The word ‘bent’ is another one of those wonderfully versatile words. The literal meaning involves something that used to be straight changing by way of bending or stretching to become bent. As a noun, a bent is a piece of unenclosed grassland and Bent Grass is a particular kind of reedy grass.
If you’re bent on doing something, you’re determined to do it and if you’re hell-bent, you’ll manage it no matter what. Bent also means dishonest or corrupt, as in ‘bent cop’ (corrupt police officer). And if that idea makes you angry, you might be bent out of shape.
But we’re not done yet. You can have a bent, or bias, as in a religious bent. And a bent, or talent, as in a bent for music. And a bent (mainly US) is a transverse rigid frame between, for example, bridge spans. And especially for the Flat Earth Society: ‘As time and space are bent by gravity, so too is truth bent by power.’ – James Rozoff.
But I heard the ultimate use of ‘bent’ on television last week: ‘Oh him? He’s as bent as a dog’s back leg.’ And it was Vera who said it, so you know it’s true!😊