Finality
NukeBoy2 and Phoebe-May 09
The weekend started out good. I accompanied NukeBoy2 to an overnight camp out with his scout den. NukeBoy1 tagged along and we had a great time. It was the first time I had been camping in over 20 years, and a first for the NukeBoys. They loved it. NukeBoy1 and I will be heading to the mountains later this month with his entire scout troop for a 3 night camp out that should make your Irish Spring stock go up. I’m taking an extra bar just to stick in my sleeping bag, that way I can shower while I sweat. We got to christen our new tent and that helped us appreciate the benefits of waterproofing. It sprinkled over night, and the oversight of not venting our tent resulted in a rainstorm inside the tent in the morning. Three human bodies in a closed tent mixed with the rising sun and 60% humidity equals wet walls. We left it up to let it dry out and came back for it later. So did 2 or 3 other “veteran” camping families, so I didn’t feel too bad.
The scouts performed a flag retirement ceremony over the campfire and I was taken by the words that were spoken. Here stood 12 eager 8 and 9 year olds reading the words off of the cards they were holding, each of them clutching a stripe from a flag. As each of the Original 13 states were named, another stripe went on the fire. The scout would salute, then back away to allow the next scout to step forward with his stripe. You can find the script they used here. Towards the bottom there is an Optional Opening that gives a different perspective of the flag and what it means; or, used to mean. It left me feeling a little pensive and lost in thought. Just one day earlier I had recounted a story about one of my favorite teachers who, unbeknownst to me, had passed away last summer, so I guess the feeling of melancholy was to be expected, right?
When we got home Saturday I went and picked up a pallet of sod to repair our backyard. This was pallet number 2. Pallet number one was moved, laid and completed on Thursday; my body barely had time to recover before the second onslaught. I had help on Thursday, but I was solo on Saturday; and boy, did my muscles feel it. While I was laying the sod, I noticed that our 13 year old lab Phoebe was struggling more than usual to get around. Her hips are bad and she had been slowly deteriorating over the last year or so. By late afternoon, she could barely make it up the steps. That night I heard her bark from the den, and when I went out to see what was the matter, I saw her trying to drag herself to the back door. She couldn’t even stand up on her own. I helped her up and she made it outside, but balked at the steps off of the deck. I picked her up and carried her to the grass to do her business, but her hips couldn’t even hold her up to do that. Things didn’t get any better on Sunday, in fact, they got worse, so when I took her to the Vet early Monday morning I was prepared for the worst. Or at least I thought I was. She was obviously in pain and there was nothing they could do for her. NukeMom and I had talked it over the night before, and I told the Vet that we needed to put her down. I sat with her for a while and did my best to make her last moments good ones. The Vet asked me if I wanted to leave the room and I told him no. I owed Phoebe that much. I can honestly say that it was the hardest thing I’ve ever had to do. When they asked me what I wanted to do with her body I was taken aback; I hadn’t even thought about it. The Vet explained that all animals are cremated, and would I like to have the ashes? I almost said no, but then decided yes. I didn’t know why I said yes, I just said it. When the kids got home from school I got to live it all over again. NukeBoy1 took it well, but I knew that he would. NukeBoy2 loves animals, especially his. He was devastated. NukeGirl was the same. I held them and tried to comfort them, and when I told them about the ashes and that we could do something special for Phoebe, NukeBoy2 suggested putting them in the garden they are about to plant. I knew then why I had said yes when they asked me if I wanted the ashes.
To top it all off I came across something else today. Don’t they say that bad things come in threes? Through a series of events that would take too long to explain (you all know that I’m a stickler for brevity-cough, cough), I discovered that an old school mate of mine was killed in 2002. That isn’t what threw me, though; the story his sister told about it did. We had played football together. He was a crazy wild man who was wickedly intelligent, but he sometimes talked and acted like a loon. His father is fairly infamous as well; he was the first Abortionist ever convicted of murdering a fetus. (THIS LINK CONTAINS GRAPHIC CONTENT) While he was out on bail awaiting appeal, he performed and botched another abortion that killed the mother. Not a lot of positive things happening in that family. I guess it just hit me that while I thought that Regan could go either way in life, I never imagined him choosing the path that he did. I just know that I’ve been beat over the head with unhappy endings and finality the last week or so and I’m ready for a Spongebob marathon. Or will that change the saying to bad things come in fours?
