humdudgeon - noun. Brit. English (18th century) - an imaginary illness
Now here's a word you don't hear everyday. Imagine if you were to spring this one on some of your friends. (Try it; they may like it.)
I often wonder how many sicknesses are real or just humdudgeons. There is a plethora of evidence to suggest that COVID-19 is an authentic pandemic despite what some people (I'm not mentioning any names here) may still think. However, I wonder if more than a few use the excuse of "I'm not feeling well" just to get out of prior commitments. Case in point: this morning my thirty-year-old daughter discovered to her chagrin that one of her closest friends would not be able to attend the Yankees' game with her. Ostensibly, she woke up "throwing up." Not a pretty picture. But was she vomiting for legitimate reasons, or was she a victim of a hangover, or perhaps food poisoning, or even a humdudgeon? After all, do all New Yorkers like the Yankees enough to sit on hard bleachers in ninety-degree heat? My daughter does and would, but would her former roommate? I'm going to say no. In case you are truly interested, the anecdote does have a happy ending. Because she couldn't find a last-minute pinch-hitter, my daughter braved it alone, and as of two minutes ago, she is enjoying the game, solo.
Moral of the story: Hollywood endings don't have to involve two. Sometimes it is okay to sit in the bleachers of life all by yourself. You never know. You might just catch that fly ball.
And as an aside: Humbug to humdudgeons and all who use them for illegitimate reasons.
#word of the day, #vocabulary, #writers, #writers and poets, #words, #inspiration, #optimism, #inspiring words, #humor, #writers,
#spilled thoughts, #motivation
No comments:
Post a Comment