Sinister cynicism

Cynicism has that almost sinister (catch the sound alike?) sound....

I think sinister is from Latin, and cynicism is from Greek. It may have traveled thru Latin, though. The Roman empire took a lot of mythology and philosophy from Greek, and tried to make it their own.

Sinister means evil or ominous, and came thru Middle English from Old French, from Latin.
Cynical means suspicious or thinking all men are motivated by selfishness, which came thru Latin from Greek, of course. I copied that defination from the dictionary, so please don't accuse me of being sexist.

Thanks to Kevin Hogan for the idea for this article. I read Kevin Hogan's newsletter (Coffee) and articles every week. I think they are brilliant.

You can find some brilliant books here:

Jolly and fatuous

Speaking of fat, jolly bearded men, the word for today is Fatuous.

Fat u ous means silly, lacking judgement, and is a synonym for daft. Because it starts with F, not PH, I'll venture a guess that it is from a Latin word.

I just finished listening to an audio book with very fatuous music. I'd say it was a fatuous look at the scientific studies searching for evidence for an afterlife. Or is it a scientific look at the more fatuous experiments designed to find evidence for an afterlife? It definitely includes "experiments" done in a very spurious manner, with questionable results. I think the author, Mary Roach, could have provided much better examples. I can think of many, but is that because they are more objective, or is it because I am less objective? I used to think I was a skeptic, but after listening to this I realize that my exposure to hypnosis, and the many metaphysical books I read, have influenced my beliefs and I can really no longer say I am skeptical about reincarnation or the existence of an afterlife.

The book is called Spooks, a scientific search for the afterlife. It is quite funny in places. It shows how scientists can be influenced by popular trends in thought, like spiritualism. There is a museum which claims to have the only known quantity of ectoplasm on the planet. Funny, how I thought ectoplasm was a gelatinous material, when most mediums who produced it seemed to produce a length of gauze or chiffon. I'm talking about actual CLOTH. And the only known quantity of it appears to be a rather large, stained square of cotton cloth. And redolent, also. I don't quite understand why.

Red o lent means smelly. Probably Latin.

Your Invitation

I cannot keep quiet about this. I saw a sign today that said:

Your invited!

This abuse of grammar must stop! This sign was probably written by a student in high school, but I saw the same thing on a flyer which my son brought home from school, which I assume was typed by his teacher. She should know better. How can she teach grammar to my son if she doesn't know this should say,
You're invited,
which means you are invited. "Your" is a possessive pronoun. I don't own an "invited." I actually couldn't, as it is a verb, not a noun!!!!!

So please use the correct grammar on your invitations.

Thank you!

Aye, Aye, Captain!

I heard the word, “aye,” today on a tape (audiobook, of course). It's an interesting word. I think every American knows what it means. But why do sailors, pirates, and the crew of the Enterprise, use a word which must be Gaelic in origin? Were the earliest sailors Gaelic?

Also used in parliamentary settings, when you have to vote either aye or nay.

Am I wrong in thinking this is Gaelic or Celtic? I know I’ve heard actual Irish-Americans say this. The dictionary doesn’t give me an etymology. I’ll have to refer to the HUD (huge unabridged dictionary), and get back to ye.
In the meantime, Top o’ the mornin’ to ye!

Florida Holidays

I heard Bing Crosby singing on the radio this morning. A local channel is playing ALL Christmas songs, ALL the time. You see, they have to. Even with the pink flamingoes wearing santa hats, it is just so easy to forget that Christmas will be here in less than 3 weeks!

Sleigh Bells ring, are you listening, in the lane snow is glistening…

You never hear that word, “glistening” except for Christmastime. It’s a sweet word. It carries an image with it. I can see a drop of dew glistening on a leaf. There is no snow here to glisten in the lane.

I also like gleam, glitter and glimmer. I would guess they are Dutch or Germanic in origin. They all mean something like sparkle or shine. Sparkle, now there is a cute word!

Happy Holidays! Hope your holidays glisten and your outfit sparkles and there’s a glimmer in your spouse's eyes when they see you on New Year’s Eve.

Obviously

This morning I heard an interesting phrase, “Tacitly obvious.” This is definitely an oxymoron. Tacit means subtle, and obvious means it’s out there, easy to see, plain as the nose on your face, clear, unambiguous. I enjoy defining words.

Now I’ll check these with the authorities, so I can see the etymology.

Tacit – adj. not spoken; implied. It’s from the Latin word tacitus (silent).

Obvioius – adj. easily perceived or understood; easily seen through, not subtle. From Latin also.

Is it tacit or obvious that I love words?

Gratuitous Gratitude and Appreciation

I would like to take this opportunity to initiate some gratuitous gratitude.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Wishing you felicity and festivity at this time of family and feasting!

Thank you for everything, and pass the gratitude all around!

Felicity--n. 1.the quality or state of being happy; 2. something that causes happiness; 3. pleasing faculty in the art of language. From Latin.
Festivity--n. special celebration; conviviality; festive activity. From Latin.

Gratitude--n. thankfulness. From Latin.
Gratuitous--adj. free, unwarranted. Latin, again.

Persist

Persistence is the word of the day. My instructor, Dr. Richard Harte, has conducted studies on this and has found that the difference between those who acheive goals and those who don't is ... drumroll please ...



Persistence!



What a surprise!



The fortunate thing is that you can increase motivation and persistence using hypnotism or self-hypnosis.

I will be speaking at the Tarpon Springs Public Library about how to achieve your goals, specifically your New Year's Resolutions on January 3, 2008.

Yes it is almost 2008!!!

Haiku Attempt

I wish I could write

simple elegant haiku.

Flash of Brilliant Truth.

Penury

Penurious and plutocratic are words from Wattle’s Science of Wealth. I didn’t expect this book to be a more elaborate form of “thots are things!” The language is quite lofty, though it requests that everyone take its scientific principals on faith. But if we heard Edison or Marconi expound on electromagnetic principles, we would certainly accept their statements as truth, because we would presume that they had done the scientific research personally.

Penury--n. poverty or frugality. From Latin.

Plutocratic--adj. having to do with government by the wealthy. It has nothing to do with the (former) planet or Roman God, Pluto, as I suspected. It comes from Greek!

