Chapter 42 of 44

Vaudeville Literalism

The oldest device there is and still the cleanest: a figure of speech taken at face value, or a plain statement that turns out to mean exactly what it says.

22 verses

1. 1 I'm all set, in the sense that nothing further is planned Not reassuring
2. 2 I said five minutes and I've been honest about that for an hour Concerning
3. 3 I'm running late in the sense that I haven't started Concerning
4. 4 I'll be there at some point and I'd rather not narrow that Not reassuring
5. 5 I'm not not coming Not reassuring
6. 6 I've been ready for hours, which is the problem Not reassuring
7. 7 I'm technically present Not reassuring
8. 8 I'm here in every sense except the useful one Not reassuring
9. 9 I've done the thing you asked, in a manner of speaking Not reassuring
10. 10 It's finished, subject to a definition of finished Not reassuring
11. 11 I've read it, if reading means what I did to it Not reassuring
12. 12 I've started, in that I've thought about starting Concerning
13. 13 I've been working on it all week in a very loose sense Concerning
14. 14 I've handled it, and by handled I mean I've moved it Not reassuring
15. 15 I've solved it, in that I've stopped looking at it Not reassuring
16. 16 I'm on top of it, from a distance Not reassuring
17. 17 I've got it under control and control is doing a lot of work there Not reassuring
18. 18 I'm across it, though not deeply Concerning
19. 19 It's in hand, and the hand is somebody else's Not reassuring
20. 20 I've made progress and the progress is difficult to see Not reassuring
21. 21 I'm confident, in a way I couldn't defend Not reassuring
22. 22 I know exactly where it is, broadly Not reassuring