The Daily Word for August 30, 2021

 

umbriferous - adjective - British - casting a shadow or shade (Lexico.com/collinsdictionary.com)

In my opinion, the Brits have always been a bit more articulate than Americans, which makes sense since they invented the language, and after a few hundred years, carried it over with them to Jamestown, etc., where it gradually devolved. Yesterday, I was reminded of our distant past with Great Britain as I, a DAR member, and an assortment of costumed and plain-clothed history buffs celebrated the 240th anniversary of Washington and Rochambeau's revolutionary march to Yorktown through my hometown of Westfield. Despite being a polysyllabic mouthful (and who has time for words over one syllable anyway), umbriferous is usable in a figurative and literal sense. For example, some of yesterday's imitators pretending to be Washington, Rochambeau, Ben Franklin (who definitely was not present at the time of the actual march) and the musket-carrying militia looked a bit umbriferous to me. Perhaps it was the cumbersome quality of their costumes, their height (the originals stood about 5'4" not 6 feet) or just their dubious expressions?  In any case, you can be sure that not one knew the definition of umbriferous. But a real Brit probably would. I doubt any were on hand, though, for obvious reasons. 

Personally, I will use umbriferous when I correct people who look at my garden and say, "I like your yard." (I think I might have brought this pet peeve up in another blog. If so, I apologize.) Snobbishly insulted, I can snap back, "It is an umbriferous English garden, not a yard." (Umbriferous would refer to the shade cast by numerous trees.) That should do it. Of course, anyone from Great Britain, who knows that every backyard in the U.K. is a "garden" regardless if there is anything exceptional growing, would never make the mistake to begin with. They know better as they have a heightened aesthetic sense even in the presence of weeds. To most Americans, a yard is a yard is a yard regardless of whether you have macadam or Bellagio's fountains in back of your home. Don't ask me why this is so as I have no idea. Indolence, maybe? Or blurred vision? Both? 

To clean up any degree of confusion, any umbriferous dialogue, we should try to be more specific as a country. After all, there is nothing wrong with clarity or even historical accuracy. (Maybe Ben Franklin should stay home in another ten years.)

Enjoy your Monday! 

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The Daily Word for August 29, 2021

 

scofflaw - noun - a person who disregards the law (Lexico.com)

I like compound words because if you separate the two, the meaning of the whole is usually obvious, obviating the need to run to a dictionary. For example, scofflaw is composed of scoff, which means to mock, and law, which refers to a system of rules governing a society. So it would make sense that scofflaw would point to someone who has no respect for laws, someone who scoffs at the law.

In the U.S.A., we are brought up to adhere to the law of the land albeit not everyone does. This is probably true for many in other countries as well. Adolescents, in particular, tend to rebel against whatever adults dictate as the tendency is something that is inherent psychologically in youth. Most grow up and out of the rebellious phase, however. 

When I think of scofflaw, one of my favorite cousins comes to mind. As a man in his sixties, he has long outgrown his disrespect for the law; but a challenging adolescence rife with opportunities to act out left him with several humorous anecdotes that he will revert back to telling at parties just to entertain the bored. One of my personal favorites involves our aunt's yellow Oldsmobile 98, the Cadillac of that archaic GM brand. She bequeathed it to him for no apparent reason, and he took full advantage of its capabilities, one being a tank-like imperviousness to other vehicles. When drunk, my cousin would take the car out for a spin on Saturday nights and would wind up using it to play bumper cars with other parked vehicles. If he had done the same today, he would have wound up in jail; but this scofflaw was so universally well liked that the police would merely pull him over, remove him from the Olds, and escort him back home to his chagrined parents. Thank Goodness he didn't get himself killed. Thank Goodness the police were patient and understanding.

The takeaway? Even in today's world, the worst scofflaw can get away unscathed if he or she has friends in high places. (Sound familiar?) 

Human nature doesn't change over time. 

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The Daily Word for August 28, 2021

 

tappen - noun - the plug by which the rectum of a bear is closed during hibernation (Lexico.com)

Okay, I know what you are thinking: Why tappen? Why would anyone wish to include this particular word in his/her/their vocabulary? The answer: bears. If you live in the New York area, since they either are or will be neighbors of ours soon, we should probably know a bit more about them. 

If you have been reading this blog, you probably already know that I live in New Jersey. It used to be that here in the suburbs of New York City, we didn't have much in the way of critters.  You know, wild life. Squirrels, chipmunks, a skunk, perhaps a groundhog, a few raccoons, a possum, maybe a deer or a fox once a year. Well, those days are long over. We now have all of those animals plus myriad deer (droves of them like wild dogs or mustangs), coyotes (what the heck?) as well as foxes (red and gray) AND bears. Yes, there are huge brown ones running amuck in and out of traffic, twenty-five miles due west of Manhattan. Who would have ever thought? 

Well, guess what? The northern woods are getting crowded as bears tend to have cubs that survive extreme circumstances. Naturally, there isn't enough food for everyone, so they have decided to migrate south, like Northern seniors do to Florida, but into the densely populated suburbs of one of the world's largest cities. A bad decision on their part, the seniors and the bears. Ergo, various publications, including the respected New York Times are now printing short litanies of what you should and should not do when in the presence of Goldilock's friends. On two separate occasions, I, another somewhat naive blonde, crossed paths with Papa Bear and Baby Bear, trying to cross busy streets in Califon, a rural hamlet, 30 miles west of here. Yet MaMa Bear was just spotted on Route 22 West in Mountainside, the town right next to mine, right in the thick of suburbia. No doubt, she was trying to hitchhike back to Hunterdon County and wasn't aware there is a law against it. Of course, I jest, but not about the odd occurrences of bears exactly where you would never expect them to be. 

