As a young child, Benna may have believed that it was all right for words or phrases to be almost correct, but as an adult she realizes that language has to be used accurately: “pears” are not “pearls,” “Satan” is not the same figure as “Santa,” and “igloo, eyelid glue, isle of ewe” do not convey the same meaning as “I love you.”

– Lorrie Moore, Anagrams