Grandiloquence--n. lofty or pompous eloquence. From Latin.

Ulterior Motives

Does everyone have an ulterior motive?

ulterior--adj. 1. lying beyond or outside the area of interest. 2. lying beyond what is evident or avowed; especially, concealed intentionally so as to deceive.

ultimate--adj. 1. final, conclusive, comprehensive, 2. fundamental, elemental. 3. Of the greatest or most significance.

ultimatum--n. final statement of terms.

penultimate--adj. next to last.



These are all Latin I'd venture. Yes! All from ultimare, a verb meaning to come to an end.



My transparent ulterior motive is to inspire eloquence. Latin, again.



What is plain speaking called? Honesty, forthrightfulness?



I just love eloquent language!

Post Script

P.S. stands for Post Script, which is Latin for After writing. That's why we use it in letters to add something when the message has already been completed.

Unstoppable

I heard from the Universe today. They said,
“You are unstoppable!”

I’m trying to think of a truly positive, powerful word for unstoppable.
Persistent, dynamic, powerful, overwhelming, omnipotent, invincible, indomitable, irresistible, I can’t think of a really good synonym which captures the meaning completely with out negating something. For example, invincible means not vincible; in domitable means incapable of being dominated, and unstoppable means can't be stopped.

P.S. Vincible is an English word, which comes directly from Latin.

Under the influence

I am wondering why we say that someone is "under hypnosis?"

I don’t think it is negative, but is it accurate? You are not under anything. Most expressions utilizing "under" imply loss of control, or something shady or illegal, like:
Under a spell, under investigation, undercover, under the table, under anesthesia, under the weather.
Maybe it's more accurate to say "in hypnosis," "in trance," or "in a hypnotic state."

Who wants to be under anything? Except a soft blanket of relaxation, which is how many people feel while experiencing a hypnotic trance.

Under is a weird word. Look at it for a while and you might begin to wonder if it is a word. It comes from Old English, but I would venture a guess that there is a similar word in German.

Puckish

I feel puckish today. Or am I peckish? Peckish is not in my dictionary, but I think it means slightly hungry. Both these words are in a children's book my son and I are reading (at bedtime). I think the author resides in New Zealand. She has a lovely vocabulary. Last night I encountered the word, flibbertigibbet, yet again. Good thing I write this blog, because I have previously defined that word.

Puckish means mischievous, impish. No etymology is given. Correct me if I am wrong, but I surmise that it is derived from Shakespeare's character, Puck.

Slipshod

Are you shod? Kids come to school without being shod. Can that be called " unshod?" Or "Shoddy?" Strangely enough, shod is the past tense of the verb, to shoe. I guess they usually mean horses, as in my horse got shod yesterday. But I read a book last night that said, "All employees are expected to come to work shod." I had to look it up as I thought it might be a synonym for prompt. But I think I will hang this rule on the wall: All students must be shod. I like it. I wonder how many of my very astute students would ask what it meant? They would probably assume I meant all students must be shot. And probably think it was a joke. Although we have 4 or 5 dictionaries and a thesaurus in the room, I would bet, none of them would even consider looking it up. I bought a dictionary for my son for his ninth birthday (among other things). He doesn’t like it, because it doesn’t have as many illustrations as his Children’s Dictionary. But I’m sure he’ll get used to it. The Children’s Dictionary did not contain the word “shod!” Not even the expression slip-shod.

Slipshod - adj. poorly made, careless, shabby. Constructed from Slip + Shod.
Shoddy - adj. shabby, run-down; inferior. Origin Unknown.
Shoe - v. to furnish or fit with shoes. From German.

Inspiration

The Universe is conspiring for your success!!

What a word: conspire. It sounds sneaky and illegal. But it comes from Latin, conspirare which means "to breathe with." In English it means to plan an unlawful act in secret.

I like those "spire" words, they are very lofty and inspirational.

Like inspire! Breathe in.

Or expire! Breathe out or die.

And how about perspire! Huh?!

Vim, Vigor and Vitality

Vim. That’s a word. Is that a word? It looks too short. Maybe it’s shortened from something else. It could be an acronym! Sure, Victorious, Impulsive, Magnificent! I just made that up. Let me check.

Vim comes to us from Latin, and means ebullient vitality and energy. So it could be an acronym for Vitality, invigorated motivation! That's what I said, wasn't it?!

Life, the Universe and Everything

All right, what should we call it? (See my post in http://musinglog.blogspot.com.)

The universe, multiverse, or Cosmos? I propose Omniverse, which makes me think about omipresent and everything happening at once. Wow, what about parallel universes?

Homer Simpson

Someone sent me the following link: http://grammar.about.com/od/rhetoricstyle/a/homerhet.htm
I’m into grammar, but I was completely overwhelmed by all the terminology. The author is more than an expert on grammar. He writes about style, too. Not fashion, but style as it applies to prose and poetry. Wow! I'm floored. Ican't belive Homer Simpson can be used as an example for certain parts of speech. He's not a good role model. But that's me being judgmental.

Piece of Mind

I’d like to give you a piece of my mind!

Them’s fighting words. I realized yesterday that Peace of Mind, which is desirable and positive sounds like piece of mind and this expression means I’d like to tell you off!

Do you mind? Mind is an interesting word.

I wish my son would mind his teachers.

If I do not wish to continue the conversation, is it rude to hang up? I don’t wish to be rude. But I don’t always have the energy or time to express my thoughts to a telemarketer. So in the interest of expediency, I would rather just hang up and not waste my time or theirs, once I have made up my mind.

Mind comes from Old English and the verb form has several meanings: remind; obey; make sure; attend to;take heed; object to.

I'm not sure how to tie this all together. Oh, never mind!

Gut Issue

Gut. “I’m listening to my gut.” “Wow, you have guts!” Different meanings for expressions contain one or more guts. What is a gut? One gut refers to the intestine or stomach. Two or more guts are the bowels or interior contents. Gut also refers to the intestines of some animals which is used for guitar strings or surgical sutures! Or silky fibers taken from the silkworm used for fishing tackle!

A gut issue is something that arouses basic emotions.

