What's the difference between aphorism and musing?

Aphorism


Definition:

  • (n.) A comprehensive maxim or principle expressed in a few words; a sharply defined sentence relating to abstract truth rather than to practical matters.

Example Sentences:

  • (1) For the man who created the " specialist in failure " aphorism to disparage a fellow manager, it is obvious how much that would hurt.
  • (2) His most celebrated aphorism was his response to a journalist who wondered whether Christian Democrats would ever be weary of wielding power: "Political power wears out only those who haven't got it."
  • (3) She is thinking about a book of aphorisms, for which Spark characters such as Mrs Hawkins and Miss Jean Brodie are famous.
  • (4) His aphorisms include the following: "may your food be your medicine".
  • (5) When we sit down for a more formal interview in his Manhattan hotel room a few hours later, Ross's earlier gregarious anecdotes are replaced by aphorisms that could come straight off one of those inspirational posters you see in recruitment consultant offices.
  • (6) I just thought up a nonsensical Confucian-sounding aphorism and said it in a grossly exaggerated version of my dad's voice.
  • (7) Greg Dyke must put plug in Qatar talk if Fifa revamp is to unite the world | Barney Ronay Read more Like Blatter, Dyke can lapse into mystifyingly abstract aphorisms.
  • (8) One cheering side-effect of economic depression, is that it provides occasion to recall Keynes's sideline in Wildean aphorisms.
  • (9) Vidal's critics disparaged his tendency to formulate an aphorism rather than to argue, finding in his work an underlying note of contempt for those who did not agree with him.
  • (10) It's an aphorism the ex-head of the civil service proved wrong.
  • (11) Much of that is down to Dupuis who, in a genre where bland aphorisms are often the norm, actually has something to say.
  • (12) Twain was always a barometric writer, with a knack for registering contemporary social pressures in sharp-eyed aphorisms that weren't merely quotable, but often well ahead of their time.
  • (13) The old aphorism is still valid: When in doubt, take it out.
  • (14) Which in turn helps partially to explain the significance of the aphorism: 'An Argentine is an Italian who speaks Spanish and thinks he is an Englishman.'
  • (15) Now they are the stalest of cliches, but when, in the first 1998 episode, in the midst of all that big hair and weird brown lipstick, you hear Carrie first describe the allure and disappointment of "toxic bachelors", when Samantha first says frankly that she likes to have sex without emotion, to "fuck like a man", it was bitingly fresh for women to speak these aphorisms out loud, in public, and in fabulous heels.
  • (16) Elizabeth is prone to blurting out aphorisms, such as "it's easier to give a blow job than make coffee" and "you should be just as happy with the breasts you have as you are with the futility of existence".
  • (17) In its submission to the special session, Colombia quotes Albert Einstein’s aphorism that the definition of insanity is “doing the same thing over and over again and expecting a different result”.
  • (18) Aphorisms often appear too trite to tell us anything meaningful, yet this is not the case with the assertion attributed to Mahatma Gandhi that "the true measure of any society can be found in how it treats its most vulnerable members".
  • (19) The files disclose that Thatcher's first months in power reveal a torrent of pungent political aphorisms that were to sustain her in power for the next 13 years.
  • (20) It was a favourite Reagan aphorism, sometimes half-true, sometimes a disastrous basis for policy in a globally connected, ever more sophisticated world.

Musing


Definition:

  • (p. pr. & vb. n.) of Muse

Example Sentences:

  • (1) Rather than his extensive musings on art and politics, Morris is perhaps better known for his wallpaper and fabric designs of the late Victorian period.
  • (2) But if you have less financial support, that difference does hit you.” “As a generation, I don’t think we take enough interest in what’s going on,” she muses.
  • (3) There’s something rather Churchillian about him,” mused one of David Davis’s admirers in a recent TV profile.
  • (4) I might play him at centre-forward next time,” Hodgson mused.
  • (5) Cotton's interview with Paloma Faith on Tuesday in which the singer plugged her latest recording and mused about royal memorabilia such as a diamond jubilee sick bag has attracted particular criticism.
  • (6) Chris – lassoed from a parallel universe where Tom Cruise gave Hollywood a swerve to focus on taking his guitar-alt-musings to open mic spots instead – looks on, coldly dissecting technique and cutting to seduction tips.
  • (7) When the narrative voice ventriloquises the metamorphosed Gregor to muse "Was he an animal if music could captivate him so?
  • (8) Asked about the status of his own job, the press secretary joked “I’m right here”, telling reporters, in a belligerent line that could have been uttered by his impersonator Melissa McCarthy: “You can keep taking your selfies.” The president was busy sowing confusion by trying a new passive-aggressive tone on Twitter , musing: “While I greatly appreciate the efforts of President Xi & China to help with North Korea, it has not worked out.
  • (9) At first Sabry was just talking to his friends, posting idiosyncratic yarns or musings that gently push at social mores.
  • (10) With respect to the MUSE 11 antigen, positive incidence was found in 17 out of 26 pancreatic cancer patients (65%), and in 1 out of 13 chronic pancreatitis patients (8%).
  • (11) He muses that they may not have found the right approach.
  • (12) In the end it's maybe just cultural differences and an ability to align personal with corporate longer term goals," he muses.
  • (13) The cover art for the Cranberries' Bury the Hatchet (1999) was an evocation of paranoia – a giant eye bearing down on a crouching figure – that did neither band nor artist many favours; his image for Muse's Black Holes and Revelations (2006) amounted to a thin revival of his work for the Floyd that, if you were being generous, suggested a wry comment on that band's unconvincing attempts to revive the excesses of 1970s progressive rock.
  • (14) This article contains personal and professional musings on becoming and being an old woman.
  • (15) Twin muses of Liam Gallagher and Jimi Hendrix added up to louche tailoring, flower prints and urban staples like a swagger-tastic Gallagher parka.
  • (16) Mixed into that are musings on Darwin and the Catholic church, a tender reflection on the death of her dog Lolabelle, and more than a few corny jokes, delivered with her hypnotic, almost disbelieving pitch.
  • (17) But sadly, mainstream music culture has always thrived on competition, creating what the media always calls "catfights", says Kristin Hersh, now a solo artist, but in the 80s the frontwoman of the influential American band Throwing Muses.
  • (18) But then you might been seen as a separatist,” the presenter mused.
  • (19) And last week, he let his exasperation be known on Twitter – first taking aim at the Washington Post for quoting anonymous sources while musing about his future and then chastising NBC’s Today show for producing a political package from a tour he took of an embattled housing complex in Jacksonville, Florida, subsidized by the federal government.
  • (20) He mused: "It's a unique opportunity for a journalist to be in this environment.