I like words. I like words with v's in them. Words like savvy, vanquished, and avast. I like words with q's in them. Words like equivoque, quandary, and querulous. I like words in general.
I also like lists. I have lots of lists. Lists of favorite authors, favorite books, favorite movies, least favorite foods, items for my hope chest, what I would need to pack if I were to need to flee into Canada...you know, boring everyday stuff like that.
My favorite lists are my word lists. I have collected some really interesting words over the years. Some are fun to say, some have oddly specific meanings, and some sound just like what they are describing.
So here's a list of five unusual words that I like very much. (I take the definitions from the Webster's New Standard Dictionary and Atlas: Self Pronouncing, by Joseph Devlin. This is a wonderful dictionary, and best of all it is mine. I got it from a used book sale hosted by a local church and it was free. Its cover is falling off, but that matters not a whit. Dictionaries ought to be so well used that their covers are all ragged and falling to pieces.)
1. Triblet - Noun. A hollow spindle for making rings, nuts, and the like.
2. Defenestration - Noun. A throwing out of a window.
3. Escalade - Noun. The act of scaling the walls of a fortified place by means of ladders.
4. Scilicet - Adverb. That is to say; namely.
5. Xylophagous - Adjective. Feeding on wood; denoting the boring, destroying, or eating of wood; applied to certain crustaceans, mollusks and larvae.
That last word carried me to victory in the word game Probe. None of my cousins could guess it. Even my Excellent Mother was stumped. So keep it in mind folks, you never knew when a weird word will come to your aid.
Now, if you are the writing type, I will challenge you to write a short story (or article, or essay, or even a novel, if you are so inclined) using all five of these words. I don't imagine it will be easy, they don't connect very well, but I'm sure it can be done. If you do take this challenge, let me know about it or link it in the comments.
~Lissy
Monday, November 14, 2016
Sunday, November 6, 2016
A Few Thoughts About Autumn
Hi Folks,
The last two months were quite hectic, and I have several posts planned out, but my wifi is a bit sketchy, and I haven't had access to a computer, so those will have to wait, alas. However, it's been an age since I've posted anything, and I didn't want to neglect this blog any longer than I already had. This post won't have any nice pictures, but hopefully my next one will.
Now, some thoughts on Autumn, or as we in the states call it, fall. (Which isn't as nice, but it's short and to the point.)
I lived most of my life in a semi-arid climate. The town I lived in was one of the sunniest in America. I enjoyed it, and the place I grew up in is still very near and dear to my heart, but I was missing something.
This year I experienced my first real Autumn. It was AMAZING! Living in that semi-arid climate, there weren't that many trees. Moving east this year I am now surrounded by trees--they're everywhere!
It gets to the point where I'm claustrophobic. I liked the open plains, stretching out far and wide. I could see everything, I had plenty of space. Off in the distance the mountains rose up on three sides, and I always thought they were like a pair of arms encircling me. I could see all the way to the horizon, and at night the sky looked like a dome, spangled with stars.
My protective mountains are gone. Everything's flat. Even the sky is flat. You can't see to the horizon, there are too many tees. There are bright lights, and I can't see the stars. The trees surround me, a barrier that holds me in. I don't like the trees very well.
Or at least I didn't until now. At first they bothered me, but I'm getting more used to them by the day. They're still unsettling, and I hate the cold feeling I get in my gut when I look out a window and my mountains are gone, but the trees changed. It started in September. They started turning just the slightest bit gold, and then suddenly everything was a burst of color! Reds, oranges, yellows, even purple here and there!
The leaves are everywhere, and the ground is covered with gold. Near our church the bushes have turned the most beautiful shade of red I have ever seen.
These aren't the greatest pictures, and I wish I had more, but these are all I've got at the moment. Maybe I'll take some more during the next few days and show off how pretty fall is. Or maybe you already know, but I'll show 'em anyway, because it's all new and exciting to me. :)
Maybe the trees aren't so bad. I might like it here after all.
The last two months were quite hectic, and I have several posts planned out, but my wifi is a bit sketchy, and I haven't had access to a computer, so those will have to wait, alas. However, it's been an age since I've posted anything, and I didn't want to neglect this blog any longer than I already had. This post won't have any nice pictures, but hopefully my next one will.
Now, some thoughts on Autumn, or as we in the states call it, fall. (Which isn't as nice, but it's short and to the point.)
I lived most of my life in a semi-arid climate. The town I lived in was one of the sunniest in America. I enjoyed it, and the place I grew up in is still very near and dear to my heart, but I was missing something.
This year I experienced my first real Autumn. It was AMAZING! Living in that semi-arid climate, there weren't that many trees. Moving east this year I am now surrounded by trees--they're everywhere!
It gets to the point where I'm claustrophobic. I liked the open plains, stretching out far and wide. I could see everything, I had plenty of space. Off in the distance the mountains rose up on three sides, and I always thought they were like a pair of arms encircling me. I could see all the way to the horizon, and at night the sky looked like a dome, spangled with stars.
My protective mountains are gone. Everything's flat. Even the sky is flat. You can't see to the horizon, there are too many tees. There are bright lights, and I can't see the stars. The trees surround me, a barrier that holds me in. I don't like the trees very well.
Or at least I didn't until now. At first they bothered me, but I'm getting more used to them by the day. They're still unsettling, and I hate the cold feeling I get in my gut when I look out a window and my mountains are gone, but the trees changed. It started in September. They started turning just the slightest bit gold, and then suddenly everything was a burst of color! Reds, oranges, yellows, even purple here and there!
The leaves are everywhere, and the ground is covered with gold. Near our church the bushes have turned the most beautiful shade of red I have ever seen.
These aren't the greatest pictures, and I wish I had more, but these are all I've got at the moment. Maybe I'll take some more during the next few days and show off how pretty fall is. Or maybe you already know, but I'll show 'em anyway, because it's all new and exciting to me. :)
Maybe the trees aren't so bad. I might like it here after all.
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