, quite. Yet that’s not quite it, either. There is a nagging concern even though the word may have defined borders, they are porous. There is the real issue of quite being so buoyant with nuance that it’s at risk of nuancing itself out of existence, floating off like a talk bubble that swallowed the universe, or some such. This is an unlikely destination for a word that is said and always purports to be so confoundedly grounded. I could go on, and possibly at quite some length, but it’s good to know when to quit. Indeed, I was once told that brevity is the soul of quite.