Big Word Wednesday-Week 20
I know it’s been a few weeks, but I started calling it “Week 1, 2, 3″, or whatever at the beginning, so I’m not going to change it to “Edition” or “Volume” or “Number” or any of that stuff now. Just pretend that they run consecutively and we’ll all be OK. Let’s get to it. I have a question: Why would somebody spend $600,000,000 to get a job that only pays $400,000 a year? Not only that, in 4 years he’ll have to spend at least that amount again to keep his job. Then after that, he is out of a job. Kaput; $1,200,000,000 to make $800,000 before taxes. I know, I know; it’s the bennies, right? I mean, you get the plane, the big white house, the interns and the ability to go overseas at the end of your term and bad mouth your country for $100,000 per speech. It’s good work, if you can get it.
Our first word this week is deipnosophist; meaning a person who is an adept conversationalist at the table. They don’t specify which table, but I guess it could be the dinner table, bargaining table or operating table. Lots of Doctors out there that don’t know when to shut up. President-Elect Obama would do well to work on his deipnosophistry and shy away from the teleprompter. I guess we could say that about almost every politician in Washington. You know the most dangerous place in Washington D.C.? Between Chuck Schumer and a television camera. Our second word this week is maladroit; which means; lacking in adroitness; unskillful; awkward; bungling; tactless. Look it up and you’ll see a picture of the McCain campaign and most of the Republican party. I thought the Dem’s mascot was the Jackass. The Democrats should take advantage of their near super-majority to vote for a change of mascots. They could give the Republicans the Jackass, and debut their new mascot: a Rabbit with a Blackberry, blue-tooth earpiece and a wallet big enough to hold $600,000,000 running circles around a Jackass. Don’t forget to check out the BWW Homepage for all of our entries to date
Big Word Wednesday-Week 19
Looks like BWW will be moving to a bi-weekly format until I can figure out how to insert 10 to 12 more hours in my week. Posts have been trickling in since school started, and I’m trying to get my work life in order as well, so bear with me. Now that the excuses are out of the way, let’s get to it. This weeks first word is deliquesce which means; to melt; to disappear as if by melting. Kind of like Obama’s lead in Ohio and Pennsylvania. Better get George Soros to send another check for opposition research, pronto! Our second word this week is satiate, which means; to supply with anything to excess; to satisfy to the full. Kind of like what McCain did to get the conservative base to rally around him even though he’s a middle of the road/slightly left moderate republican. He knew he couldn’t go with his 1st choice (Joe Lieberman) for VP because he was pro-choice, so he figured he’d better pander to the base if he wanted any chance at all of having the number 1600 in his address. He nailed it. He gave them a lifetime NRA-pro life-moose hunter. Oh, yeah, she’s a woman, also. That seems to be what’s pissed the Dem’s off the most; the fact that all these years they’ve been advocating women’s rights and equality, and he goes out there and actually finds one that’s done it. Should be a very interesting month and a half. Don’t forget to check out the BWW Home Page and Don’t Forget to VOTE!
Big Word Wednesday-Week 18
Let’s get political. With the Republicans wrapping things up in St. Paul tomorrow night I thought we would visit a couple of words from the realm of promise breaking politics. In honor of Al Gore, who invented the Internet, Big Word Wednesday, Global Warming and Humility, I give you gravitas. It means; seriousness or sobriety, as of conduct or speech. It could also mean a serious or dignified demeanor, which would explain why Al Gore chose it to describe himself. He wanted to use “God-like”, but even he realized that using it would thwart his ability to earn millions giving speeches in the Middle East at the end of his term in office. His staff also had to talk him out of “Buddha-esque” and “Mohammed-ish”. Don’t fret for Al, though, he sold the rights to these terms to Obama and made a handsome profit. Our second word this week is casuistry. It means; Specious or excessively subtle reasoning intended to rationalize or mislead. Think High School when the object of your affection said; “Thanks for driving me to school all semester! And I really DO like you…as a friend”. Or Al Gore when he justifiably states; “We have a special needs Beagle; that’s why his 4,295 square foot doghouse has a pool and central air”. Even Obama is guilty when he says; “I am my brother’s keeper”. Too bad he forgot about his 1/2 brother who lives in a hut in Kenya on $12 a year. He’ll never be held to account; though, as months from now he can state; “I said I was my brother’s keeper, not my ‘brother from another mothers’ keeper”. Oh, semantics; gotta love ‘em. Don’t forget to check out the BWW Home Page for all of our selections thus far and DON’T FORGET TO VOTE! If you don’t, I don’t want to hear you cryin’ about it later.
