Word of the Week

I confess, I was feverishly seeking out a word of the week with a more autumnal meaning, but apparently there are very few synonyms for autumn.  You have fall, harvest, equinox...and not much else.  Oh well, so much for an inspiring vocabulary this fall.  I guess we'll have to adapt our weekly word to fit into our harvestly mold.  This week's word is:

dapple: n. a spot or mottled marking, usually occurring in clusters.

One can also use the verb form of the word, meaning 'to mark or become marked with spots.'  If any of us ever contract the chicken pox, I'll make sure to use the verb form.

On to today's sentences.

The air was dappled with color as the nippy wind blew up through the large, leafy tree.   (This has been happening all week.  We've enjoyed watching the leaves fly through the air during school time every day!)

Cynthia woke, stretched, then stared in horror as she spotted the fresh dapple of acne, prominently adorning her nose.  (Alas, poor Cynthia will spend the next hour of her existence trying to camoflauge the dapple, which will only irritate both her skin and her siblings, who also need the bathroom.  Thank goodness we're not at that stage of parenting yet!)

Add your dappled sentence to the mix!

Word of the Week: It has returned

Well, it may be more realistic of me to create a word of the month section, but I'll give a weekly post a go.  While recently rereading some of my previous postings, I remembered how incredibly fun it was to do the word of the week, as well as how useful it was.  In fact, it was just the other day that Andy asked me to elaborate on the word schadenfreude.

The word of this week is 

crepuscule:  [kri-PUHS-kyool] n. twilight, dusk.

Gaze with me through the crepuscule at Mount Vesuvius.  This painting is by Abraham Pether.  It's called, A View Of Mount Vesuvius Erupting.  It would have gotten your attention more if crepuscule were included in the title, but after all, Pether was a painter, not a grammarian.

This strikes me as a very fitting addition for this autumnal week.  Besides, who isn't excited by a word that has a guttural burst of <<PUHS!>> in its midsection?

Okay, enough with the abdominal puns.  I promise to move on.

There actually is another pronunciation, but it isn't nearly as fun.  Perhaps the other pronunciation would sound a little less scabby, but nevertheless...

Here we go for the sentences.  Have I mentioned that my kids look forward to my sentences with each new spelling list?  That's why I can no longer deprive my loyal audience.  Stop laughing, both of you.

She peered into the crepuscule, hoping to see the silhouette of her beloved's car humming into the drive.   (Yes, many days this is quite true, and on a particularly harsh day at home with the children could possibly involve a slight twitch and strange look about the eyes.)

The crepuscule greeted them briskly, as they closed the door on the poor teenage babysitter's silent screams.  (This one doesn't usually happen actually.  The screams are usually excited child screams whenever we leave.  Little do they know, we are more excited than they are.)

Word of the Week

As many of you know, I've been rereading the Anne of Green Gables series of books, which by the way, are far superior to the movies.  I like the first two, they're close to the first two books, but the third movie totally veers off the deep end!  No, Anne doesn't really become a war-time drama queen, she marries Gilbert and becomes the happy mother of six children.  That's one of the reasons I like it!

Lame, lame, bad, lame....

Phew...now that I've gotten my personal rant out, we'll proceed with the Anne-inspired word of the week...

hubbub: n. a loud, confused noise, as of many voices.


Aahh!  I totally get this one...


When she walked in the front door, Hannah faced the usual hubbub and pandemonium without the blink of an eye.  (Welcome home, Mom!)


The birthday party was in full swing; the giggly hubbub of five silly girls playing permeated the entirety of the house. 


Selena sighed, for it was August, and soon the hubbub of college football would be a constant companion every Saturday night.  (Then she would learn how to blog, and the season would fly by in a rush...apparently Selena needed to also find a hobby!)


What are your sentences this week?  Or dare I ask your opinion on the Anne movies? 

Word of the Week

Yes, now I am again on a roll with the Word of the Week thing.  Like I said, all I needed was a quick burst of writing enthusiasm!  Am I the only blogger who writes this way?

All blogging questions aside, we have a new word for your mastery and use this week.  As always, try to work it into your week!

Octogenarian:  of the age of 80 years; between 80 and 90 years old.