I think it was Woody Allen who once wrote in a screenplay, "It's New Jersey. Anything can happen." I bet in the early eighties, he never thought a suburban divorcee/single mom would be featuring a word like tappen in a blog, and it would have any relevance at all forty years later here in Scotch Plains. Neither did I. Needless to say, I am looking forward to winter when the bears will be asleep and their rectums, well stuffed with tappens.

The takeaway: If you come across any one of Goldilock's three, jump up and down, make plenty of noise, but don't look it in the eye. Chances are, the bear will want nothing to do with you, and you will feel very lucky indeed. 

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The Daily Word for August 27, 2021

 

coprolalia - noun - involuntary use of obscene language

I have to apologize for the pause in the action of this blog. This past Wednesday and Thursday, I found myself in a woodsy retreat, not unlike Thoreau's haunt ("happy place"?) Walden Pond with a small group of women friends. One of my closest "gal pals" decided to lure us up there to celebrate her birthday, which we did in grand fashion...if you consider hiking amidst copulating dragon flies, swimming with trout and pike, and paddle boarding to be grand. I do. I am perennially thankful for what most would consider trivial. Yet I digress, sort of. This morning at brunch just before I left for home, one of the ladies, the mother of two grown sons, broached a topic, the amorality of today's youth, pinpointing profane language. It seems that the habitual use of the f-bomb could fall under the nomenclature of "Coprolalia," a very pretty word for words that aren't pretty. Indeed, it is as though use of profanity is no longer voluntary due to its commonality in American English. In fact, just last week while at the Comedy Cove listening and observing nascent comedians in performance, Jack (you know him from P.A.) claimed that "fuck" is the perfect filler word. WTF! See what I mean? So much for "um" and "and" and "like," I suppose. So Jack, you think that the term should be no more than a monosyllabic, audible sigh? Really? Have we sunken this low? Obscenities are no longer obscene? If so, Webster's will soon have to remove "obscene" and all derivatives and synonyms from the dictionary. 

Needless to say, I am a bit dumbstruck. I'm thinking I'll have to cover Bob Dylan's "Where Have All the Flowers Gone?" substituting "Where Have All the Pretty Words Gone?" as the title and at the start of the song's chorus. It might make for a fairly decent parody. I'll be lucky if I can get one person to embrace the point: Coprolalia is ubiquitous. So much so, that we no longer notice, especially that kids as young as four are using it and their parents are shrugging it off as normal. Okay, maybe as a society we haven't hit rock bottom yet, but it is "coming soon to a theater near you." Can we at least be a little more sensitive to who is standing within range of the f-bomb before we drop it? 

Just a suggestion for the betterment of humankind on this final Friday in August. 

Thanks for reading. 

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The Daily Word for August 24, 2021

 

pantechnicon - noun - British - a large van for transporting furniture (Lexico.com)

Leave it to the Brits to come up with an urbane, polysyllabic word for what we might think of as a moving van. I'm guessing that since the definition doesn't include the word "truck" that a pantechnicon is on the order of a U-Haul van as opposed to a minivan or eighteen wheeler that Atlas uses to transplant the furnishings from one McMansion into another. 

In my region, it is not uncommon to see pantechnicons, especially around this time of year as students are returning to college dorms or to apartments in the city after having lived with their parents during primetime of the pandemic. My daughter won't be a part of the exodus as she will be sticking around for a bit. I think she's a bit embarrassed about it, though. She doesn't want to be stigmatized as a thirty-year-old living in her mother's basement despite her residency not being permanent. I promised her that although she is thirty, she is not by any means the stereotype, i.e. the young adult sans legit employment who plays video games all day and considers the occupation an occupation despite not getting monetary compensation for her/his/their time. Unlike the unfortunate, self-deceived lot, she has a good job that pays her well. Plus, she is saving real money for real graduate school. Which are two solid reasons why she doesn't have to be ashamed. What she is doing is what the woke might consider woke, not that either of us cares. Come December, she'll know whether to rent a pantechnicon in January or July, depending on whether or not U.C.L.A. accepts her. Either way, the basement will be empty again by next August. And of course, I'll miss her the minute she gets into that pantechnicon and drives away. 

In case you are wondering, the takeaway here is that after today, you will now have a four-syllable word for "big van." All of your friends who will be watching your kid drive away in one will be impressed albeit they might not know what the heck you are talking about. You could have to define it for them. Or just smile inside when you see their blank, deer-in-the-headlights expressions as they stammer, "Oh, yeah. Right." 

Hope you enjoyed your Tuesday.