Go by and say Hi to Joeprah, he’s finally resurfaced. He said the aliens treated him fine, but due to excessive “experimentation” by the aliens, he has to stay lying down for at least a week. Doctors orders. He also said he now prefers Reese’s Pieces to M&M’s. Wierd.
Big Word Wednesday-Week 17
BWW returns after a 1 week sabbatical. In recognition of the Olympics, we’ll feature some words that are influenced either by China or the Olympics. Seemed like a simple enough plan, until I started looking for big words exclusive to the Olympics and China. So, rather than big words, we’ll just give you some interesting words this week. You know, Nixon went to China once. The results of the trip? We got a couple of Panda bears; they got missle technology and access to Wal-Mart’s shelves. Oh, and Hong Kong; we gave them Hong Kong too. Nixon forgot to tell the English about that part of the deal.
Doesn’t seem fair all these years later, does it? 13 Trillion dollars in exportable consumer goods and a city in exchange for two sterile Panda bears. So much for that zoo breeding program. I still wonder how the Chinese are able to extract all that lead from their polluted air and put it in things like dog food and paint for children’s toys. Maybe that was one of the things that Nixon gave them that the government never told us about; Lead technology. Erstwhiles.
Our first word this week is Yangtze. The Yangtze river is the third longest river in the world, but it is one of the deadliest. Floods have claimed over half a million lives since 1911 alone. To control flooding, the Chinese are building The Three Gorges Dam. When they are done in 2009, it will be one and a quarter miles across and over 600 feet high, making it the largest dam in the world. All the Chinese had to do to accomplish this is displace over 1.3 million people, submerge over 1,500 cities, towns and villages, and put between 20,000 and 30,000 men to work 24 hours a day, 7 days a week for 15 years. THAT is some serious overtime. Oh, yeah, almost forgot; some say it will be the biggest environmental disaster ever. Guess that’s not Inconvenient enough for Al Gore. Wow. I went all Robert Kennedy Jr. there for a minute, sorry. Whether you are for it or against it, it is an amazing project; what the future holds is anyone’s guess.
After searching for a good word related to the Olympics, I come up empty. So I made one up. Phelped will soon enter the lexicon as a verb meaning; to get beaten soundly; trounced; obliterated. Seemed like a logical word to make up seeing how the only competition Michael Phelps has is dolphins and Cuban refugees. Don’t send hate mail, I’m friends with some Cubans and they laughed when I tested it on them. So there you have it; an unconventional BWW, but interesting still the same. I’ll provide you with a link for Phelped once Urban Dictionary puts it up. Provided; that is, that they accept it. Check out the BWW Home Page for your Medal of vocabulary Gold.
Big Word Wednesday-Week 16
Welcome to the Thursday edition of Big Word Wednesday. Hopefully this won’t become a habit. One of our resident Wordsmith’s, Tom from Being Michael’s Daddy contributes our first word in this week’s edition of Big Word Wednesday: cromulent. It means fine, acceptable, normal. It is used quite frequently on The Simpsons. Homer used it once, but that doesn’t mean he knew what it meant. He probably thought it was some new kind of donut; or the new villain on Battlestar Galactica. Principal Skinner uses it more often and seems to have a handle on it’s usage. Our second word this week is eukaryote. The definition is about 12 sentences long, but in layman’s terms, they are organisms who have complex cell structures enclosed within membranes. Click here for more info. Why the science slant, you may ask? Well, as some of you may recall, I wrote this post and in it I mentioned that I had a lurker at Iowa State University. She de-lurked and left me a comment and we exchanged a couple of e-mails. In one of those e-mails I suggested that perhaps she should become a blogger. Fast forward a few weeks and Karen has started My Microscopic Life, a blog that will chronicle her adventures as a Microbiology Grad Student. Please stop by and welcome her to the blogosphere! I’m a closet science nerd and even though I did poorly in High School chemistry, it was mainly due to the teacher, not the material. He didn’t like me, I didn’t like him. We had no chemistry whatsoever, thus; no chemistry grade. Well, not a grade that I could take home, anyway. Don’t forget to visit the BWW Home Page for a listing of all of the verbal organisms.
Big Word Wednesday-Week 15
Of the two words we picked this week, one you will be able to use in everyday conversation, the other will be one that will win you points in a trivia game. Our goal is to help you increase your vocabulary, and most of the words we’ve featured so far can do that. Some of them, though, are just good for when you want to show off a little. I’m sure I won’t have to identify which word is which, but if I do, send me a message through the contact page to avoid public ridicule from your fellow students. Word number one is; efficacious; which means; producing or capable of producing a desired effect. It is a derivative of effective or effect.