Phew!  Aren't you glad it applies to the whole decade?  Can you imagine the difficulty trying to be accurate with this word if it only applied to someone who was exactly 80?  Well, I guess you can always fall back on sarcasm and word color to get your usage in...not that I advocate that...


Here are my sample sentences for the week!


The child gave her great grandma a hug and said her birthday wishes thus, "Hooray, Grandma!  Now you're an octogenarian just like Grandpa!"  (I'm going to start training my little ones soon so they'll be ready when the year comes!  There's nothing like teaching your four year old six syllable words to impress for a birthday.)




The unflattering shape of the empire dress, combined with the horrifying pea-green polyester print, made Marcia feel as though she were wearing a octogenarian maternity fashion. (EEK!  Bad visuals!)


How about you?  Got a sentence today?

Word of the Week

Well, after a very unintentional absence, the word of the week is back.  Please, dry your tears.  I've had a hard time finding time to do some writing lately...after another few bursts of writing frenzy, we should be back on track for the future.  Until Andy's surgery at the end of the month, that is.  Well, I guess we'll just have to play it by ear.  


So...on to the new word...


co·nun·drum n. a riddle, the answer to which involves a pun or play on words; anything that puzzles.


During this stage of my pregnancy, my brain power is very limited, so I find that I'm very prone to this sort of thing.


Here are a few explanatory sentences using our word:


Her husband had asked for the keys to her car without realizing the horrifying conundrum into which he had put her.


With the beginning of her morning sickness, the simple decision of what to eat for breakfast was now a conundrum which engulfed the lovely mother for nearly an hour every morning.  (also lunch...also dinner...)


Being a girl with a corny sense of humor, Helen giggled as loudly as her children over the cartoon conundrum.


How about you? 

Word of the Week

Okay, I have to disclose where I got this word of the week.  You girls will think it's lovely, you boys will probably roll your eyes and stop reading this post immediately.  I heard this word first while watching Wives and Daughters.


<<sigh>>


(insert girlie oohs and aahs here).


Yes, I heard this first when the new Mrs. Gibson yells at Cynthia that she has gotten them all involved in an imbroglio, and "now I am being blamed for your misconduct!!!!"


Naturally Mrs. Gibson wouldn't think of causing an imbroglio with any of her actions.  


That was sarcastic.  If you didn't know that, you need to see the miniseries and read the book...they're fantastic.  Here's a spoiler for you...the nice girl wins!


So anyway...back to academic pursuits...




imbroglio: [im-brohl-yoh]  n. an intricate and perplexing state of affairs; a complicated or difficult situation; a confused heap.


Boy, the day I find a vocabulary word that doesn't  have confusion in the definition somewhere is the day I give up chocolate.  (Not really, just being dramatic.)


Here are my sentences:


Arthur quickly typed the address to Crazy Creative Magazine into his search engine, then waited nervously while it loaded; he needed to read the Editor's latest chocolate post before his Mom caught him in what would be a very unmanly type of imbroglio.


Editor's Note:  Little did Arthur know that his Mom would have respected him even more for his incredibly intelligent choice of reading material.  The magazine holds no gender bias...even if you are a zarf.




A sudden imbroglio occurred when the children busted into the living room during naptime and spotted their Mom, not cleaning, but eating bon-bons and watching BBC movies!  (Horrors!)


It was Monday morning, and the acute mother mentally braced herself for the wild imbroglio that awaited her in every room of the house.  It took nerves of steel to emerge from the warm cocoon that was her bed. (And again...personal experience is my inspiration.)
  
Add your sentence in!

Word of the Week, Man Phrase Edition 3

I have to say, I'm a lot more comfortable using man phrases since I began chronicling their meanings in my word of the week category.  One of the reasons I have avoided using man terms is because I've been unsure what boundaries they require.  When is it appropriate to say boo-yah!, for instance?

Here is another man term that has had me scratching my head for a little bit.

a hot mess


Okay...just so you know...this has nothing to do with temperature.  Here's the definition that I have concluded from contextual usage...

hot mess: n. a confused situation, something that is abnormally cluttered, a person who is overwhelmed by emotion.


Isn't it efficient of men to use one term for so many meanings?  We women would probably have seventeen separate terms for these definitions!

Here are my sample sentences:

The young girl's not-so-subtle evasion tactics led the Mom to assume the room was, as she suspected, a hot mess. (Again, an instance taken from real life).


