The Almost Right Word

          When I went running in my neighborhood yesterday morning, I saw a pretty tree in someone's yard. I thought of the word spray, like a spray of flowers, when I saw it. So after I finished running I took a whole ten minutes (after I was already tired) just to walk back to that tree and take pictures of it to post. I wanted to talk about how certain images evoke certain words (kind of visa versa of the exercise in my post, Story Bells).
            I was just about to write today's post on that theme, when I thought, "Hm, maybe I should make sure 'spray' means what I think it does." To me, it sounds like a bunch of flowers sprouting in a wild manner, every which way, like a firework on a bush or tree. That was almost right, but according to the Mac Dictionary Application spray means "a stem or small branch of a tree or plant, bearing flowers and foliage." Pretty close, but according to Mark Twain, "The difference between the right word and the almost right word is the difference between lightning and the lightning bug."