I think we can find some common ground, but bear with me first.

I'm a teacher, and an early gen xer. I often come across students who are ignorant of a certain word, phrase or concept. The word ignorant itself has come to mean stupid. I dislike when people do this to the English language. Ignorant means lacking in knowledge, not stupid. Lacking in knowledge in and of itself is not…

I'm sorry you think I was being dismissive. I've lived in Europe a long time. Europeans are a lot more direct, and I've become that way.

Chink and kink are not close, they have two clearly distinct meanings. Chink means a small opening, a gap. A quick search reveals that the phrase "chink in the armor" had been in use since the 15th century. The context of this phrase should be self explanatory. Kink means a binding, a "tight bend or curl". Imagine a…