The perfect storm of chocolate abstinence, lack of sleep, and football viewing caused the young mother's emotions to erupt until her entire family saw that she was indeed a hot mess.


The woeful mismanagement of Mr. Ling caused Randy and his unfortunate coworkers to scratch their heads in wonder at the hot mess the company had become.  (This too has been taken from real life, but the names have been changed to protect the innocent...and the guilty!)

Word of the Week

Here's an interesting word suggested by my little brother.  By the way, once you're a little brother, you're always a little brother...no matter how many doctorates you collect.  So there!

I like his style...being a polack as well, the verb form of this word can come in handy for every day life.


tump: v. to bump or knock (usually with over)


               n. a small mound; a clump of trees, shrubs, or grass.


How the word has such very different meanings, I have no idea.  Does that stop us from using it?  Not one bit.  Let's try this out in every day life...

The tired toddler followed her mother moaning for a full fifty minutes during the dinner preparation, despite the mother's unfortunate habit of tumping into her every couple of steps.

(In case you were wondering, yes, this did happen to me last night...)

The dinner party was ruined when the zarf-like guest tumped the punch pitcher over onto the leg of lamb.  His rival watched the public example of clumsiness with schadenfreude. 


 (Yes!  Extra points for me for using three vocabulary words in the same...uh...two sentences.  I tried for one but it wasn't meant to be.  That would have been triple points...but who's keeping track anyway?)

The terrific athletic teen trotted to the top of the towering tump before tumbling down, to his trepidation.  


All right, give it a try...alliteration or not, I'll love reading your sample sentences! 

Inflationary Language

I love Victor Borge's humor...this one reminds me of the sad state of our economy.  Try adding (ha ha) this into your everyday conversation!

Word of the Week, Turkey Edition

For those of you trying to remember what it is in turkey that makes you drowsy, the word you're looking for is:

L-tryptophan: noun. an essential amino acid with a documented sleep inducing effect.  (as found in turkey, of course).

Here's an important note.  Don't leave off the 'L-'.  Apparently plain old tryptophan is a non-sleep inducing generic variety of amino acid.  Wouldn't want you sounding like a ning-nong.

So, when your father-in-law falls asleep on your couch after Thanksgiving dinner, you can impress everyone around you by teasing him with the accurate name of the soporific amino acid. :)

Just a head's up...I'll be taking the rest of the week off blogging to spend the holiday week with my wonderful family.  You should be, too, by the way, so get off my blog and go hug your kids or something.  That's right, I'm kicking you out...until Monday.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Word of the Week

Since it's fall, and all the food blogs are starting to hit the soups and stews, I thought I'd share a very multi-purpose word that has some pizzazz.

slumgullion: noun, a stew of meat, vegetables, and potatoes

or

a beverage made weak and thin, such as watery tea or coffee

or

the refuse of processing a whale carcass

or

a reddish mud deposit from mining sluices

Wow!  talk about a word worth learning...four definitions is definitely impressive.  How the etymology got from stew to whale carcass is a mystery, but hey, why not embrace it?   Let's see if you can guess which definition I had in mind for the following sentences:

"Here, dear.  Just a few more swallows of this delicious slumgullion and your throat will feel all better."  (If you guessed the whale carcass one, you're wrong.)

*** Spoiler Alert:  Don't read this sentence if you're reading Moby Dick!

Captain Ahab would have liked to reduce Moby Dick to a festering slumgullion, but alas, it was not to be.  (Yes, whale carcass fans, you've guessed right this time.)

When her husband asked her what was for dinner, the clever wife answered with  her newest vocabulary word, "How does some nice slumgullion sound?"  Needless to say, he was very impressed by her knowledge of both words and cookery.  (It does sound a lot more magnificent than stew, doesn't it?)

Word of the Week

Most people don't realize that when you become a parent, you also become a creator of words.  Nicknames are very common for parents, but occasionally they bridge the gap and adapt themselves for everyday use.  Here's one I made up...a combination of Pookie and Precious..


pookalicious: adj. squishy and cute, babyish, squeazeable.
                               n. baby Allison


Did you know that you can adapt almost any song to use the word/name pookalicious instead of lyrics?  We consider it a challenge here.  Anyway...here are a few sample sentences to try out.