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The Daily Word for August 23, 2021

 

macushia - noun - Irish - an affectionate form of address, like "darling." (Lexico.com)

Even though our parents bequeath us with what is known as a Christian name or forename (or two), we often go by a small number of aliases, nicknames, or affectionate forms of address, like macushia, a real Irish mouthful. Often monikers can be on the humorous side. For example, my daughter calls one of her diminutive college pals "Lil' Nug" as in "little nugget." For my girl (woman), I have a litany of nicknames that, like macushia, appear strange on surface but can easily be rationalized, such as "Lil' Dough"as in little doughnut because as a child, my daughter subsisted on the vanilla-glazed ones at Dunkin'. I also call her Mush-Dough when she hasn't had enough sleep and feels like mush. (I know. It is hard to visualize. Just think of grits or mashed potatoes.) The closest alias to her actual name is Saxonia, which originated from a mispronunciation of Saxony, her real forename. The summer of her junior year in college, she toured Europe with an Asian woman who couldn't say Saxony, ergo, Saxonia (think: Sonia) resulted. When she told me, I laughed, started to call her Saxonia and have been ever since. In short, the moniker stuck like glue.

I know I am not the only parent out there who has gotten so used to these macushia substitutes that I can't seem to let go of them. My daughter is thirty, but still single. Maybe once she is married with children, I might have a good enough reason to call her the name I actually made legal for her. 

It seems very ironic that parents do spend a lot of time discussing and even arguing over the names they want to give their newborns and then turn around and reinvent them out of affection. But such is life. If it made complete sense, there wouldn't be cause to question it. A life without interrogation wouldn't be as interesting, for sure. 

It's Monday. Best not to think too hard. 

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The Daily Word for August 22, 2021

 

presenteeism - n. -  the compulsion to spend longer at work then is required.

I know that it is Sunday, and I have no business unearthing the topic of work, but this term caught my eye on Lexico.com's "Weird and Wonderful Words," so I decided to feature it as today's "Daily Word." I used to be this person, totally guilty of presenteeism. In fact, the malady runs in my family. My dad was afflicted and my sister, whose birthday is today (Happy Birthday!!!), is also. Unfortunately or fortunately (depending on how you look at it), my daughter tends to be someone who likes to sneak out a bit early from work, so she did not inherit the disease. 

Presenteeism has its negatives and positives. One negative would be that your obsessive, hard work is not noticed by the right people, and all of the O.T. you've put it winds up being for nothing. In other words, you can fall into the category of "No good deed goes unpunished" in a sense. Essentially, you aren't punished, just ignored. Which is a type of admonishment, I suppose, just a silent one. Another minus would be that since you work all of the time, you don't have a few minutes for your spouse or friends...in which case, you might wind up alone albeit you might never noticed that you are because you simply don't have time. On the other hand, a positive might be that because you allow no stone to be left unturned, you learn something: a work ethic, for one. If you have the right job, your compulsion to stay late into the night with your nose to the grindstone might earn you double time, a nice stash of cash. And who would say no to that? Eventually, someone could notice all that you are doing and promote you. Wouldn't that be sweet?

 I could probably go on and on, but clearly, presenteeism is a choice. You take a risk to be or not to be overly present. It all boils down to what you want out of life. I'm the lucky one because I have learned how to strike a bargain between the presenteeism and absenteeism when it comes to work. In other words, I have struck gold and found balance. 

I hope that you have found a sense of balance in your life as well. 

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God bless! 

The Daily Word for August 21, 2021

 

ylem - noun - the primordial matter of the universe (big bang theory) (Lexico.com)

Admittedly, I've never had much interest in science. It's not that I don't consider it valid, I do as medical science, in particular, is making great strides toward preventing and curing sundry diseases. I've never been a fan of the big bang theory. To me, it seems a lot more farfetched than the Biblical myth of Adam and Eve. Since ylem is ylem. Matter is matter and matters. Substance, after all, is evidential. 

Why did I choose this particular word if I don't care much for science? There aren't too many nouns that begin with a "y." And this one stood out on the list. If you are a scientist, you may already have a place for "ylem" in your vocabulary. If not, you have an edge on everyone else who could care less. Good to know, right? 

Well, I'm off to the races today to watch the horses kick up some matter in the way of mud. Wish me luck.

Enjoy your Saturday. 

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The Daily Word for August 20, 2021

 

nympholepsy - noun - passion or rapture aroused in men by beautiful young girls (Lexico.com). 

Nympholepsy is not woke, meaning men could get in big trouble for revealing their passions for nubile females in plain sight. Although nympholepsy still exists and will never go away due to the male libido, its expression, particularly in public is considered politically incorrect. On the other hand, if its revelation is laced with humor, people seem to be all for it. Which seems a bit ironic to me. If something is deemed wrong and doesn't taste good, why–all of a sudden–would coating it with comedy make it digestible? 

Case in point, last night, my daughter, Jack (P.A. member in good standing) and I attended a comedy show at a local pub. My close friend's husband, a man who was recently diagnosed with stage 4 pancreatic cancer, just decided to realize a long-time dream and become a stand-up comedian, something I had encouraged him to do years ago. (Cancer has a funny way of motivating people. I know because I am a survivor.) At the start of his shtick, the club's host comedian, a married man, singled out a Lolita sitting close to the stage and proceeded to flirt with her openly, something the majority of the room found laughable. Playing on the response of the room, he enlarged his scope to include a small number of other young women seated in the vicinity. Again, the audience responded favorably. A guest comic, who succeeded the host, launched into a routine that included his fascination with the female anatomy, namely breasts, which threw the house into hysterics. Had either comic changed his tone and approached a female audience member using a similar script in the parking lot, most likely the incident would have been reported as sexual harassment, and the club might have lost customers and/or eventually have been shut down. 

Obviously, there is a very fine line between what is deemed politically palatable and what is not. Such is the human condition. Can mere tone of voice make the difference between what people take seriously and what they don't? Apparently so. Life gets more and more ironic each day.

