# heart-wrenching and heart-rending



## TinyDancer (Aug 27, 2012)

I wanted to use the word 'heart-wrenching' in a sentence, when I searched online to find out whether it was a cliche', I discovered in this article: 11 Little-Known Grammatical Errors That Will Shock and Horrify You - 11Points.com 

I am wondering if heart-rendering and gut-wrenching are the only correct terms, because I thought that you could use the hyphen to combine any two words to describe things creatively, and I like the idea of a twisted/twisting heart more than a 'tearing' one, I feel it describes the emotion I want to portray better. And perhaps, would it be  'proper' if I combined two words that may not have a habit of being combined, like.. (let me think now...) heart-grilling or heart-melting (rather than warming) or gut-broiling or mind-braising.


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## Arcopitcairn (Aug 27, 2012)

Everybody knows what you mean when you say 'heart-wrenching'. It's commonly used. If that's the term you want to use to get your point across, I say go ahead and use it. Don't worry about it.


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## TinyDancer (Aug 27, 2012)

cool, thanks Arcopitcairn.


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## Deleted member 49710 (Aug 27, 2012)

Sure, you can combine two words that way: eye-melting, brain-boiling, whatever you want as long as the meaning will be pretty obvious.


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## TinyDancer (Aug 27, 2012)

Thank you Iasm. If it is meaning before matter, and communication as a means to translate meaning onto others, and we remember that as we write..I think it becomes easier to write with more clarity.


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## Sam (Aug 27, 2012)

By the way, it's not 'rendering'. It's heart-rending. 'Rend' means "tear to pieces".


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## TinyDancer (Aug 27, 2012)

woops, good observation...thanks for the correction Sam, I'll edit the title now..


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## TinyDancer (Aug 27, 2012)

...or not ( I can't edit the titles)... rendering does change the meaning completely though :/


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## Sam (Aug 27, 2012)

I've done it for you.


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## Staff Deployment (Aug 27, 2012)

TinyDancer said:


> ...heart-grilling or heart-melting or gut-broiling or mind-braising...



...or liver-smiting or finger-telecommuting or thigh-muscleing or eye-spying or heel-heeling or hip-hopping or palm-reading or nose-composing or ear-riding

_this is the best game_


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## TinyDancer (Aug 27, 2012)

Thanks Sam, and lol Staff Deployment, yeah...it could be toe-curling(ly) mind-mashing.


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## Cran (Aug 27, 2012)

I wouldn't put too much faith in someone who can write -


> I'd just *gotten* my first job writing professionally


 - in an article about correct grammar.

_quote from the article linked in the OP._


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## TinyDancer (Aug 27, 2012)

mango juice with lemon tastes good.


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