Language Is A Fluid Thing

This morning, while simultaneously doing a crossword and trying to convert grams into kilograms.

"What's smaller than an inch?" I asked.

"What?" he said.

"You get millimeters, which are smaller than centimeters, but what's smaller than an inch?" I asked again.

"You don't get milli-inches," he agreed.

"We just say 'half an inch' or 'quarter inch',' I said. "We should have deci-inches."

"Or centi-inches," he said. "Cinches!"

"Ha!" I said. "Excellent use of language."

"Well, you know what they say. A miss is as good as a cinch," he answered.