Happy Friday! Enjoy it. 

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The Daily Word for August 19, 2021

 

wakeboarding - n. - the sport of riding on a short, wide board while being towed behind a power boat (Lexico.com)

Summer is the time for popular socially distant sports, such as golf, tennis, biking, swimming, solo kayaking, waterskiing, and yes, wakeboarding. I don't remember exactly where I was when I first spied a wakeboarder, i.e. a snowboarder on the water sans the snow and independence. Between fifteen and twenty years ago, I attended a most unusual wedding on the banks of the Long Island Sound, the Connecticut side. The actual ceremony welding woman to man was in a traditional Presbyterian church. With the exception of the bride's knee-length, lace dress, unadorned head and the groom's business-Friday sports jacket, Brooks Brothers shirt, tie, and khakis, nothing seemed remotely atypical. 

What transpired afterward, however, was different. The reception signified it would be a wedding of a different color, for sure. And the uniqueness began few days beforehand when we were told to remember to take a swimsuit, which we definitely needed as the celebration–pretty much a basic barbecue–was held in the groom's parents' backyard, a grassy knoll that conveniently jutted out into the Sound. As I gazed out at the water, between ribbons of the sun's glare, I recognized the handsome blonde best man with all six of his six-pack abs strained against a tow rope as he was being pulled on a skateboard without wheels through the wake of the assisting motor boat. When I asked why his waterskis had been reduced to one thick, short plank, I was told he was on a wakeboard. Naturally, I had an opportunity to try the sport, but decided against it, being one prone to the exaggerated fear of either losing my bikini to the wind or having my arms pulled out of their sockets by the sheer force of the forward movement. Of course, there was the real possibility of crashing into the side of another boat or rock as well, but that notion came in third place, and therefore, hardly worth mentioning.

Years later, I had a second opportunity to wakeboard, but declined again. After all, a woman has got to know her limitations. At my age, I'll stick to five out of the seven of the aforementioned summer pastimes. Just because I'm over sixty doesn't mean I can't have fun.

It's Thursday. Be careful out there. 

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The Daily Word for August 18, 2021

 

sternutator - noun - something that causes sneezing

Sternutators are often ubiquitous to some. If you live in a locale that experiences seasons – four, clearcut ones – then you might find enough in the way of sternutators to sneeze on a three-season basis. Of course, if you happen to live in California or Florida, you might be sneezing all year round since a perennial summer propagate sternutators. You folks have my deepest sympathy, if not empathy. As a victim of hay fever, growing up I felt allergic to everything. For me, hay, roses, dust are primary sternutators. Fortunately, I no longer partake in hayrides. The one rose plant I have in the garden produces feeble flowers with little scent and only in the late spring, so it doesn't bother me. And since I am  fastidious about keeping the house free from dust, it is rare that I sneeze as a full-fledged adult. 

However, I do know people who are particularly susceptible to common as well as unusual sternutators. Two nights ago, I invited one of my former lovers over for dinner. Having been my hair dresser for years, but not my paramour since 1996, I now call him my friend. And yes, he is yet another member in good standing of Platonic Anonymous. Half way through the evening, he started to sneeze and sneeze and sneeze–so much so that I began to feel as though I could have been the sternutator. When I ventured to ask, he smiled, asked for a Kleenex, and promptly left. Maybe I was the culprit? Who knows? 

In today's world, a person who sneezes more than once is generally viewed as a possible communicator of COVID and is therefore treated as a pariah, especially if the person is not wearing a mask. Of course, the person could very well have the disease, but we shouldn't feel as though every sneeze heard is a direct relative of COVID; but still, we should keep six feet away just in case and shout "God bless you" or "Gesundheit," just to make the outlier feel better. Let's remember our manners. 

:) Happy Hump Day!

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The Daily Word for August 17, 2021

 

mouse potato - noun - a person who spends large amounts of leisure time on the computer

Mouse potato is yet another contemporary kenning, a compound construction that is a metaphor. Old English bards invented kennings so that their audiences could better visualize their oral narratives. Today, we are dependent on what we can see as technology in the way of smart phones and computers dominate our waking hours. Theoretically, we don't need kennings because little is left up to the imagination, thanks to our inventions. Yet every once in a while, we have to depend on words– the more colorful the better–in order to describe the who, what, where, when and why in conversations with others. Which is where kennings like mouse potato come in handy. 

I am certain we all know myriad mouse potatoes, people who cannot steer clear of either small screens or larger ones. All is not lost as those completely addicted can even seek rehabilitation. Yes, there are places we can ferret out at a sumptuous cost that will help us overcome our over reliance on cell phones and laptops. To me, a person of common sense, this sounds a bit absurd. To curtail this addiction, all we have to do is lock up the devices and throw away the key. But we are not motivated to do so. Ergo, most of us assume the role of mouse potato gladly since our peers are also mice potatoes. In this contemporary age, peer pressure is no longer confined to adolescence. 

Is there a solution in sight? A trap to catch all rampant mouse potatoes and rehabilitate them? Probably not. The contemporary world has forced many of us to be mouse potatoes in order to make a decent living. It is a twenty-first century thing. Just as the storytellers of Beowulf's time were addicted to kennings, we are addicted to technology and all that is associated with it. It is simply a sign of the times. 

On this Tuesday, see if you can cut down on usage. (You know what I mean.)