Lucinda teared up as she looked in the mirror; her bulging gut was anything but pookalicious.


"Ah, my Pookalicious, I just have to squeeze you and smooch your fat cheeks all over...(commence smooching...)".


"Did you see baby Titus?  He was absolutely pookalicious!"

Word of the Week

Here's a fun one.  It adds a little gusto to an every day problem for many of us.

Paunch: noun. stomach, pot belly

Where to start, where to start...there are so many pleasant alternatives when you're thinking up sentences about a pot belly...  How about this...

Grandma Jessie was tired of the backhanded insults; when the boy bagging groceries snickered at her bladder leakage supplies, she punched him right in the paunch.


OR...

The speedy toddler stumbled through the room, fat cheeks jiggling with every step, paunch bared to the world, dismantling all sense of order the mother had so strategically worked to achieve.

Word of the Week, Toddler Terms

I'm afraid I'll forget these some day, as they are quickly disappearing from the vocabularies of my five- and four- year olds.  If you're ever around my kids for any length of time, you'll spot a few of these!

mowlawner: lawn mower


rockamole: guacamole


dit dew: Allie baby speak for "love you"


and theng, and theng...: and then (this one can go on forever...until she remembers the next part of the run-on sentence!)


busketti: spaghetti


dinner: Scott speak for every snack and meal


I wanember: I remember


wish-wee: Cara's word for lotion (don't ask why!)


wah-ner: to really imitate Scott, you have to speak kind of nasal, at the top of your lungs.  This means 'water' or any other drink.


Here's something sad already...they've already eliminated a lot of these from their speaking since I first wrote this post.  Sniff, sniff...I should have written more down at the time, but I was probably chasing a child.  Being a mom and blogger isn't for wimps.  In fact, at times it's an aerobic activity.

What are some of your favorite toddler terms?

Word of the Week a la Linda

Here is a word suggestion from my bloggy friend Linda, at Encouragement From the Hill.


  kerfuffle: as a noun...commotion; disorder; agitation
                           as a verb...to put into disorder or disarray; ruffle or disarrange

For some reason, this word reminds me of Anne of Green Gables.  Does Rachel Lynde say this a lot?  Or am I just dreaming?  At any rate, this word should be easy enough for me to use in a sentence, since my life is quite often in a kerfuffle!  Here goes:

Despite their positive affirmations of cleanliness, when the children brought their beaming mother into their room, she was greeted with a large kerfuffle of toys, books, and (most shocking of all) soiled garments from wall to wall. (yes, I am writing from experience...quite consistent experience, actually).

The naughty boy could think of no better vengeance upon the prima donna than to sneak up behind her and kerfuffle her hair and garment immediately before she walked on stage for her solo.


Oooh...I think I like the verb usage best.  I'm going to try to kerfuffle your minds with more random posting tomorrow!

Phonetic Punctuation

This week's installment of Word of the Week is rather a focus on punctuation.  I challenge you to add this in to your day to day speech!  The kids will love it!

By the way, my hubby and I performed this Borge classic together in a singing group for our college before we were married. How sweet!  It was the first and only time he accidentally called me 'big guy'.

Womanly Word of the Week

Did you know that there is a specific word for worshipping your wife?  There is, it's...

gyneolatry: noun; the worship of women.

What smart man would practice this art?  How about these sentences...

The tenderness and heroism of his own mother left Herman with a deep sense of gyneolatry.

OR

Clarise sighed for the olden days of chivalry and gyneolatry; her jockish belcher had none of the finesse and refinement of a Mr. Darcy.

And now the winner...

I did my best to get a-posting early, since I knew you all were logged in early from the excitement.  Please stop jumping up and down or we'll never get this done...  Thank you...

And now, drumroll please...

The winner of the Word of the Week Balderdash challenge is...

The Town Crier!!!!!!!!

Here is the winning submission...

beltroon (n): someone who is a brash, obnoxious, irritating, incessant blabbermouth.

