Comments on: Jill Came Tumbling After

By: Andy Knoedler

Andy Knoedler — Mon, 14 Dec 2009 09:27:34 +0000

1. “go head or heels” => “go head over heels”

2. tumble = this often connotes a sudden fall, as in “Prices tumbled on the major exchanges yesterday”.

3. topple = rather than a fall from a high place (I’d use “plunge” instead), this suggests the downfall of a dictator or a tower.

4. keel over = this suggests someone has fainted; it must have come from mariners describing a ship capsizing.

Cat Woods — Fri, 11 Dec 2009 16:17:12 +0000

Thanks for the vivid example in how our verb choice can greatly impact a sentence. It’s a lesson all writers should strive to learn.

Dwain Wilder — Fri, 11 Dec 2009 14:01:10 +0000

Regarding your article on Jack and Jill, it would be interesting to me to hear and exegesis of the first two lines:

Jack and Jill went up the hill
to get a pail of water.

You don’t ordinarily go up a hill to draw water from a well, of course. So what were they really up to?

Please keep up your work. A bright spot each morning.

Best regards,
Dwain Wilder, Luthier