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The Daily Word for August 16, 2021

 

chad - noun - a piece of waste paper produced by punching a hole (Lexico.com)

After seeing this word this morning, I am now totally convinced that there is a term for everything in the English language. And if it wasn't for blogs like this one, we'd probably never know that there is. The question is do we really need a word for a piece of waste paper produced by punching a hole? And do we even use hole punchers any more? 

Believe it or not, about two years ago, I once did and practically on a daily basis. As an organized, fastidious educator, I kept binders of hard copies, worksheets, mainly, thinking that one day a meteor would hit, and we would lose access to everything on our laptops. In the bottom drawer of my desk, I kept a sophisticated tool: a black metal hole puncher that looked more like a paper shredder than a hole puncher. It had the ability to make three holes in perfect alignment so that the any piece of 8 X 11 computer paper could easily slip into a binder. The problem was that it created three times as many chads than a regular dollar-store, single hole puncher. Sometimes, the underside catch-all would drop out and litter the floor with perfectly round confetti in the thousands, which was always a pain to clean up. And I wasn't the kind of teacher who insisted that one of my students do the dirty work. I picked up each chad on my own like a good, selfless philanthropist would under the same circumstances. 

Due to the insistence of technological progress, I'm sure "chad"and terms like it will become archaic soon. Not that anyone really cares or notices. 

Just thought I'd have a bit of trivial fun on a gray Monday.

Enjoy your day. 

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The Daily Word for August 15, 2021

 

luculent - adjective - clear in thought or expression (merriam-webster.com)

Every once in a while I walk into a situation wherein I have the pleasure of listening to more than one truly luculent individual. Unfortunately, when that happens, most of the time I'm at someone's funeral. Yesterday's memorial service for the former boss of a Platonic Anonymous's member featured a secession of articulate eulogies–all very luculent–from relatives and friends of the deceased who had passed last year from COVID at 78. It was the second COVID-related funereal gathering of the summer for me, sadly. 

However, on the positive side, this second one was more of a celebration of life than the first, and the luculent eulogizers made sure to stress the valuable contributions that the "legendary," "real character," entrepreneur, father, grandfather, friend made to life albeit no one mentioned his early mob ties, naturally. That tidbit of his past he entrusted with my friend, me and maybe a small handful of others to keep secret. In Jersey, for an Italian man, a former marriage to the mafia is not unusual. In the fifties and early sixties, a partnership with the Godfather was the easiest way to make money.  Luckily, our friend had divorced his unlawful associates and then started a legitimate business before getting too involved with the real life equivalent of the Corleone family. 

I know what you are thinking: everyone in Jersey is a stereotype. Not true. A large percentage of us look nothing like "The Housewives (and husbands) of New Jersey" and sound nothing like them as well. In fact, most of my peers are quite cosmopolitan and quite luculent when it comes to expressing their thoughts and feelings in words. Good to know. Right? 

Enjoy your Sunday wherever you are. Always try to be luculent so that your listeners know exactly what you want them to know. 

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The Daily Word for August 14, 2021

 

soul case - noun - (N. American/W. Indian) - the human body (Lexico.com)

I've always been attracted to any word related to the soul, words such as soulmate, soul-like, oversoul. Yet this term, soul case, is new to me. After today, I'll most probably remember it because it is a kenning (think Old English or Beowulf  here), a compound term with a metaphorical meaning. Simply put, the body exists to house or encase the soul, the better part of the human being. Soul case is a metaphor for the body.

Yesterday morning, I had the pleasure of spending time with a friend whom I consider to be a pure soul. The look of her soul case isn't bad either, but that is besides the point. When it comes to souls, some people have a hard time distinguishing between the pure and the impure, but I can't say I've ever had that problem. I just rely on my intuition to make my decisions for me. Over omelets Florentine at the local diner, she and I discussed the idea of the spirit, or soul, in depth, each of us pointing to the other as being a refined or model soul. I was glad to know that she perceived me in this light as we all have the tendency not to see ourselves with 20/20 vision. The feeling was mutual. We both agreed that too many people today tend to be caught up in the material world or just soul cases as opposed to souls. And that, we hope, will change. 

The takeaway here is that perhaps we should all judge each other based on the content of the soul's character and not the soul case because what is beyond the surface is what truly matters. 

Happy Saturday!

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The Daily Word for August 13, 2021

 

wish book - noun - (N. American, informal) - a mail-order catalogue (Lexico.com)

Here's a term I haven't heard in a long, long time: wish book. For me, it immediately conjures up memories of moments B.I., a.k.a., "before the Internet." What seems like eons ago, there used to be the Sears and Roebuck catalogue, certainly one of the original wish books. As thick as a Webster's dictionary (if you can still picture one), the S&R wish book contained a seemingly infinite amount of glossy, color photographs of everything from the latest Barbie dolls to Craftsman (their brand) lawn mowers. As a child, it was a kind of one-dimensional wonderland of material delights, hoping to spring to life in 3D. If your parents were well off, they made your S&R wish book dreams come true around Christmas via Santa or Hanukkah via Hana, the fairy. If your parents weren't, at least you had the catalogue to stimulate reveries that kept you busy for hours. Don't misunderstand me. There are still catalogues out there, just not the true-blue wish books.

