Tusk

When an awkward situation arises in conversation, it is also known as a "tusk". This usage was first coined in spring 2009, by a singular gentleman, whom we will call (in the interest of anonymity) Wendel Wordtyper. He was having lunch with some of his chums: Tyrion Portugal, Cross Wildcard, and Liam. The conversation turned to family matters. The three talked about their fathers, relaying various anecdotes about their experiences. After a few of these stories, Wendel quietly uttered, "I never knew my parents. I’m adopted.", drawing a stunned silence from his compatriots which seemed to go on for too long. Showing no sign of noticing the reactions of the other gentlemen, Wendel then took a stick of celery from his plate and put it under his upper lip and said, "It's a tusk! And so, the term was born. Since then, when an awkward situation arose in conversation, a tusk was formed. The simplest method involves taking the hand, bending the middle three fingers, so that only the pinky and the thumb remain erect. Then one places the thumb against the corner of the mouth on the same side of the face. This is the simplest of tusks. Further adjustments and additions can then be made to this tusk. Inanimate objects of myriad size, shape, and number can be added to the end of the tusk, creating a bigger and bigger tusk, illustrating, via physical metaphor just how big a tusk that moment was. This public bulletin was brought to you by the Bureau Utilizing Tusk Telecommunication Sciences