I was reviewing CVCE (consonant vowel consonant “e”) words with one of my students when the word “fine” came up on our list. She asked me what it meant even though she kind of already knew. I told her there are several meanings. If you are talking about shredded cheese, and you like it thinner, look for “finely shredded,” and if someone is dressed up and looks particularly good, you might say he or she is “lookin’ fiiiine.” I then told her that usually if something is “fine,” it means that there is nothing wrong with it.
She looked a little confused. Even as a third grader, she was already learning the nuances of the word “fine.” She knew that if she was arguing with her brother, and they finally just shouted “FINE” at each other, that the issue was not resolved, but they were mutually agreeing not to argue about it anymore. There are memes warning husbands that if their wives say something is “fine,” it is a red flag of warning. Whatever it is, is NOT FINE! A character on a sitcom recently said that when he said something was fine, it meant he didn’t want to talk about it. When did the meaning of the word become so ambiguous that we don’t know what a person means?
I know someone who is going through a particularly hard time in her life, and I talk to her every day. If she is crying when she says, “I’m fine,” I know that she isn’t fine. If she sighs and says, “It’s fine,” I know she is having a slightly better day. If she says in a more confident voice, “I’m not fine now, but I will be,” I am encouraged that she is feeling hopeful. I can usually determine what people mean when they say “fine” if I can hear the inflections in their voices, but if it is in a text, how can one tell?
My husband and I are planning to visit the person who is having a hard time later this year. In a text, I asked her if she wanted us to try to rearrange things so that we could visit sooner rather than later. Her response was, “No, it’s fine.” My husband and I looked at each other and asked, “What exactly does that mean? Is it fine, or is she just not wanting to burden us with switching our schedules? When does “fine” really mean “fine?” Ahhhhh!
You may be asking yourself what the point of all of this is. I guess I want to let you know that if you, too, are having trouble determining the meaning of the word “fine,” you are not alone. Don’t worry about it! No problem! It’s fine.