tuesday july 22

today i heard the tail end of a conversation in which a coworker referred to someone as "raunchy at best." for the next two minutes, i debated internally whether the tone of her voice suggested that:

a) the statement was a criticism of the subject's personality, with raunchiness being a negative attribute and "at best" being a generous qualifier

or

b) the subject was aiming for controversial or shocking -- think howard stern -- but merely achieved, at best, raunchy.