The word comes to us from Middle English from Old English.

Dispassionate Self-evaluation

I think I am a compassionate person. I am a good listener, and I have been told by clients and friends that they perceive that I understand what they are feeling and saying. I listen dispassionately, which means I do not judge them for what I hear. I also do not spread it around to others.

But I can be judgmental. I still evaluate and overanalyze everything that I hear and see. I’m analytical. Like everything else, being analytical can be viewed as a weakness or a strength.

Judgmental. Weird spelling. Means wise, discerning, or critical. From judicare, which is Latin for judge.

Compassion – capacity for feeling the emotions of others; empathy; pity.
Dispassion – fairness, impartiality, objectivity.
Passion – powerful feeling; or strong desire.

All from pati, which is Latin for suffering, which is related to pathos from Greek, but my dictionary isn't sure which came first. (huh?!)

Peak experience

There are 2 peaks, or peeks. One is "peek," the other is "peak." One is a verb, to sneak a look at something, the other is the very top or pinnacle of a mountain. They sound the same. But are spelled differently. I think this is okay because the different spellings alert you to the different meanings. Don't you think it's confusing when one word with one spelling has several vastly different meanings? Or is the spelling of homophones more confusing or difficult to remember? Let me know what you think!

Homonyms sound the same and share the same spelling. Comes from Same Name in Greek, if you look at the prefix and root.
Homophones sound the same, but have different spellings! Comes from Same Sound in Greek.

So technically speaking, peek and peak are homophones.

Jubilation!

Today I feel jubilant! It means joyful! The verb form is jubilate, as in 'Let's jubilate!" I don't think I've ever heard anyone ever say that."Let's Celebrate," is a more common way of expressing the same thing. The noun form is Jubilation.

All these words are from Latin, "jubulare," which means to raise a shout of joy!

Rejoice!

Salutations

Salutations. Tribulations. Tintinnabulation. Tribulation is a word that sounds jubilant to me, but it means trial or affliction. I may have gotten it mixed up with tintinnabulation, which is a fancy word which means the tinkling, ringing sound of bells.

All these words are from Latin roots.

Salutations = greetings!

Tribulations = trials, afflictions, and sufferings.

Tintinnabulation = jingling, ringing, or tinkling sounds.

Terrific

Terrible. Terrific. They both come from the word terror and are related to terrorism. Are terror and terrorism the same thing? No. Terror is an emotional state. Terrorism is a strategy to push a cause, using unethical and unconventional methods to prove how ethical and righteous the supporters are. Terror means to frighten in Latin.

Strate Thots

You know I’m a fanatic about grammar and spelling, but there are some reforms I do support. There are some U-G-Hs that could disappear and make the world a better place. I often write thru for through, tho for though, and thot for thought.

I can also live without the gh in straight. That would make it strait. It really should be strate. That looks really weird!

Okay, similarly, light should be lite.

Am I rite?

Positive or Negative?

I passed a chiropractor’s office this morning and he has a marquee with interesting quotes and pithy statements. Today it said, why is it called a positive lab test if it is usually bad news???

I am enthralled

I love the library! I found some CDs by a spectacular singer, Mario Frangoulis, in the International Popular music section. I had to play it as soon as I got in the car. I told my son, “I love this singer!”


“Love” has many meanings, but maybe we could be more clear if we said, “I enjoy eating pizza,” rather than saying “I love pizza!”

Don’t believe me about the verbal impact thing? How about music? You must admit that music and sounds have a noticeable influence on our physiology. Water sounds are very relaxing, or I wouldn’t find those adorable little fountains in so many offices. Some music energizes you, that’s why the exercise gurus play it. Some music elevates the soul.

Last night the librarian was telling me about a musical performance with a powerful, magnetic singer who just enthralled the whole audience (and even the ushers). She used the word “mesmerizing!”

Enthrall means to thrill, captivate or enslave. "Thrall" means a slave! It comes from Old Norse.


Love means like, adore, desire, delight in, find irresistible, feel attracted to, be fond of, be passionate about, be partial to, or have a weakness for. I wonder where it came from? My dictionary says it's from Old English, and related to the Dutch or Germanic word, Leubh. I think "love" is a definite improvement over Leubh. That does remind me of the Russian name Lyubov, which does mean love.

New Verbs

Oops! I almost wrote "I faxed it!" And although many people do use fax as a verb, I object to this abuse. It’s one thing to say it and another to write it! I’m all for the vernacular and colloquialisms, but I am also into orthography and grammar.

I understand google is also being used as a verb. This is the name of a mega-bucks huge (evil) corporation. Not a verb!

Actually, it does have a meaning in the English language. Google is a very large number within the field of mathematics, 10 with 100 zeroes behind it. I don't think it is used much anymore, I think the new term is bazillion. Bazillion is not yet in my dictionary.

What is it called when you transmute a noun into a verb? Improper! Stop this behavior at once!

School has started and I am back in teacher mode…

Bibliotherapy

I just read an article saying that many people are turning to self-help books for bibliotherapy.

Biblio means book in Greek. Therapeia means service.

Bibliotherapy means book therapy.

Bibliophile means book friend, or a lover of books.

I am a bibliophile as well as a philolog. Just in case you like books, too:

Bemused by the epilogue

We just finished reading Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. Just what are "hallows" anyway? “Hallows” are sacred objects. I was familiar with this word because Hallow'een is All Souls Day, the day before All Hallows, or All Saints Day.

I find the language of the Harry Potter Books very interesting. In this book, the author uses the word “bemused” many times. “Bemused” is related to “amused” and comes to us from Old French. It means confused, bewildered, or pondering. I’m not confused by the epilogue, it is quite clear, but it does make me think (leave me pondering).

"Epilogue" came to us ultimately from Greek, "epi" means after and "logos" means word. So the epilogue is the After Word, or final scene.

I have thoroughly enjoyed all 7 books in the series and I am only disappointed that there won’t be any more. All the loose ends are neatly tied up in this brilliant novel.

(Maybe a little too neatly. How is Voldemort so powerful and yet so uninformed and unaware?)

Crunch!

