Why is thymol only slightly soluble in water, but very soluble in 1.0 M NaOH?

2 answers

Here is a site that gives the structure of thymol. Thymol is a phenol and the OH on phenols are acidic; therefore, NaOH is a base reacting with an acid to produce the sodium salt and water. Most sodium salts are soluble in water.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thymol
Thymol is very slightly soluble in water and very soluble in 1.0 M NaOH. explain.