[noo-ahns, nyoo-, noo-ahns, nyoo-;]
noun

1. a subtle difference or distinction in expression, meaning, response, etc.
2.a very slight difference or variation in color or tone.

Subtle shifting shades of truth

Though I’m no stranger to using blunt force language, sometimes I am reluctant to do so. It can be an unwillingness to break cover and declare an unalterable position, a desire to avoid unpleasant conflict, or occasionally – though it isn’t a feeling I experience regularly – I am moved by pity.

Which, frankly, annoys the shit out of me.

How incredibly condescending it is for me to decide  some piece of news from me might be so disappointing that I must try to spare someone the full force of the blow. How very much I hate it when someone deigns to do so for me; as though I am a fragile child, set to crumble at the slightest provocation.

And so in those moments I assure myself that I am telling the truth,  though I choose expressions that could be misconstrued by any but the most particularly attentive to the distinct meaning of each singular word. I give myself an out, but ultimately escape nothing.