Since we want to REdefine “clean”… we’d better DEfine it first.
What does clean mean… exactly?
Here’s the catch. In Danish, it’s one word — “ren.” In English, it splits in two: clean… and pure. So this was never really a story about one word. It’s about both. Keep that in the back of your mind.
The dictionary gives five answers, with several sub-categories under each. None of them, by the way, is “ocean breeze.”
The first definition. Washed, cleansed… free of dirt and grime. The plain one, the simplest. And then again… maybe not.
Under it, a sub-category. That which gives off no substances harmful to the body or the environment. Interesting.
And one more. Skin that isn’t greasy or marred by pimples, acne, blackheads.
That one is “clean” in the truest sense of the word. The definitions that follow quietly hand over to the other one… pure.
The second definition. Without added or foreign elements. Not mixed with anything else. Pure wool. Pure gold. Less is more. That’s pure, not clean — English keeps them apart, where Danish lets them live in a single word.
The third definition. That which holds nothing evil or calculated. Pure motives… a clean conscience. Here the two words meet again. Both carry it.
The fourth definition. That which in every respect matches its name. Complete. Pure and simple. Plain truth.
I’ll leave it here, for reflection.
I’ll come back to each one in the next episode. Maybe we’ll end up somewhere where we don’t need to redefine anything… but are simply reminded of what the words already mean.