The second word this week is a contribution from my sister Stacey. Wasn’t that a TV show; My Sister Stacey? No? Well, it should have been. The word she contributed is trichotillomania; which is the compulsion to pull ones hair out. Being a teacher, I can see where she gets it from. I have three kids, and, at times, a genuine compulsion to become a trichotillomaniac, but since I’m already follicly challenged, I’ve learned to maintain. Edgar and Ethan, the two stalwart follicles who are holding their own about 6 inches north of my eyebrow ridge, thank me for it. They know they are only weeks or perhaps days from being washed down the shower drain anyway; they certainly don’t need any harassment from me. Check out the BWW Home Page for missed assignments, and let’s get those overdue words in; other people are waiting to check them out.
Big Word Wednesday-Week 14
Quick edition today. Tara over at If Mom Says OK suggested our first word this week. It is omphaloskepsis; meaning contemplation of one’s navel as part of a mystical exercise. If you’re into Yoga you would do this. However, in today’s vernacular it has translated itself into describing someone who is self-absorbed; a navel-gazer. Hollywood making a movie about making a movie in Hollywood would be an example of omphaloskepsis. If you’re going to use it, use one of it’s variants: omphaloskeptical if you’re feeling self-absorbed, or omphaloskeptic if you’re calling someone a “navel-gazer”. Click the audio button for pronunciation help, every time I try to think of something I conjure up a vision of some rare tropical skin rash.
This weeks second word is sycophant; meaning a self-seeking, servile flatterer; fawning parasite. You can also use Toady, Yes Man or Flunky to the same effect. Picture Dwight Schrute fawning over Michael Scott in The Office, or Bill Clinton in his new role as Hillary’s biatch. The pronunciation is “Sicko” rather than “Psycho” fant. Everybody has known one at some time in their lives; the person who is so good at kissing ass that they actually list it on their resume under Skills Acquired. I worked for a few and thankfully all but one of them got what was coming to them. Check out the BWW Home Page for the full list of verbaliciousness.
Big Word Wednesday-Week 13
We have the perfect word for our thirteenth installment of Big Word Wednesday. Triskaidekaphobia. Trivia buffs know that it means; an abnormal fear of the number 13. We dedicate this word to all of the triskaidekaphobics who screamed; “DON”T PUT ME ON THE 13th FLOOR!” at the Marriott booking agent. The bliss of enjoying their 2 week stay on the 14th floor extinguished when they get in the elevator on the way to check out and realize there IS NO 13th floor. Or how about the horrified triskaidekaphobic who was “victimized” by Wal-Mart when the deli girl slipped her a “Baker’s Dozen?” What do these people do when they go to put their 12-pack in the cooler and there’s one left? Let the beer stay warm? Chug the loner? I don’t know, but I’ll bet more than 13% of them go to OCD meetings.
Farcical is our second word this week. It means; pertaining to or of the nature of farce; ludicrous; absurd. A good example would be, oh, I don’t know, um, like, how about someone who’s afraid of a number? That would be farcical, don’t you think? I mean, can you imagine yourself screaming whenever you saw the number 7? You’d NEVER be able to watch a football game, let alone take a trip to Vegas. Musicals? Forget about it; no 7 Brides for 7 Brothers for you. Movies? You can forget the James Bond franchise, that’s for sure. No Brad Pitt chasing Kevin Spacey in the rain while Morgan Freeman thinks about retirement either. No Magnificent 7, 7 Percent Solution, 7 Year Itch or 7 Easy Pieces. You could only enjoy Sinbad’s Golden Voyage. Snow White is weeping right now. I won’t even mention the sins, you obviously have enough going on right now. Do us all a favor? Get over it. Don’t forget to check out the BWW Home Page for our progress up to now. Go flex your brain muscle.
Big Word Wednesday-Week 12
Quick and easy this week. Manager Mom suggested onus. I said OK. It’s not too big of a word, but it’s a fun word. It means; a difficult or disagreeable obligation, task, burden, etc., and it is pronounced “own-us”. As in: “Man, they own us in this game!” Kind of like THE (the pretentious butt-heads make you put the “THE” in front of it) Ohio State University Football teams’ reaction when they played my Texas Longhorns the first game of the Longhorns’ National Championship season. Nobody else expects you to do that. Not THE Michigan State University, or THE Indiana State University; they all just say; “I go to Michigan State”. ‘Nuff said. You say that, and everybody pretty much knows what you mean. Sorry, Momo, no disrespect, I just think it’s funny. Maybe even a little haughty; which just happens to be our second word this week. It means; disdainfully proud, snobbish, scornfully arrogant; supercilious. WOW! Sorry Momo, I didn’t realize it was such a strong word! Maybe I should have picked aloof instead. Oh, well. I still think you can use it on your camping trip, though. You can use it to describe that fellow blogger who happens to be a fan of THE Texas Longhorns. As always, check the BWW Home Page for the full list. Go forth, and verbalize.
