I remember that I first learned the word identity as part of the phrase secret identity, which was the romantic and thrilling connection between Clark Kent (uncharismatic like me) and Superman! It was interesting to find out, considerably later, that it was a word on its own.
I remember that the phrase this instant!, used by mother to demand that I cooperate immediately, was similarly thrilling (though without the positive connotations), denoting a kind of absolutely efficient worldly authority. I don’t remember the context though I do remember the sudden down-pointing gesture that made the this so immediate. Again, it was only later that I had a sense of the word instant as having a meaning of its own.
