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Reader question: Please explain this sentence: “Franklin’s secret, the thing that ‘made him thick’ and pulled every aspect of his mind together, was his love of people.” What does “made him thick” mean exactly? My comments: Made him tick, not thick. Tick? Yeah? Tick like clock. The old time piece, that is. Today, most people use digital clocks to tell time, such as the one incorporated in our mobile phones. Time was when clocks were a piece of intricate machinery. When the old-time clock runs properly, it makes a sound, like this: tick, tock; tick, tock; tick, tock…. This is where the expression “make someone tick” comes from. When we say someone knows how to make a person tick, we mean to say they understand that person really well and know what that person likes, dislikes, what makes them different, unique, and what motivates that person to do things he or she likes to do. And things like that. What makes people tick is what makes them get up in the morning and go to work, so to speak. And work. And work – tirelessly like a clock, if you will. In our example, Franklin (Benjamin Franklin that is) has a secret motivation that enables him to work tirelessly, whole-heartedly for his countrymen. That secret is love. He loves them. He loves all his fellow men. Not all of them perhaps, because we are talking about the time of the American Revolution, a time when America was known for having not only the likes of Franklin and George Washington but also black slaves from Africa. | 