Big Word Wednesday-Week 11
Well, at least this counts as 2 contests: the first and the last. Tom at Being Michaels Daddy is the winner of the BWW POP QUIZ, as he was the only entrant. Congratulations Tom! Your bucket of genuine Myrtle Beach sand is on the way. I have a feeling that Tom would have won regardless of the amount of entrants, had there been any; as he is a sesquipedalian of the first order. Audubon Ron at Ducks Mahal claims that the dog ate his homework. I would have thought it would’ve been one of his ducks, but it wasn’t. We all know how hard it is to get bill marks out of paper. Kimmylyn at Jogging In Circles was honest enough to say that she was “scared by the challenge and ducking out the back door”. Kim, your honesty humbles me. In retrospect I probably asked for too many big words, but that’s OK. Live and learn. Momo Fali is going camping and says she’s packing some big words for the trip; I’ll let you all know how that turns out when she gets back to me. On to Tom’s winning words.
The first word Tom used was obfuscation; meaning to confuse, bewilder or stupefy. That flawlessly describes the POP QUIZ. The second word submitted by Tom was eschew; meaning to abstain or keep away from; shun; avoid. Again, it describes the POP QUIZ perfectly. Tom also used prodigious; an equally good word, but since the other two did such a good job describing my ability to conjure up a total lack of interest in ALL of my readers (yes, I’m talking to both of you), I decided to go with those. I am not losing faith! I know that some of you enjoy this little endeavor into the wonderful world of verbiage, so we will venture forward knowing that someone is benefitting somewhere. The BWW Homepage is open 24/7; don’t be shy.
Big Word Wednesday-POP QUIZ!
Alright smarty-pants, NukeDad has taken the Nuclear Family to the Redneck Riviera for some sun-n-fun. While they’re paying $8 a piece for sodas (same-day refills only $2!) and eating Calabash by the wagon-load, you’ve got some homework. Get out your keyboards and listen up! Your homework assignment is to create a paragraph using at least 6 words that you have learned so far this semester, and 2 Big Word Wednesday words of your own. For all of you that are presently failing Ms. Mastenfudder’s math class, that is a total of 8 words. Don’t start whining or I’ll make it 2 paragraphs! That’s better. The student who turns in the best paragraph will win a novelty item that will undoubtedly be purchased from some over-priced trinket shop within the first 20 minutes of the trip; AND have their 2 new Big Word Wednesday words featured in next week’s edition. If you play your cards right, NukeDad might even give you that $8 souvenir cup. You’re on your own for refills. Quit your belly achin’, substitutes are supposed to be mean! Now, get to work!
* prize value not to exceed $10. What? You think I’m made of money?
Big Word Wednesday-Week 10
In honor of my 13th wedding anniversary tomorrow, I thought we would pick a couple of words that would fit in with this weeks BWW sign, and the theme of Las Vegas weddings. See; NukeMom and I got married in Las Vegas. June 12th, 1995; the day we started our life together. It was a year to the day after a guy named OJ ended his relationship with his ex-wife. I think we all know how that turned out. I guess not everybody can celebrate their wedding anniversaries with CNN updates on how to get away with murder; unless you got married on the same day that Robert Blake took his wife to dinner. We were committed to the date because of work/travel schedules and the invitations had already gone out. I didn’t actually realize the significance of the date until it was too late; it’s not like his face wasn’t plastered all over TV for a year and a half, so when I saw his face on the TV that day in the hotel suite after the wedding, I didn’t put 2 and 2 together. No bother; every year when I toast my bride and I see some “____ many years ago today” update on TV, I know in the back of my mind that there is a special wing of the Murderers’ Hall Of Fame under construction in Hell, and that OJ will be signing autographs there soon enough.