Yes! Onomatopoeia. I've got to look up the spelling, because I am into orthography, as well as philology and etymology. If you keep reading, I will explain what all these things are. You won't have to pick up a dictionary, although it might be good exercise (and a good habit to pick up, as well).

Onomatopoeia is a fun word which is difficult to look up in the dictionary, unless you know Greek. I have studied Greek for more that 2 years. I’m sorry to report that I cannot carry on an intelligent conversation, but I can spell onomatopoeia and other big words! When I was looking this up a few days ago, I realized that onoma means name in Greek, so I went past o-n-a towards o-n-o to find it. And I even remembered that poe, pronounced “pee” means to write poetry, so it’s related to poem, poet, and poetry! They just pronounce it differently. So onomatopoeia is a word that says its own name, or a word that sounds like what it is. Think snap, crackle and pop! These are words that sound like the sounds they describe! Other examples: Babbling, as in babbling brook, Tinkle like a bell, Chirp like a bird, and Ding dong, also like a bell. There are many more, but I don’t like to show off, that would be pedantic.

Orthography comes from 2 Greek words: orthos meaning correct and grapho meaning to write or draw. So it means correct writing or spelling.

Philology also comes from Greek. It means the study of literature or language.

Etymology means the origin or history of words. It comes from Greek, of course.

High Falutin'

Is that short for high faluting? I've never seen it written out like that. That's weird. I guess it's a colloquialism. It isn't in my dictionary. But I know I've seen it in print. Maybe it was in the comics...

Please let me know if you have more information on this expression! This is the kind of thing that can drive me to distraction!

Euphemisms

Euphemisms.

What an ugly word! And it means a nice way to say something negative or unpleasant. Like when we say someone has "passed on" instead of died. Some better examples:
"barf" instead of puke;
"eccentric" instead of insane;
"went away" instead of committed to an institution;
"put to sleep" instead of euthanize.

Wait! Euthanize is a nice way to say kill, and it's related to the word euphemism.

Eu phe mis (u)m is definitely from the Greek language.

Con or Sen?

I just discovered a new word, and it happens to describe me, sententious. What does sententious mean? Terse, aphoristic, or pithy. That means I use brief meaningful statements. Origin: Latin.

I had gotten this confused with contentious, which means argumentative (which I never am). Contentious means argumentative, belligerant. From Latin also.

Exuberant Soliloquy

There are some interesting words in the newspaper today. Discombobulate is one of them of course. And sententious, copious and soliloquy.

I always liked discombobulate and its cousin discombuberated. I think one is just a mispronunciation of the other. Why would we need 2 words so closely related in sound and meaning?

Sententious I think means argumentative, or is that contentious? See next article (above).

I think copious is wordy or unnecessarily long. It also means abundant, full. My dictionary actually says one of the meanings is "profuse or exuberant in words, expression, or style."

Is soliloquy a monologue? Yes. It means talking to oneself, or a dramatic monologue that gives the illusion of being a series of unspoken reflections. That means that this blog is a soliloquy. Oooh, I like the way that sounds!

I love words! But I'll end now, because I don't want to be copious in the sense of wordy. However, I do want to be copious in the sense of exuberant.

Paradigm shift

I think I heard it in a song on the radio. "Paradigm shift" was used to indicate a transition. It's a nice way to say it. I think most people realize how difficult transition can be. I tell my clients, it's not easy to make a change, but people do it every day. For example, It's not easy to quit smoking, but people do it every day. How many people do you know who have quit smoking? It seems everyone knows people who have. So it opens up a discussion of how to make the paradigm shift easier for them to become a fresh air breather. The smokers who come to me become "fresh air breathers." Not "non-smokers."

Regurgitate

Seems like I've been gone a long time. I did get to check my email in an Internet Cafe in Cyprus twice in the past 3 weeks.

I actually regurgitated on the way home on the plane during landing. Thank goodness, they still have airsickness bags on the planes. An odd thing to provide for every flyer, since I doubt they are used very often. I guess it used to be common when air travel was new and novel to the general public and many people experienced fear and anxiety. But now we know how safe air travel is compared to other modes of transportation. And if logic doesn't influence the emotional response, hypnosis can be used to reduce anxiety and eliminate fear of flying.

Re gur gi tate-- repeat, throw back, throw up. Re means again, I think gurgi must be Latin. Yes! Gurgitare means to engulf, and gurgit- means whirlpool.

Greek Journeys

Kaleidoscope. Psychedelic. Both from Greek! In Greek they pronounce both the P and the S in the beginning of Psychedelic or psychology.
Kal is from kalos, meaning beautiful or good.
Eidos is from eidos, meaning form.
Scope is from skopein, to see.
Psychedelic and psychology are both from Psyche, which means soul.
By the way, the word ego comes from Greek, too. It means “I.”
Did Freud know Greek?

See you in a few weeks when I get back from Greece!

Ubiquity

Advertisements are ubiquitous, all around us. They are insidious. And most people think they are immune. Not so. How do you spell relief?
Plop-plop ______ _____.
Coke, it’s the _____ thing.
If you said R-o-l-a-i-d-s, fizz-fizz, and real, the advertising succeeded. You’re correct. You’re normal. And you’re not immune to the effects of advertising.

I am researching this topic right now for a presentation in August, called “Verbal Impact: Can Words Hurt You?” It’s going to be fantastic, insightful and dynamic.

U biq ui tous means seeming to be everywhere at the same time; omnipresent.

Ubiquitous is the adjective form of ubiquity, existence everywhere at the same time, from New Latin, “everywhere.”

Sleep tight

Sleep tight? What the heck is that? How do we sleep tightly? Can we sleep loosely? Does it have something to do with getting tucked in nice and snug? I hate to have the covers over me tightly tucked in on all the sides and the bottom. I always kick them loose and have at least one foot uncovered and unencumbered.

(This reminds me of wide awake.)

Nighty night!

Spurious Potentate

Some words from To Kill a Mockingbird, one of my all-time favorite books:

Potentate, which means one who has the power or position to rule over others, monach, or one who dominates or leads any group or industry. From Middle English, from late Latin, from potent (power).

