The Walking Substitute?

When is a word not a word?

Arguably, when it's not the word you mean - when it doesn't do the job you want it to do. I started this week saying I'd bike every day. And so far I have. But not, so far, today. Today, I've walked. Today's the 29th anniversary of my mum and dad's wedding, so stuck with Ma for a few hours, and some of them were spent walking. Will have walked over 11,000 steps by the end of tonight when I go and pick d up from work.

But as yet, with about 45 minutes left to go before I have to go and collect d, and draw a line under my day, I haven't "biked". I've done the equivalent of what the biking is supposed to achieve, but not biked.
I've technically raised it with neither of them, but both d and Ma know the way my mind works to such an extent that they've both told me "the walking can take the place of the biking for the day, and you can get on with stuff".

But can you though, if you've promised to bike. Can you just bodyswerve the activity and plead 'the dog ate my wording'? Is something that takes the place of an action equivalent to an action? If you say "I'm going to run a marathon for charity" and then, instead, you run two half-marathons, have you done what you said you'd do?

I suspect much of the world thinks you have - I know people who are judged to have gone "round the world", when what they've actually done is go halfway round the world, and then come back. Also, I know a pal of mine is doing a big swim for charity, and has been told that she can actually continue adding lengths to her total beyond the original time limit of it, because the activity's the thing that counts.

I'm not sure my brain works like that. (Shrugs) Ultimately, it probably just comes down to how anal you are about words.

I run an editing house. Any guesses as to how anal I am about words?

Right. Fine. See how y'are, you talkative bastards. This will be me then, getting off the computer and getting on the bike, with just 38 minutes to spare. Buggerrit. Buggerit. Damn and blast and buggerit. See you tomorrow.