Is there a feeling you often have that's really hard to put into words?

A natural way to answer

There's a particular ache I get sometimes, a gentle longing for something I can't even name. It isn't sadness exactly, more a quiet wistfulness. It's frustrating, because it sits just beyond the reach of words, and trying to describe it makes it slip away.

Key phrases to use

• off — not quite right; slightly wrong or strange in mood or feeling“I've felt a bit off all day.”
• put my finger on it — to identify exactly what something is or what's wrong“Something's bothering me, but I can't put my finger on it.”
• reach of words — the limit of what language is able to express“Some grief lies beyond the reach of words.”
• groping for words — struggling to find the right words to express something“I was groping for words to explain how I felt.”
• slips through my fingers — to be lost or to escape just as you try to hold or grasp it“The harder I think about it, the more it slips through my fingers.”