Spurious, which means counterfeit, fake, phony, or illegimate. From Latin, perhaps from Etruscan, spurcus (impure). Etruscan! Who were the Etruscans? More later…

Insightful

I am overwhelmed! I never read To Kill a Mockingbird. I never saw the movie. I’d really love to rent it now, though. I just finished listening to the audiobook (on CDs) and I am floored! It was remarkable, incredible, stupendous. This is a powerful book. Compared to this it seems like I’ve been wasting my time on many of the novels I’ve read lately.

Compared to this book, the others seem SPURIOUS.
It means fake, phony, counterfeit.

What's the right word? It was profound, incisive and insightful. And it’s one of those books that will stay with me for a while. I’ve already noticed that I sometimes use the southern vernacular, including the word “ain’t.” And I ain’t that kind! No, sir!

I will miss Atticus, Jean Louise and Jem. I admire Atticus’ patience and wisdom and hope to emulate him when I am parenting my child.

Neologism

I don't recall where I saw it now, it may have been in an article on the Internet, but I really like this neologism:
Multishirking.
Instead of multitasking, I think I may be more successful at multishirking!

Shirking means to avoid responsibility, and Multi means to do it multiple times. So I don't think a definition is necessary. I also don't think it will be in my dictionary anyway. But new words are invented every day. If they catch on, they eventually get into the dictionary and gain respectability.

Neologism is a fancy word for a new word! (It comes to us through French.)

Wide awake

Why do we say "wide awake?" What is so wide about being awake? I guess "very awake" sounds strange. But I can't think of any other instance of using wide in this way. We don't say wide aware, although I think the W sounds in wide awake are euphonious (mellifluous).

I am only thinly awake right now. Barely awake? Somewhat alert?
What's the opposite of Awake? Asleep or unconscious. But there are many degrees between Awake and Asleep.

OK when I count to 5, You will find yourself back in the room, wide awake and feeling wonderful in every way.

One...
Two. ..
Three...
Four...
FIVE!

Stunning

I actually heard “flibbertigibbet”(twice) in a movie a few days ago! It was a very strange movie with Meg Ryan and Tom Hanks, called “Joe and the Volcano.”
A flibbertigibbet is an irresponsible, scatterbrained, or garrulous person. Remember to pronounce the G like J in jam. I’m not surprised that no etymology is given.

I found Flabberghast in my HUD huge unabridged dictionary. They list it as a combination of flabby (loose) and aghast (stunned or horrified). Aghast comes from Old English from a word that means ghost!

I'm astonished that we have so many words that mean stunned like aghast and flabbergasted.

Flabbergasted!

Flabbergasted. What a word. I wonder who ever thought of it. Words are invented, not discovered. What in the world is flabber?
I think most people know what it means, but just to be clear, flabbergast means to surprise, astonish, or confound. There is no etymology listed, in my dictionary, it says, origin obscure. I will check this in my Huge, Unabridged Dictionary later and let you know. I’m sure it has a very interesting history.
Other flamboyant words:
Flim-flammed, flambasted, flamboozled?
Flam booz le is not in my dictionary. It means to deceive or confound.
Flam boy ant 1. highly elaborate, ornate, showy. 2. vivid, resplendent. 3. having waved lines and flamelike forms, in architecture. From Old French, flamboyer, to blaze.
Flim-flam 1. nonsense. 2. a deception, a swindle. From Old Norse, through Danish, via German.

Enough of this frippery (trivia)!

Cat-

We’ve also been using words like cataleptic and catatonic in my very remarkable and mesmerizing class.
Cataleptic—stiff and rigid, unaware.
Catatonic—paralyzed, having immobile limbs, suffering from some type of schizophrenic disorder.

That's weird, cataleptic is from a Greek word meaning "a seizing," but
catatonic is from catatonia, which came from New Latin, through German.

Diaphanous

I heard a lovely word yesterday in my class. A student said that something appeared "diaphanous." I suspect it must be of Greek origin with the PH in it. I think I know what it means, but I’m actually going to check my dictionary, so I can see the etymology.

Di aph a nous is from a Greek word which means to show through and means transparent, translucent, or delicate, like the wings of a dragonfly.
Wow, the wings may be delicate, but the sound of the name, dragonfly, certainly isn’t!
Mnemonic device: remember “Diaphanous like a Dragongfly wing!”

Of course, mnemonic is a word obtained from Greek, from the goddess of Memory, Mnemosyne. In Greek they pronounce both the M and the N in the beginning of the word. But we Americans like it simple and short, so when we say it the M is silent (making it difficult to look up).

Covetous

Covet. What’s wrong with coveting? 1. To desire. 2. To wish for excessively and culpably; crave; envy. From Middle English, through Old French, from several different Latin incarnations which sound like culpable and mean desire.
Covetous – avaricious, greedy; eager for acquisition.
Fervent – 1. Having or showing great emotion or warmth; passionate; ardent. 2. Extremely hot, glowing. From ME, thru Old French, from Latin, to boil.
Ardent – 1. passionate. 2. enthusiastic, zealous. 3.glowing, flashing, fierce. 4. burning. From ME thru Old French, from latin, to burn.

More words with burning or boiling references!

Vocation or avocation

I am so looking forward to my class starting on March 30. I will be the instructor! It's going to be great. I even have some local hypnotists lined up as guest speakers.

I bought a white board to hang up in my office. And I ordered the manuals and other supplies. There are all kinds of goodies that come in the student kits, like a crystal pendulum! It's neat!

So if you are interested in learning how to hypnotize others (and yourself), check out www.EnlightenedHypnosis.com.

Avocation -- an activity engaged in, usually for enjoyment, in addition to one's profession.
Education -- the obtaining of knowledge or skill.
Vocation -- regular occupation or profession.
These words are all from Latin.

Confabulation

First, does anyone remember the TV show with David Duchovney, called the X-Files? It was very popular about 11-12 years ago. It was about 2 FBI agents who investigated unexplained phenomena. They even did make a movie...

I remember being outraged when I heard Scully on that show, say, "Everyone knows that subjects under hypnosis are prone to confabulation." This is where the misinformation about hypnosis comes from! Especially from innocent shows like Jimmy Neutron and George and Martha (cartoons).

Let me reveal the truth about confabulation and hypnosis!