Although I know a serious amount of trees are being saved as a result of the elimination of wish books, I miss them. (I also miss going to Sears, but that's another topic for discussion.) One catalogue, a thin one, I used to get in the mail but don't any longer is out of Sundance, Redford's invention, a general store and resort out in Utah. The actual store used to carry my children's book, Torey the Turkey Goes Skiing. After it sold out in record time, the buyer flatly refused to reorder. Unfathomable, but I digress. Sundance's catalogue still features clothing and handiwork indicative of the Southwest. As I once flipped through the pages of earthy models wearing new denim and peasant blouses, spinning around like The Sound of Music's Maria (Julie Andrews) in verdant fields surrounded by snowcapped mountains, I was able to escape to a different milieu within seconds. I bought the products to make the sensation of being there even more real. Obviously, whatever the catalogue's creators had in mind worked on me and thousands of others since the establishment is still in business.

All things considered, the wish book has not disappeared entirely. There is the laptop or PC. Neither is the same, but it'll have to do. Enough is presented visually on-line to influence the mind to dream. As Billy Joel would croon, "It's just a fantasy; it's not the real thing. But sometimes a fantasy is all you need." 

Enjoy whatever form of the wish book you are perusing on this Friday, the 13th! (Be careful out there.)

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The Daily Word for August 12, 2021

 

groak - verb - to stare at someone eating in the hope he or she will invite you over to share

I just got off the phone with a close male friend of mine, whom I have known for fifty years–no exaggeration. No, he isn't an ex-husband, but a member in good standing of Platonic Anonymous. If you are reading this blog for the first time, P.A., not to be confused with A.A. or N.A. or any other combination of A's, is my club of men friends. (I am the only female member.) In any case, he and I were confabulating about words, mainly our mutual fascination with them, and he casually mentioned groak, which should not be confused with croak as there is no relation at all albeit the rhyming aspect. It's okay. I told him I would include an allusion to him in this entry. When I asked him if he had ever been accused of being a groaker, he laughed and said that women have often misinterpreted his quixotic gaze for groaking. ("I was trying to be Cuomo." He, he, he. Obviously, he was kidding, extending the joke with "I am a rehabilitated groaker." Since he made the remark, I am not sure if he has considered the notion that he would have had to be a groaker in order to be a rehab graduate.) In any case, words like groak can certainly provoke some chuckles simply because they don't sound serious. 

I know what you are thinking, though. Have I ever groaked? I want to say yes. In 1976, I was on a concert tour in Communist Poland. Owing to the political situation, food was scarce. Being that we were mainly a bunch of displaced American high school students, our food was scarce and unsavory. On one occasion, we happened to be walking through the restaurant of a government-owned hotel, and I recall groaking at some of the patrons consuming substantial amounts of borsch and perogies, but just until we were seated and served ourselves. The edibles turned out to be inedible, so I had groaked needlessly. Oh, well. It happens sometimes. Unnecessary groaking.

I hope that no one reading this blog has ever been hungry enough to groak earnestly. Although the word may appear funny, it points to something that isn't. The motivation of a serious groaker is no laughing matter. And if you find one, you might consider asking him or her to join you at your table so that you can satiate his or her hunger at least tentatively. 

May you always have enough to eat no matter what.

Enjoy your Thursday! 

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The Daily Word for August 11, 2021

 

woopie - (acronym: well-off older person) - a rich retired person able to pursue a life of choice (Lexico.com)

Back when I was a struggling yuppie (also an acronym) in the early '80s, trying to make ends meet, living off fifty dollars of spending money a week in New York City, I aspired to be a woopie. Of course then, there was no such term. I have no idea who coined it. Nor do I know when it was invented. Although I am not a big fan of neologisms (check out the entry for August 5th), a catchy acronym can creep up on me and stick around for a while. After forty years of slaving away at a thankless-for-the-most-part job– teaching secondary English–I am more than glad to boast that I graduated into being a full-fledged woopie in the nick of time just before the pandemic. WHOOPEE! 

What I like most about being a woopie is not that I can do just about anything I've always wanted to do but that I can now motivate millennials I know (especially my daughter) just by being a good example, meaning that I stress the four decades of overcoming challenges before bragging about the payoff. Millennials tend to have a tough time soaking up the idea of a firm work ethic. The concept of hard work ever paying off in spades is unfathomable to them. The concept of hard work, period, is unfathomable to them. Still, they can't refute indisputable evidence: me. Ergo, so far, my strategy is working. When I taught, I tended to use a similar tactic, and I am now noticing on Linked-In that some of my former students are doing quite well professionally. I couldn't be happier as they will someday segue from  yuppiedom to woopiedom. WHOOPEE! 

Hope this Wednesday finds you in a WHOOPEE state of mind. Remember this equation: Persistent hard work over time = success.

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The Daily Word for August 10, 2021

 

erubescent - adj. - reddening, blushing (Lexico.com)

Erubescent is one of a few words that possess the suffix, escent. Like fluorescent and phosphorescent, erubescent relates to a visual sensation. I was just thinking that I haven't seen anyone blush recently, perhaps because masks protecting us from COVID have covered complexions. Usually, we blush out of embarrassment. Brides blush out of virginal innocence. They used to anyway. No one is that innocent anymore, and few of a certain age are virgins. But I digress. 

Masks aside, if we white folks stay out in the sun too long, we'll wind up looking erubescent. If we happen to suffer from rosacea, we are erubescent. If we laugh too hard at a joke, we take on an erubescent glow. If we drink too much, we become erubescent over time. But why are so few erubescent out of embarrassment these days? Is it because we have transitioned somehow into toughness? Maybe. Since just about everything short of murder has been deemed acceptable these days, it is not surprising that we are no longer surprised. Our facial coloration and expressions remain unchanged in the face of societal aberrations.

