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The grocery line had not moved in ten minutes. The woman ahead of me had a cart full of coupons, the cashier was new, and the little red light above the register kept blinking for a manager who never came. I stood there with my milk getting warm and thought, “This is very slow.” And … Read more

The Race My Nephew Described in One Word My nephew came home from his school sports day last spring, out of breath and grinning, and tried to tell me about the 100-meter final. “He was very fast,” he said. “Like, really very fast. The fastest. He ran very fast and nobody could catch him.” He … Read more

She got the text at 2:14 in the afternoon, in the middle of a grocery store, holding a carton of eggs in one hand and her phone in the other. “You got the job.” She read it twice. She read it a third time. Then she stood there in the cereal aisle, grinning at a … Read more

The Resume That Said Nothing A hiring manager I know once showed me a resume that used the phrase “very smart” three times. “Very smart problem-solver,” it said. “Very smart team member.” “Very smart with numbers.” She put it down after thirty seconds. “If he was that smart,” she said, “you would think he could … Read more

You know the feeling. You walk into a hotel room and the bed is made so tightly you could bounce a coin off it. The bathroom mirror shines. The floor looks like nobody has ever walked on it. You open your mouth to describe it and the only words that come out are “very clean.” … Read more

“Very Scared” Tells Nobody Anything A friend of mine once tried to tell me about the night someone tried to break into her apartment. “I was very scared,” she said. Then she stopped, frowned, and tried again: “No, I mean I was really scared. Like, very, very scared.” She kept piling words on top of … Read more

It’s 1:47 in the morning. Your essay is due at 9, your eyes sting every time you blink, and your brain feels like it’s running on the last drop of gas in the tank. You type the sentence, stare at it, and sigh: “I was very tired.” Very tired. Two flat little words for a … Read more

You know the feeling. You have just come in from a long walk in the heat, or you have finished a run, or you have spent an afternoon moving boxes in the sun, and your mouth feels like it is lined with sandpaper. Someone offers you a glass of water and you say, “Thanks — … Read more

“Very Angry” Doesn’t Say Enough I once watched a friend try to describe a fight with his landlord. “I was very angry,” he said. Then, a minute later, “No, I mean I was very angry.” He kept stacking the word “very” on top of “angry” like it would eventually do the job. It never did. … Read more