I know a retired police officer in NYC who conducted a 6-year study during the late 80's and early 90’s. They also conducted the same study in California at the same time. This person and a few others used forensic hypnosis with witnesses to obtain information about the perpetrators of crimes. They kept track of all information obtained under hypnosis. In 6 years, they found the information to be 52% relevant and 95% accurate. This means the information was helpful in finding or identifying the perpetrator. But also that even if it did not lead to an arrest, it was 95% accurate.

Information which is 95% accurate is called truth, not confabulation. Confabulate means to make up information, and to assume it is true. The dictionary says to replace fact with fantasy in memory. This does happen. Human memory is not perfect. We tend to fill in details that make sense or seem reasonable if we don't exactly remember everything about an event.

The Foresic Hypnotist I have been speaking of, told me it was very important to word the questions in such a way as not to "lead the witness." Ask them to describe the event, and the people present. Don't say, "did the man have facial hair?" This will lead the subject to believe that it was a man, even if they really weren't sure. Maybe they had a mask on and a big overcoat, so the gender was unknown. And asking if there was facial hair, makes it more likely the subject will report a beard or mustache...

Now you know the facts about confabulation and hypnosis. If you see Scully, please let her know.

Confabulation -- 1. an informal chat. 2. a false memory. From Latin, to talk together, from fabulari, story, conversation.

Demystifying

What is hypnosis used for? Hypnosis is a tool for behavior modification. You probably know some uses for it already. Hypnosis is very effective for those who want to quit smoking. A study done in 1995 by the AMA found hypnosis to be almost 80% effective. This means 80% effective for eradicating an addiction! There is no other addiction treatment I know of, which can claim over 25%. It’s also used to lose weight, stop nail-biting, eliminate the fear of public speaking, and build confidence. Most people come to me for improving either their relationships or their job performance. Hypnosis is very effective for stress reduction, which everyone has, and when the stress is reduced, people become more effective at their jobs and relationships. Someone called me about weight loss. The real problem was insomnia due to stress. After 1 session, the stress level was lower and she could fall asleep more easily. This helps our body digest food and eliminate wastes, therefore, reducing weight gain. Isn't it ironic that worrying about gaining weight, can actually create conditions which make it easier for your body to retain weight?

"Demystify" is a mysterious and mystical word, derived from Latin, meaning to elucidate, make clear, expose.

Next time: confabulation.

BOY

I just found out, my son has B.O.Y.! I never heard of it until yesterday. Kids with B.O.Y. can be hyperactive, impulsive, bright, enthusiastic, loud, and extremely persistent. They may get in trouble in school frequently. I have often been told my child doesn’t act like the other children in his class, but this is the first time I’ve ever found a label that fits! B.O.Y.! I think it stands for boisterous, outstanding youth. Has anyone else ever heard of this?

Acronyms are abbreviations that can be pronounced as a word! So we can just say my son has BOY. He's BOY. He's a b-o-y!

"Acronym" comes from Latin. "Acro" means height (like acrophobia) and "nym" means name. So an acronym is a word with all high (capital) letters.

The word "radar" is an acronym, which stands for radio detecting and ranging.
"Scuba" is an acronym, self-contained underwater breathing apparatus.
"Snafu," too. Situation normal, all fouled up! This originated as a military term!

These terms are so common now that they don't need to be capitalized anymore.

Transformation

I don't find these words in my dictionary, but they are all over the paper today and the past week or so: transgendered and transsexual.

"Trans" means across, so "transgendered" is an adjective which means having changed from one gender to another. And "transsexual" is a noun referring to a transgendered individual.

Postponed

Sorry, the word for today is postponed until tomorrow.

Please check my other blog, Musings, for exerpts from a new presentation I'm working on.

Don't read this

The brain is so fascinating. If I say “don’t run,” my son will immediately start running. Then when I exclaim “stop,” he’ll slow down. I know this, but shouting “Walking Feet!” is still just a bit awkward and unnatural. I guess I have to keep at it until it is natural for me to use positive expressions. It’s okay to negate positive expressions or to use words that begin with "un" or "non." It’s much better to say unhappy than depressed. Unhappy still contains happy inside it. Or say less than or not exactly, as in I am not exactly optimistic today. I am not spectacular. I am unhappy. I am non-ebullient. I am the opposite of exuberant! Hyperbole makes me laugh. And laughter is so effective at changing my state when I do happen to feel less than wonderful.

Hyperbole? I'm sure it's Greek. It means an exaggeration. Exaggeration? Latin. Why do I start by saying, don't read this? I'm using a principle of neurolinguistic programming, which states that the brain doesn’t process the not or the don’t. You have to first understand the statement, before you can negate it. That’s why a toddler will almost always spill the milk if you hand her a cup and say, "don’t spill it!" It’s much more effective to say, "hold it carefully and use walking feet while holding it! "

Whoa, “neurolinguistic.” That’s a mouthful! Neuro has to do with neurons in the brain, and linguistic has to do with language. Neuro is from Greek and linguistic from Latin! A mixed heritage for that word.

Profanity

Little things amuse me. I mean little things literally, like little words, especially 3 or 5 letter words. Isn’t it funny that the expression “4-letter words” refers to profanity. Isn’t it odd that most profanity has only 4 letters? I guess all I can handle today are 3-5 letter words. I have been feeling a little overwhelmed lately.….

Back to those friendly, droll words. I like the sound of these: mirth, glee, smirk, smug! "Mirth" is a very funny word. Say it a few times and see if you don’t laugh. If you don’t, try it with a high, whiney voice. If you still aren’t laughing, make an appointment with a private investigator or hypnotherapist and see if you can’t recover your lost sense of humor!

Why does “profane” mean obscene, rude or crude? “Pro” means for or toward and what is “fane?” In Latin, “profanus” means before the temple, but outside of it, indicating that something is secular, not sacred or pious.

I feel overwhelmed. Can one be underwhelmed? Subdued would be synonymous with underwhelmed. How about whelmed? “Whelm” must be from Latin as there is no “WH” in Greek. My dictionary says it is from Middle English, overwhelmen, which definitely sounds German. But there is such a word as “whelm!” It means to submerge, or cover with water. It’s true, you can learn something every day! Even me, the philolog!

