> Whenever you're creating a function, you're defining a 
    > verb in your domain-specific implementation. 

Yes. And by virtue of it being a function, i.e. a first-class operator in the language I'm working in, I also know _prima facie_ the semantics, cost, and implication of that verb.

This is critical and necessary knowledge. And it's precisely the knowledge that I _don't_ get (immediately) when I use a DSL. I have to know both the semantics of the verb within the context of the DSL, and the semantics of the DSL (as a whole!) in the context of my programming language.

That additional step is, more often than not, a significant burden. I'm disinclined to bear it, no matter how facially elegant it may make the solution.

    > The real discussion should be - in what contexts do you 
    > really need re-usability and/or composability and/or 
    > succinctness? Not always, I'll grant you that.

This is a disingenuous framing of the problem.