Although we may not have noticed, there is a lot going on that falls under the nomenclature of things that have changed. Change can be positive or negative depending on our perspective. Maybe it is a good thing that we don't blush easily. Maybe not. 

Enjoy your Tuesday. 

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The Daily Word for August 9, 2021

 

gee-gee - noun - British informal - a horse (Lexico.com)

Once again, I am borrowing Lexico's "Word of the Day" to make a point: Be careful of what abbreviations or nicknames you go with these days as you never know what they might remind people of or even mean in another part of the world. As mentioned in yesterday's post, the Brits like slang. Informal English usually doesn't bother me at all, but it depends on the word and its meaning, though. The English can do what they like since they are responsible for the language we Americans speak although we tend to take advantage just to make it our own, particularly when it comes down to pronunciation. Admittedly, before today, I had never seen or heard "gee-gee" used in any context. I'm glad I found it as I've gotten dangerously close to using it as a shortened form of my own name. I have nothing against horses, but to refer to myself as one might have been an insult to them as well as to me. 

My name, Gwyn, Welsh for blessed, is constantly misspelled and mispronounced as Gwen, the more common form, in the United States. The Brits have no problem with it. (Maybe I should move there.) Because I own such a difficult name, I have explored a range of nicknames as possible alternatives. My sister and some of her friends call me "Quimp" or "Quimpie, " which is a hybrid term, a combination of "Quimble" and "Shrimp," two somewhat derogatory monikers she assigned to me as a pre-adolescent. My father called me "Pinkie," which wasn't much better. And "Q," which my nephews invented, is too close to Q-anon for comfort. God forbid someone should mistake me for that individual. Sometimes I call myself "Gee" for G., but after today, I think I'll refrain from getting too close to horse country. Now I could just change my name to Gwen to make life a lot easier, but I have an aversion to anything common or easy. I do not perceive of myself as either. If you met me, you'd agree. 

So, I'm stuck with my name. Apparently, very few people genuinely like their names, but are too ensconced in them to consider change. Who likes change? Very few. 

If you are in the aforementioned category and really despise your label, you have my deepest empathy. Just remember Shakespeare's line from Romeo and Juliet: "A rose by any other name would smell as sweet." Even if you were to alter your name, you would still be wonderful you. 

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The Daily Word for August 8, 2021

 

wowser - noun - (Australian) - a puritanical, prudish person or killjoy

As you already know, the English language is spoken throughout the world. As the United States has such a particularly loud voice no matter what the forum, many speakers of other languages have heard it. Desiring to echo its strength or merely to understand it, many systems have instituted educational requirements to include it in curricula as a second language. The non-indigent Australians, however, have always spoken English as originally Australia was a penal colony of Great Britain, the founders of modern English. Whether or not the reason relates to their former status, Australians have always had a sense of humor unlike some of their British relations although the Brits tend to have more documented and used swear words than any other people, which does say a lot. The Aussies embrace words like today's wowser to express themselves effectively with a comedic sense, something indisputably admirable.

Surely, you know at least one wowser, a person that would rather complain about selfish concerns rather than kick up his or her heels and enjoy surrounding circumstances. At every party, there is at least one who pours a glass of ice water over the embers of carefree laughter by being negative. Fortunately, though, it is possible to redirect some wowsers so that they drink the ice water rather than use it as a tool to douse the delights of others. 

Case in point: last night, I attended the annual gathering of two bachelor brothers, friends of mine for forty years and members of Platonic Anonymous. Neither has ever been married. One of our mutual female friends, who has also never taken the vows of matrimony, attempted to cast a pall over the sunshine in order to communicate her fears regarding the state of the Union at present. As I got the impression that the topic was inappropriate given the purpose of the party (to drink and be merry), I removed the shroud verbally, choosing to broach another more appropriate topic: the host's talent for making Italian sausages. I think she got the message. 

Wowsers are never the life of any party. Due to circumstances beyond your control, you may be transitioning into a killjoy. If so, stop yourself immediately, and resort to watching swaths of your favorite comedian's routines on YouTube to inspire you to sit back and laugh off whatever is plaguing you. The times are tough. We all need to wear humor as though it is a uniform.

Enjoy your Sunday!

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The Daily Word for August 5, 2021

 

bouncebackability - noun - the capacity to recover from a setback (Lexico.com)

In case you haven't noticed, I tend to mine Lexico.com for "Weird and Wonderful Words." At the top right of the website, there is usually a word of the day. Today's is "bouncebackability." I decided to hijack it because it stands as an appropriate symbol of the times: what has been referred to as "dumbing down," a similar term used to describe mitigation, going from the complex to the easy. The term is not a word that you or I or anybody will find in Webster's, not the edition you or I or anybody has in back of the rarely watched DVDs on that basement shelf next to the TV set from 1990. "Bouncebackability" is a neologism or made-up word. Whoever coined the term obviously doesn't have much of a vocabulary, not reflective of English anyway. "Resilient" would be the legit synonym here. But I suppose it would be too hard to recall if pressed. And it would take too long to look it up on your iPhone if you are in a bind. 

