I thought for tonight I would take a few moments to look into what we’re doing in KTK: kibitzing. It has broader and narrower definitions, but is one more correct than another?
More below the fleur de kos!
urbandictionary says that it means …
To look on and offer unwanted, usually meddlesome advice to others.
Uh oh! I know that is not what I signed up for! It is not my usual skill set or inclination. And I read KTK just about every night, that is not what I find when visiting here, I think most of you will agree.
Going a bit further, in the same definition stream, I read:
However the common meaning of kibitzing is a person who is being extremely lazy and generally not doing what they should be. kibitzing can sometimes be determined by the way someone is sitting/laying. If they are being more visually lazy in their stature than usual. They can be labelled a "kibitzer" or as "kibitzing".
Hmm. What SHOULD I be doing? Election-specific engagement? In my private life? Certainly I have plenty of flaws and shortcomings. Yet, here I am, tonight, spending time in a community I care a great deal about. I think this IS right tonight. As for laziness … I guess I could have written a KTK diary a bit earlier. ::wink::
The freedictionary gives two quick definitions:
1. To look on and offer unwanted, usually meddlesome advice to others.
2. To chat; converse.
Of course, how unwanted advice a diarist gives is more up to the beholder than to the diarist, but, just speaking for myself, I never wish to give 'meddlesome' advice to political allies. I do think the second definition, a more evolved one, comes much closer to what the KTK community wants and expects.
The Merriam-Webster dictionary provides:
: to talk to someone in a friendly and informal way
: to watch other people and make unwanted comments about what they are doing
There I think the first definition is a good one.
wikipedia defines a kibitzer as:
A kibitzer is a non-participant person, offering (often unwanted) advice or commentary.
No, that’s not me, either. But, then, in the last sentence in that accounting, wp says:
Jane Jacobs describes a kibitzer as someone who keeps a look-out on a street, and seeing suspicious activity, intervenes to help the victim.
Now that is getting much closer to my Democratic identity! I care a great deal about suspicious activity as it is just about the only kind Republicans engage in, and intervening to help their victims is one of my favorite pastimes.
What do you look for when you visit KTK?
Thank you for reading tonight!
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Kitchen Table Kibitzing is a community series for those who wish to share part of the evening around a virtual kitchen table with kossacks who are caring and supportive of one another. So bring your stories, jokes, photos, funny pics, music, and interesting videos, as well as links—including quotations—to diaries, news stories, and books that you think this community would appreciate. Readers may notice that most who post diaries and comments in this series already know one another to some degree, but newcomers should not feel excluded. We welcome guests at our kitchen table, and hope to make some new friends as well.
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