The words drift and drive both come from the same Germanic root that means “to push along.” By the 16th century, the English word drift had come to mean “something that a person is driving at,” or in other words, their purpose or intent. The phrase if you catch my drift has come to be a sort of verbal wink, suggesting that the listener understands the speaker’s meaning even if it’s not fully articulated. This is part of a complete episode.
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