The word "paltroon" (a favorite of C.S. Lewis) means someone who is a coward. Etymology: "to cower." Apparently, "troon" must be the part that refers to the fact that it is a person and "pal" or "paltro" meaning to cower. Origin places this word in use in the 16th century.
If this is the case, then the key to defining this word will be the meaning of "bel" or "bell." It seems obvious that a bell is (esp. in the time period) a large metallic object, usually in the tower of a cathedral which tolls loudly enough for everyone in the town to hear at important times. Thus, the word "bel" must mean something that is loud and "troon"
of course referring to a person.


Now, it is not necessarily implied that being loud is a bad thing. It could mean that someone is merely warning of danger. However, since "troon" is apparently (in other words) used in a derogatory sense, we must assume that "beltroon" is meant to be some sort of slam as well.


So when you put it all together, the word must refer to a person who constantly is speaking loudly enough for everyone to hear, with an obnoxious, irritating tone.


Example sentence: The old men in the barbershop rolled their eyes as they heard Bob, the town beltroon, coming down the sidewalk. They waited with bated breath, hoping the barbershop was not his destination. As Bob entered, each person suddently began finding excuses about some important task that needed immediate attention, leaving the poor barber, and the unfortunate patron whose hair was half-cut at the mercy of Bob's beltroonery.

Congratulations on winning this great honor!

Now a few comments...First of all, thank you for your participation.  It was great fun to see the variety of submissions, and it was really nice not to have to come up with a new identity and submit myself (no, I am not the Town Crier!).

I have to say, my heart was pulled to Tabitha's noun definition, as well:

beltroon-noun: The clear congealed fat that forms on a lamb roast.

Anything involving congealed fat gets your attention right away.  I really laughed on that one, but in the end I was won over by the etymology, and different form 'beltroonery'.  Besides, it's so useable.  I think I'll call someone a beltroon right away!

Thanks again and stay tuned for the next word of the week!

Word of the Week

My friend Jenny suggested I put this twist on the word of the week:  use one of the randomly lettered 'words' from the word verification security tool...you know, the one that pops up when you post a comment...and make up a meaning.  I was really tempted to do the Balderdash thing, and just try to pass it off as one of my regular odd vocabulary words, but I thought it would be even more fun to make a contest of it.

Here is the plan, folks...I'll give you the word, along with a sample definition.  You post your personal definition in the comments.  I'll judge them by Saturday morning and post the winner's name, link (if applicable), and a sample sentence of my own on Saturday morning.  And for the winner, we have the glorious prize of...wait for it...

A Post in Crazy Creative Magazine declaring you're the winner!!!!


Wow.  If that doesn't motivate you, I don't know what would.

Here is the word for the week, now let me know your definitions...

beltroon

Hmmm....

beltroon: noun.  A loud, sudden squeaking sound.


Sample sentences:

Harold's face went white during the pep rally when, as he began to sing the fight song into the microphone, his lovely baritone was shattered by an adolescent beltroon. 


Delilah stepped back to the accompaniment of both a crunch and beltroon; to her horror, her stumble had landed squarely on her poodle, Polly.


Your turn, folks!  Please respond quickly, so I'm not forced to award myself with my own 'you're so clever' spiel or make up some pseudo identities.

Word of the Week

Are you ready for a word that will make you start singing, "Matchmaker, Matchmaker?".  I've got one.  It's the Jewish American word...

Chutzpah:[khoot-spuh or hoot-spuh] noun;

unmitigated effrontery or impudence; gall.

In the interest of full disclosure, I think I need to fess up to mispronouncing this work with the 'ch' sound.  The only problem now, is I can't decide which pronunciation to use!  Maybe I'll vary it up...or break out my inner Yenta and say it with gusto, then spit on the floor.  Okay, enough with the "Fiddler on the Roof" examples.

I have to say, though, I think the best thing about this word is the definition. You could really get your kid's attention by using the phrase 'unmitigated effrontery'.  I have used 'gall' before. Sometimes I have gall...

On to our sentences, so break out your yamakas.

The inexperienced mother was shocked that the small child had the chutzpah to defy her orders and place her besmirched hand on her business suit; in later years, she would come to expect it.

The nurse charged down the hospital corridor like a bull in a rage, burst through the doorway, and shouted out to the disobedient patient, "I can't believe you had the chutzpah to get out of bed after I specifically told you to wait for me!". 

Just in case you were wondering, this last sentence was inspired by my Dad's latest surgery...he's just that kind of impatient patient!