With the aforementioned in mind, since our technological wonders are in the process of replacing our brain capacity, I am not surprised that these tell-it-like-it-is terms are replacing the gorgeous, polysyllabic lexicon we used to be responsible for knowing in order to score well on the SAT. (As far as I know, vocabulary is not tested separately on the Scholastic Aptitude Test anymore, which definitely is telling.) If we don't step up to the plate and use our minds, pretty soon the entire dictionary will be filled with hybrid words like bouncebackability. Picture this: rather than saying "I'm perturbed," you will soon be whining, "I'm wannapunchyouintheface-ish today." And won't that be economic. 

Sarcastic and cynical? You think so? Well, maybe. But my point of view is looking more and more realistic everyday. 

Happy Thursday! 

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The Daily Word for August 4, 2021

 

concinnity - noun - elegance or neatness of literary or artistic style (Lexico.com)

Let's face it. Yup, let's get close and personal for a moment. The word elegance and everything remotely related to it have become archaic along with the likes of fedoras, tuxes with cummerbunds for men, and hoop skirts, beaded gowns, and pearls for women. Unfortunately, superficial smoothness is out of style. B

However, that is not necessarily true when it comes to "neatness of literary" style or concinnity. Although I am not a book critic and never want to be, I'm going to have to praise neophyte author Brit Bennett for her concinnity in The Vanishing Half. All I have to say is that she must have read Toni Morrison's classics over and over until she was blue in the face. If not, perhaps Morrison's adept concinnity migrated into the depths of young Bennett's being via osmosis as it was once believed that if you slept with the right book under your pillow, you'd wake up equally as talented at writing as the author of choice. Did Bennett do this? I have no idea. While reading TVH, it is also possible to pick up on a bit of Colin Whitehead's voice as well. Maybe she rested her head on top of one of his books, too? If she double-dipped in this department, she must not have gotten a lot of sleep growing up since even the thickest, $425 pillow by Hotel Collection can't eliminate the sharp corners and bumps of hardcover books. But they could've been paperbacks, in which case my theory has just been debunked. 

Now admittedly as a snobbish, fastidious bibliophile, I would rather pick up one of Richard Wright's or James Baldwin's masterpieces, but since they and their concinnity are no longer around to contribute to the current market, Brit Bennett will do just fine. Call up your local library and reserve a copy today as the waiting list is long. 

The takeaway? It is comforting to know that concinnity hasn't gone the way of the aforementioned clothing or even the Oldsmobile. 

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The Daily Word for August 3, 2021

 

zetetic - adjective - proceeding by inquiry or investigation (Lexico.com)

Here's a rare one for you, and it begins with a z, too. You probably don't have too many go-to words beginning with that letter. Neither do I. I chose this little ditty because this morning I was awoken by the strident sounds of large trucks. It was the audio equivalent of waking up alongside an interstate highway sans the swoosh of forward movement. Needless to say, I wasn't happy about it. 

One of the houses across the street was recently sold for 600K and marked for removal. In the soon-to-be present, a sweet, 1940s Cape Cod will be crushed to pieces, its ashen remains carted away to prepare for its successor, a million-dollar McMansion with no real personality and chatty children and their clueless parents as inhabitants. Such is the way of the New York City suburbs these days. 

To continue, I stood poised in my bedroom window awaiting the first crushing blow to the roof that I was thinking of filming for TikTok as a subtle political statement. I can't think of what that could be right now, and it doesn't matter because I have no video to post. A local police officer put a stop to progress by asking for the necessary papers that the demolition crew couldn't produce. The whole zetetic process took a few minutes although the crew had been loitering, frozen in front of the house for two hours, most likely waiting for the cop. So much for that. Who knows when the poor overgrown house that looks like Bo Radley's will be put out of its misery? I hope soon. 

The takeaway? Anything zetetic in nature will most likely take time and will inhibit a degree of forward movement. It is what it is. At least we got a new word out of the deal. 

Happy Tuesday! 

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The Daily Word for August 2, 2021

 

zoolatry - noun - the worship of animals (Lexico.com)

I have a few friends that practice zoolatry. You probably know a few yourself. I call them "animal people," folks that care more for critters than clans of human beings, or individuals for that matter. Of the animal worshippers, some prefer dogs over cats for companions. Some prefer cats over dogs. Others need both around them 24-7. I have one friend, the husband of a close gal pal of mine and the curator of a top zoo, has a doctorate in zoology, is known internationally for zoolatry and even has his own reality TV series. Clearly, his life revolves around creatures. 

For the most part, I have nothing against zoolatry as I am fond of animals myself and have had many pets throughout my life. However, there are extremists out there from whom you may wish to keep an arm's distance, especially romantically. Take one of my ex-beaus, for instance. He is a cat man, but no ordinary one as he takes zoolatry to a whole new level. His cat, a female that he had rescued from a dumpster years ago, transmogrified into his "daughter." As he never had children of his own, the cat became the substitute. One of the reasons why I broke things off with him ultimately was because he loved the cat more than he loved me–an obvious deal breaker. 

Now I can understand why there are persons that get caught up in zoolatry as there are pets out there that are more intelligent or likable or intuitive than most humans. I owned two dogs myself that were more emotionally invested in me than their co-owner, my ex-husband. But we have to keep a proper perspective. People need us more than most animals that could survive pretty well without us as they once had thousands of years ago before domestication. 

Words for the wise: love your mate, your children more than your dog or cat. Even if you claim you do, show your people that you do because after all, love is an action. 

Happy First Monday in August!

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