Trance

My most creative time for writing is when I get to my office, and I’m still not completely awake, or while I’m in the hypnopompic state.
Hypno Pompic! Sounds a bit pompous, don’t you think? It means the time just after awakening from sleep. I guess that it’s a transition state. Is that where the word trance comes from (transition)? Transition comes from a Latin verb meaning to go across. Trance came to us from French, where it meant to pass from life to death, or depart. In English it’s less scary, it means: 1. a hypnotic state. 2. a state of detachment as in daydreaming. 3. a dazed state, stupor.

The mystery of relaxation

I’m intrigued by common words. They are like mysteries to me. I had several conversations about different methods of relaxation yesterday.
Where does the word relaxation come from? I suspect Latin. Yesss!!! “Re” means back and “lax” means loosen, and “ation” means state of.
Meditation? Probably Latin. Right again! The Latin word “meditari” means to consider, reflect.
Hypnosis? I know this is from Greek, “hypnos,” meaning sleep. I think there might even have been a minor Greek god named “Hypnos.”

Pop Icons

I am so fascinated by all the news articles about Anna Nicole Smith, that I can’t think of a word to accurately describe my state. Disgust? Horror? Dysphoria? Upset? Confused? The last article I read said that she was a “pop-culture icon!” What does that say about our culture? What does that say about icons? What exactly is an icon? Icon has a few meanings, since the ubiquity of Windows, it simply means a symbol.

For example: There are unused icons on your desktop!

It also means a religious article of great significance, including body parts or clothing of dead saints and portraits, statues, or other likenesses… “Icon,” must be Greek. The Greek Orthodox revere their icons. That’s why there is word which means someone who doesn’t approve of symbols, “iconoclast.”

Okay, I did it. I brought up popular culture, but found a way to sneak in some interesting words and not actually criticize or explore popular culture itself.

Ubiquity means that it is present everywhere, omnipresent. It’s derived from Latin.
Icon means an image or symbol. Also, a representation or picture of a sacred Christian personage, itself regarded as sacred especially in the tradition of the Eastern Churches. Originally from Greek.
Iconoclast is someone who destroys icons, or one who attacks traditional ideas or institutions. From Medieval Greek, image-breaker.
Dysphoria means depressed or anxious. Must be derived from Greek.

Beautiful youth

Is our country suffering from hebephrenia? We are definitely obsessed with youth. Everybody has to look youthful. And I can’t get over why some of us middle-aged folks want to look youthful by dressing like the teenagers today, when we only wind up looking foolish. I work with teenagers. I think they look awful and I have pointed out to them how embarrassed they will be in 20 years, when their teenage children look at photos of them with their pants hanging off their butts. Oh, is that still in style in New York? Probably not, but the kids here still want to wear clothes that don’t fit. The boys wear everything too big. They have to wear a dress over their shorts so we don’t see the gymn shorts they wear in an effort to prevent drafts and pass the “dress code,” and the girls wear everything too small. The tops are tiny, got to show that belly ring! And the bottoms may be long and wide, so they sweep the floor, but they are small enough on the top, which is not around the waist, but riding so low on the hips they show their tiny little thong underwear. Remember when “thongs” were sandals?

Oh, and tattoos are very popular in Florida, too.
I never considered a tattoo (commitment-phobe that I am). They are so permanent. And again look much better on the young. And I have seen many senior citizens with them here. Not a pretty sight.

He be phre ni a n. a schizophrenia characterized by foolish mannerisms, delusions, hallucinations, and regressive behiavior. From Greek (of course, observe the PH), hebe, youth, Hebe, the goddess of youth and spring.
He be phren ic. Adj. immature or foolish.

Rainy days and Mondays

The word of the day is soporific. Mondays mornings are not easy around here. All the high school students are so tired after their exciting weekends. School is the perfect place to catch up on sleep, right? Not in my classroom! You better get up early and be on time to my class, or it results in an extra day of solitary confinement. So get to bed early! Plan ahead! Oh, I forgot. Teenagers now have that excuse that the brain is not fully developed until 21 and the reasoning part is not quite connected yet to the logical component. When I was in school, we didn’t have that excuse, and kids were held responsible for getting to class on time and staying awake in class…

Sop o rif ic -- adj. 1. inducing sleep. 2. drowsy. From Latin.

Right above soporific is soporiferous, which is a synonym for soporific. Feeling sleepy yet? All this talk about sleep has made me…I’ll just rest my eyes for a minute…zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

The Power of Attraction

"Resistance is futile."

My moods are determined by the news on the radio, by the songs I hear, and by the miserable people around me. There’s nothing I can do about it.

Or is there? Can I control the songs I hear… and turn off the news… and look for the positive people? Can I choose my words more carefully, knowing how powerful they are? Can I read something inspirational every morning? Can I make sure I look for things to laugh at instead of things to complain about? There are plenty of both around. Which are we going to concentrate on? Which are we going to attract? We always seem to find evidence for whatever we are concentrating on…..

That’s why I listen to positive affirmations and do self-hypnosis everyday…

For more info on this subject, see www.EnlightenedHypnosis.com

Sexist Terms 2

I recently received a report, which started like this:

This will separate the Men from the Boys!!!!

I was a little taken aback. Would I be a Man after reading this report? Even if I wasn’t a Boy to start out with?!

I understand the meaning, but I think it could be stated differently:

This will separate the adults from the children! But this only displays an age difference, so it’s not equivalent.

This will separate the superior from the inferior! Is that right? Or is it the accomplished from the inexperienced? I think that captures the flavor a little better for me, but it’s not too catchy. This will separate the experts from the novices. The geeks from the newbies? The nerds from the herds? I got it! The best from the rest!

This will separate the best from the rest!

To the point

I’m on another punctuation rant. “Punk chu a shun.” What a weird word. It must be originally from Latin. There are not a lot of words that begin with “punc,” which is good because it doesn’t look or sound pretty. Punctual, punctuation, punctilious. What a perfectly silly word! “Punctilious,” is one of those words that just makes you laugh for the absurdity of it.

punc til i ous n. 1. attentive to the finer points of etiquette and formal conduct. 2. precise; scrupulous. See synonyms at meticulous. From New Latin, punctum, point.
punc tu al adj. Prompt, arriving at the time appointed; exact, precise.
punc tu ate v. 1. to provide a test with punctuation marks. 2. to interrupt periodically. 3. to stress, emphasize.

