what's the gist?
what's the main point?
TRANSLATION
gist = das Wesentliche, die Quintessenz --- GOOGLE INDEX gist: approximately 8,000,000 Google hits
STATISTICS
IN THE PRESS
Predictably, many in the audience were impressed with the GIST of Mr Cameron's "vision of a world in which business has the freedom to succeed in a low-tax, low-regulation economy".
(BBC News)
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I recently heard a question that I think more companies should being asking themselves when they launch a product: What's the GIST?
(BusinessWeek magazine)
(BBC News)
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I recently heard a question that I think more companies should being asking themselves when they launch a product: What's the GIST?
(BusinessWeek magazine)
Did you
know?
gist
noun
- the most important pieces of information about something, or general information without details
(Cambridge Advanced Learner's Dictionary)
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So what is the gist? Humans have occupied themselves with this question for ages, whether it's about love (Desire is the very gist of man. - Baruch Spinoza), nobility (Egoism is the very gist of a noble soul. - Friedrich Nitzsche), acting (Pretending to be other people is my game and that to me is the gist of the whole business of acting. - John Hurt) or simply being human (The gist of being human is that one does not seek perfection. - George Orwell)
Even jazz great Miles Davis had something to say about it in his classic song "Four":
Of the many facts making the list of life,
Truth takes the lead.
And to relax knowing the gist of life,
it's truth you need.
Origin: Gist is from the early 18th century Old French "gesir" (third person singular present tense), meaning to lie and from the Latin jacere. It was used in the Anglo-French legal phrase "cest action gist" (this action lies), meaning there is sufficient cause or reason to proceed with a legal case. The use was then extended in English to refer to the basis for something.
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SYNONYMS
core, essence, meaning, significance, substance, upshot
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SMUGGLE OWAD into today's conversation
"The gist of it is, most customers are willing to pay a little extra for good service."
noun
- the most important pieces of information about something, or general information without details
(Cambridge Advanced Learner's Dictionary)
---
So what is the gist? Humans have occupied themselves with this question for ages, whether it's about love (Desire is the very gist of man. - Baruch Spinoza), nobility (Egoism is the very gist of a noble soul. - Friedrich Nitzsche), acting (Pretending to be other people is my game and that to me is the gist of the whole business of acting. - John Hurt) or simply being human (The gist of being human is that one does not seek perfection. - George Orwell)
Even jazz great Miles Davis had something to say about it in his classic song "Four":
Of the many facts making the list of life,
Truth takes the lead.
And to relax knowing the gist of life,
it's truth you need.
Origin: Gist is from the early 18th century Old French "gesir" (third person singular present tense), meaning to lie and from the Latin jacere. It was used in the Anglo-French legal phrase "cest action gist" (this action lies), meaning there is sufficient cause or reason to proceed with a legal case. The use was then extended in English to refer to the basis for something.
---
SYNONYMS
core, essence, meaning, significance, substance, upshot
---
SMUGGLE OWAD into today's conversation
"The gist of it is, most customers are willing to pay a little extra for good service."
