the.com/topic
The thing you swore you wouldn't talk about, then did for an hour.
means The subject under discussion — what a conversation, essay, or argument is actually about.
from From Greek 'topika' meaning 'matters concerning places,' tied to 'topos' (place). Aristotle used it as the title of his work on commonplace arguments — rhetorical 'places' you could mentally go to find standard lines of reasoning. The sense drifted from 'a place to find an argument' to simply 'the subject itself.'
- greek root
- topos means place, as in location of argument
- aristotle used it
- wrote a book literally called Topics
- conversation starter
- also conversation ender, depending on delivery
- sentence structure
- usually comes first, often overstays welcome