What happens in Vegas stays in Vegas? Not always. The reason is that many people do things in an extemporaneous fashion when they are in Vegas. It means: things done, spoken, performed, etc. without special advance preparation; impromptu. Going to Vegas to get married wouldn’t be considered extemporaneous; going for an Insurance Convention and coming back married would. Taking another card when the Blackjack dealer has a Jack showing wouldn’t be extemporaneous; placing the entire balance of your 401K on black would. I think you get the idea. Our second word this week is recalcitrant. It means: resisting authority or control; not obedient or compliant. Again; going to Vegas to get married wouldn’t be considered recalcitrant; going at age 13 to marry your 8th grade teacher would.
There you go; two new words to place in you ever growing vault of vocabularic magnificance. Don’t forget to check the BWW Home Page for all of the words we’ve covered so far. I know it looks a little funky over there right now, I’m still trying to clean up after an involuntary theme change. We should have everything cleaned up and back to normal in a day or two. Thanks for your patience.
Big Word Wednesday-Week 9
I felt it fitting this week to choose some words that could be easily “misheard” or “misunderstood” to go along with the Obsessed With An Alien post. Check it out to see how many songs you’ve been singing wrong all of these years. So, with clarity as our goal, let’s get started. Our first word is apologia. It means an apology, as in defense or justification of a belief. It’s pronounced: apple-oh-gee-uh. Sounds like someone stammering after being offered fruit; “Apple?” “Oh! Gee, uh, don’t mind if I do!” And, no, it isn’t that chick that was in Purple Rain with Prince. That was Apollonia, who was once part of NASA, I think. You may have also thought that it was the actor who played the giant foot piano with Tom Hanks in Big, but, wrong again. That was Robert Loggia. So, there we go. Clarity at it’s finest.
Our second word this week is imbroglio. It means a misunderstanding or disagreement of a complicated or bitter nature, as between people or nations. Can you say Clinton/Obama? It could also mean an intricate and perplexing state of affairs; a complicated or difficult situation. Kind of like this blog. The perplexing part, I mean, not the complicated part. It’s pronounced: Im-bro-yo. Keep the “G” silent. Don’t say: Im-brog-leo. No, this isn’t the last name of that Natalie girl from Australia who sang about being “cold and naked on the floor”, that’s Natalie Imbruglia who was in Johnny English with that Mr. Bean character. So there you have it. Wasn’t that as clear as mud? I hope I didn’t confuse you and put you in an imbrogliotic state. No, I don’t think it’s a word either. Don’t forget to catch up on all of the words on the BWW Home Page. There will be a test.
Big Word Wednesday-Week 8
In honor of Memorial Day I thought we would choose a couple of words with confrontation in mind. You can use these when you get into a war of words with someone who needs a good jab to their verbal solar plexus. The leader of the play group is too easy a target, and I’ve used them as an example before anyway, so, let’s see……I know! You know the seasonal help you meet when shopping for last minute gifts at Christmas? The ones who can’t be bothered to give you an extra shirt box, even though you spent over $300 and asked nicely? The ones who mutter; “Anything else?” with all the enthusiasm of a tenured postal worker? That’s the type of people I’m talking about. The ones who, no matter what you do, simply will not be happy. Save these for them. Hell, it’s not like you’re going to make their day any worse.
Our first word is putrescence. Fans of The Princess Bride (Hi Momo!) will recognize this one. The pronunciation is a little different than they way the old hag pronounces it in the movie, so use the little speaker button next to the word to hear the proper pronunciation. If you happen to meet up with someone who is especially rude and ugly, you may want to drop this one early in the conversation. It’ll give you the advantage, or at least let your sparring partner know that you’re a force to be reckoned with. The second word this week is kvetch. This one is kind of tricky, so again, I suggest using the pronunciation button to help you out. You would think the “K” is silent, but it’s not. It’s not fully pronounced either. It actually has more of an “H” sound to it, really. You start with the hushed “H” and throw in the tail end of the “K” and you’ve got it. Kind of like when your trying to hock up a loogie in the middle of cold and flu season. Sorry for the graphic description, but I don’t know how else to explain it. Listen to it several times and you’ll see what I mean. The first audio is by a woman, the second by a man, so the spectrum is covered. As always, you can check the BWW home page if you need to brush up on your verbal arsenal. Enjoy!
