Did you
know?

gingerly
adverb

- If you do something gingerly, you do it in a careful manner, usually because you expect it to be dangerous, unpleasant, or painful.

Collins English Dictionary

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ORIGIN

The first recorded instance of “gingerly” was in 1594, it may have derived from the name of the spice ginger.

Another theory is that it’s related to the Old French word gensor meaning “delicate”.

By the 17th century “gingerly” had changed its meaning to apply to movements that were cautious in order to avoid being noisy or causing harm, and also to a careful manner in handling or presenting ideas.

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THE GENIUS OF CHURCHILL

At a dinner for Commonwealth dignitaries one evening, British PM Winston Churchill was approached by the Chief-of-Protocol and quietly informed that one of the distinguished guests had slipped a silver salt shaker into his pocket.

At the end of the meal, Churchill GINGERLY approached the offender and produced the matching pepper shaker from his own pocket. “Oh, dear, we were seen,” he said. “Perhaps we had both better put them back.”

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SYNONYMS

attentively, carefully, cautiously, charily, charmingly, circumspectly, considerately, daintily, delicately, gently, handling with kid gloves, heedfully, lightly, lovingly, mindfully, skilfully, softly, softly-softly, soothingly, tenderly

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SMUGGLE OWAD into an English conversation, say something like:

“I suggest you handle the new Chairman very GINGERLY, he is known to have an explosive temper.”

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Paul Smith, IBAN: DE75 7316 0000 0002 5477 40