Philadelphia  - Nearly all the best words carry emotional baggage. They're supposed to. That's why finding the right ones to convey a thought can be problematic.

Just ask a friend of mine who recently was said to be "impressive for a tiny little old lady."

"Harrumph!" was that woman's response. So what's that supposed to mean? That it wouldn't be impressive for a thirty-year-old . . . or for a little old man, for that matter? And why both tiny and little? Isn't that redundant? Or is little meant to be joined at the hip to the old lady that follows?

And then it clicked. Little old lady.

That's the nub of the comment that provoked the disgusted harrumph. By the time my friend landed on those three words, it was clear that "little old lady" was intended as a single descriptor--and it brought to her mind its more-often-than-not dismissive connotation.

That's what provoked my friend's ire. And that's also why the juxtaposition of "impressive" with "tiny little old lady" then made her laugh.

Still, she said to me, "It's a loaded string of words. Definitely ones best reserved for petite older women who have more than a diminutive sense of humor."

Thoughts on Writing
In Several Short Sentences About Writing (New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 2012), Verlyn Klinkenborg notes "One purpose of writing--its central purpose--is to offer your testimony about the character of existence at the moment.

In doing that, the writer hopes to make a connection.

Here, the storyteller wanted to explain how the words had mattered to her friend--the little old lady--and how the older woman came to see their humor. Indeed, she was in her eighties and short on top of that. But those facts in no way diminished her impressiveness--or her sense of humor.