Big Word Wednesday-Week 7
I’m calling myself out. Actually, someone else called me out, but they did so in a private forum rather than a public one. I thank them for that, and if I’d just keep my mouth shut, then some of you would never know the difference; but then, that would defeat the purpose of our little experiment here wouldn’t it? Those of you that have noticed it can quit laughing now. You see, in my brilliantly observant, tirelessly researched, poorly spell-checked post It Came From Planet Spudtron, I wrote “potato’s” when I should have written “potatoes”. There. It’s out in the open. Call me Dan Quayle (Hope I spelled THAT right) if you want to, at least I’m not in front of a classroom of children on national television with the Election hanging in the balance. That’s right, folks; if you want, you can blame (or Thank, if you’re a Clinton fan) “Potatoe” (singular) for 8 years of Bill Clinton. Well, for the first 4 at least. I can hear him now: “I did not have lunch with that potatoe…..Ms. Spudinsky.” Now that that’s out of the way, let’s get down to business.
One of this weeks words comes from yesterday’s post; Lester Holt Saves The World. I won’t waste a link on it, just scroll down 3 inches. The word is bated; as in bated breath. Some thought it should be “baited” with an i, but after the “potato’s” fiasco of May 15th, you can bet your bottom dollar I doubled checked it. It means: to moderate or restrain; to lessen or diminish; abate. It even has a definition for the actual phrase “with bated breath” (number 4): with breath drawn in or held because of anticipation or suspense. Long “a”, as in “bay”. Not the biggest of words, but one that is often misused. Our second word this week is pernicious. You may have heard this word before, but not known what it really meant. It doesn’t mean; a girl that “gets around” (promiscuous), it means: causing insidious harm or ruin; injurious, hurtful. Kind of sounds like a Rick Astley song. Remember; you can see all of the words in our series by visiting the Big Word Wednesday Homepage. Until next week.
Big Word Wednesday-Week 6
Some days, the hamsters just rebel. Today is one of those days. I must have forgotten to feed them yesterday because every time I try to load a page, the little wheel keeps spinning, and spinning, and spinning…. I’ll teach them, though. I’ll upgrade to gerbils and set the hamsters loose in the backyard; let them fight it out with the squirrels for third-of-an-acre supremacy. Seriously, I mean, what the DELL is going on here? I could call tech support, but then I’d have to watch 5 hours of The Simpsons just to get the right Calcutta dialect down. I don’t have time for that. Oh well, I’ll try.
Our words this week are tasty. Tasty as in they could be the names of a meat sauce (salubrious) and a dessert topping (magniloquent) respectively. “I’ll have the pork chops in salubrious sauce please. Does that come with a salad? And I’m saving room for that delicious looking carrot cake with magniloquent icing for dessert.” OK, maybe food is a stretch, but they sound good!
Our first word this week is salubrious-meaning favorable to or promoting health; healthful. I still think it could give A-1 sauce a run for it’s money, but that’s just me. Word number two is magniloquent-meaning speaking or expressed in a lofty or grandiose style; pompous; bombastic; boastful. Kinda sounds like Kanye West. But, if he wants to wear sunglasses that look like the back window louvre from a 1978 Trans Am, who am I to judge? Remember to catch up on all of our words on the BWW page. Now go out there and sound over-intelligent!
Big Word Wednesday-Week 5
Wow! We had a little skirmish on the BWW page the other day. A satirical comment was taken as serious by another commenter, and the response was a vicious smack down. Or, was it a serious comment that was taken as satire by another commenter, and the response was a jesting put down? I don’t know, you be the judge, the point is: Big Word Wednesday has the nation talking! Well, the NFW nation, anyway. A wise man once said: “Tis better to keep one’s mouth shut and be thought a fool, than to open it and remove all doubt”. Today’s translation would be something along these lines; “Yo! Spinny! Shut cha pie hole, fool! I dun toldja ya soundin’ like an idjut when ya flap dem lips!” I believe that would be counted as “A Statement Of Distinction” under the No Child Left Behind legislation. At least you kind of understood what he was saying. Our goal is to increase your knowledge of the English language and the 2/3 of the words that are in it that no one uses anymore.
This weeks words flow easily and have that “zinger” quality that we are looking for. Drop one of these babies in the middle of a conversation and watch your sparring partner wither under the verbal assault. All they’ll be left with is spittle hanging off of their lips and a desire to dash to their local community college and enroll in a correspondence course in vocabulary arts. Word one is: elucidative; meaning, that makes clear, a clarifying example. First glance may lead you to believe that the correct definition would be elusive, but, no! Word two is cool. It flows easily and sounds pompous enough to get you at least one more rung up the snootiness ladder (Ladder of Snoot?). It is; benightedness; meaning intellectually or morally ignorant, unenlightened. Ouch. Probably want to save that one for the self anointed leader of the play group, or the in-laws; that is, if yours are bad. Mine are fantabulous, so I better start looking for a play group with a Prada wearing leader. Happy speaking!
Big Word Wednesday-Week 4
Momo Fali commented last week that some assistance with pronunciation would be nice, so I wanted to point something out. When you click on the word link, it will take you to the dictionary dot com page for the word(s) of the week. Sitting next to the word should be a symbol that looks like a speaker with sound waves coming out of it. Click on it and you will hear HAL 9000 from 2001: A Space Odyssey pronounce the word for you. Actually, there are quite a few voices in there pronouncing. I think I heard Richard Burton the other day. As long as Charles Nelson Reilly isn’t recruited by them, we’ll be OK. Thanks again to Momo for the suggestion.
This weeks first word comes from my sister Leta. She said she liked the Big Word Wednesday feature because as a society we had become languorous with our language. After she said that, I immediately ran for my keyboard. I used to run for my dictionary, but that is so 80’s. 1480’s, that is. That’s when the word originated. It is synonymous with lethargy and means: listless, lack of physical or mental energy. I’ve been in touch with that emotion before. Only one word this week kids, I’m feeling a little languorous. Don’t forget to check the BWW page for all of the words we’ve covered so far.
Big Word Wednesday-Week 3
Being rather pleased with last week’s offering of 2 words, we will now be listing 2 words every Wednesday. You can become twice as smart in half the time! Our first word this week is lugubrious; meaning mournful, dismal or gloomy. Not the cheeriest of words, but then, they can’t all be, right? This fits in well if you have kids because the deeper definition states that it is “mournful; indicating sorrow, often ridiculously or feignedly; doleful; woful; pitiable; as, a whining tone and a lugubrious look.” Yeah, I’ve seen this word in action a time or two; usually after a parental request has been issued. We parents call it a “request”, the kids usually call it a “demand”. Oh well, tomato/tomahto.
The second word for this week is pulchritude; meaning great physical beauty; comeliness. Wow, wonder why this word isn’t used more often. Pulchritude? Sounds like a person with a bad disposition to me; but then, my name isn’t Mr. Webster, is it? I would use this word with caution in mixed company, I have a feeling that unless the person is a semi-sesquipedalian, it could come off as offensive. I’m almost offended just typing it. Use your best judgement. Don’t forget, you can always click on the BWW page to see all of the words. Now, go out there and sound smart!
Big Word Wednesday-Week 2
Do you have keen vision? Not vision like “I see you!”, but vision as in “I have a vision of what my future holds?” Do you have keen mental perception and understanding? If so, then you may very well be perspicacious. At first glance you may have thought like I did; that when you read the definition of this word it would be something like “Someone who is prone to sweating”, but, like me, you would have been incorrect. I actually had another word in mind for this week, but perspicacious was too sesquipedalian-ish to pass up!
The first word nominated for this week was sagacious. It means pretty much the same thing as perspicacious, except in this definition, rather than having vision, you have discernment; and we all know how vastly different vision and discernment can be. I like sagacious because of the way it rolls off the tongue: SUH-GEY-SHUHS. I like to hold my pinkie finger at an acute angle when I say it. I think a cigarette holder like the Penguin used to use in the old Batman show would pretty much seal the deal: pinkie out, cigarette holder and sagacious. Think of the ramifications of using those visuals the next time you’re at the store! There you have it; a two for one Big Word Wednesday. Don’t forget, you can always go to the BWW page to see all of the entries.
Big Word Wednesday
Alright friends and neighbors, this is the official announcement of our newest service to mankind. We would never be so obtuse as to placate your insatiable yearning for verbiage of a sesquipedalian nature; much to your chagrin.
We know that people don’t really talk like that, but they used to! And you still can, if your desire is to be beaten senseless at the car wash. For those of you just wishing to learn some new words that you can use occasionally, this is the place. We’ll even link to dictionary dot com so you can see that we aren’t making them up. Some of the words will stupefy you. Others will make you say; “So THAT’S what that Euro-trash jerk meant!”, and still others will make your waiter or waitress think that with a vocabulary like that, you should certainly be a better tipper.
I know you’re thinking that all you really have to do is subscribe to Reader’s Digest for their “It pays to enrich your word power” section, and you would be correct. To a point. I promise you, we’ll list some words that I guarantee you would never grace the pages of RD. Don’t get me wrong, it’s a good magazine, but ask yourself; “Have I really laughed out loud at any of the Life in these United States anecdotes lately?” Besides, most of their stuff has moved to the Internet anyway. Play it safe. Stick with us. Click on the page link above on the header bar to see the word for this week, or click here.