I realize I may be one of the few people in the world who knows how to use punctuation. I know what a semicolon is for. I don’t much care for them. I prefer exclamation points! I’m quite liberal with periods and question marks. On the other hand I’m very conservative with quotation marks. I think a paragraph filled with them is quite annoying and unattractive. I prefer using a name or title and a colon on each line of a conversation (see Sexist Terms for an example). I like parentheses for the most part. I really enjoy ellipses… those are the three dots which indicate a pregnant pause… or a missing word or phrase.

I told my son that “ain’t” wasn’t a proper word. Then of course a song came on the radio with double negatives and the aforementioned term, “ain’t.” It is much more common here than it was in New York.

I pride myself on knowing the rules. But they keep changing them! I feel like an anachronism.

anachronism n. anything out of its proper time. From Greek, ana, backward, chronos, time.

Okay, here's the conclusion. There must be some relationship between the top of this article and the bottom. I'll try to tie in punctuation with anachronism: You never hear much about punctiliousness these days. I guess it's anachronistic to be concerned with propriety or punctuation in today's informal society.

Redundant

Good Morning! Is that an oxymoron? Some days it is.

Happy Monday! That is.

"Blithe indifference." If blithe means happy, and indifferent means without feeling, it would be an oxymoron. But wait! If indifferent means without caring, and blithe means carefree, it really isn't an oxymoron, but a redundant phrase. I guess that illustrates the difference between denotation (dictionary meaning) and connotation (common meaning). Because "blithe" is such a pleasant little word, and "indifferent" has a coldness to it.

I was thinking about my last blog and wondering if I should have defined blithe.

Blithe—carefree, cheerful, jolly

Therefore I have decided that "insouciant" is good, because "blithe" is good.

Insouciance

The word of the day is “insouciant!”
Carefree! Reckless! (like me)
I don’t think “insouciant” is a negation of “souciant,” but let me look it up and be certain, as I am not sure right now if being insouciant is good or bad. Of course that gets us into deep water with ethics. I don’t want to go there! It’s too early. And who cares, anyway? Not I!

Insouciance n. indifference.
Insouciant adj. blithely indifferent, carefree. From Latin via French.

So that’s why I like that word, it comes from French! Ooo-la-la!

Thingamabob

I like the sound of the word, “doodad.” It’s a very useful and versatile word. A doodad is a useless thing, which is decorative, but I tend to use it sometimes if I can’t think of the correct word. I like it much better than “watch-a-ma-call-it.”

doodad n. 1. a small article whose name is unknown or forgotten : gadget. 2. an ornamental attachment or decoration. Origin unknown

How about that?! I was using it correctly!

I can’t find “watch-a-ma-call-it” or "watchamacallit" in my dictionary. Time for a new one!

This was written Thursday night, Jan 25. I thought I published it, but was surprised today when I refered to thingamabob and thingamajig in my latest post and didn't see it!

Malapropism

A malapropism is a misused word. A spoonerism is a mispronounced word, when you transpose letters or sounds. For example, "noosperism" would be a spoonerism of spoonerism.

So, I'm trying to figure out what is the appropriate term for George Bush saying "nucular" instead of "nuclear." It is not a spoonerism, but it is mispronounced. Where did the extra "u" sound come from in the middle?


Note on last blog: thingamabob and thingamajig are in my dictionary. Watchamacallit is not. I wonder if these are regional expressions?

Languor

After all the depression and languor this week, I think we need some positive affirmations!

languor n. 1. lethargy, sluggishness. 2. oppressive quiet or stillness. 3. an air of melancholy. From Latin, via French.

I am healthy. I am wealthy. I am fabulous. My life is harmonious.

Repeat:

I am healthy. I am wealthy. I am fabulous. My life is harmonious.

Now, with more feeling:

I am healthy! I am wealthy! I am fabulous. My life is harmonious!

Positive expectations

Maybe it’s true. I just read that today is the most depressing day of the year ( in three different articles). Although the weather has been good in Florida, it’s still time for bills and post-holiday letdown, and when we look at a calendar and realize that there are no paid holidays until Memorial Day, and of course we have no excuse for stylish boots or sweaters like the Northerners.

That was the first news article I read today. Then I opened an electronic newsletter that has an article about those moods that seem to come out of nowhere that you have no control of. I think maybe the first one is right. Or am I just influenced by the reading of it? Words do have power over us. I will immediately and persistently replace those negative vibes with positive affirmations applied liberally throughout the day.

Maybe I’ll do a 3-minute self-hypnosis session to get my mood back on track. I always seem to find that the day meets my expectations, so I like to have expectations of a very satisfying day.

Affirmation of the day: Something good will come out of this. This is a very good thing to affirm after meeting some challenges. I heard Sonia Choquette say this on a radio show last week.

Inspirational quote: Thru this door, all my dreams become realities, and some of my realities become dreams! – Willy Wonka in the movie, Willy Wonka

Depression is also called anhedonia, so I guess the opposite is hedonia. Let me check. It’s not in my dictionary, but hedonism and hedonist is. But they are not what I was looking for, so let’s go with euphoria, bliss, ecstasy. These all express extreme joyful conditions, so let’s tone it down a bit and settle for cheerful. If I say “I feel euphoric,” I may raise eyebrows. Whereas, if I say “I feel cheerful,” people are less likely to gossip behind my back or recommend a psychologist.

Have a great day!

Sexist Terms

I received a burning inquiry from one of my students this week:

Gloria,
As a Liberated Woman and Feminist Supporter, can you work your magic on somehow getting our Education System to reword degrees, i.e.:
4 Years of College called "Bachelor's Degree."
How about Bachelorette or some other "unisex" name (which I know you could supply). Sensible Degree would work for me.

Then there's MASTER's Degree, should there be both with MISTRESS Degree, or again some ingenious unisex descriptive name like Debtors Degree (with Student Loans)_________or more seriously...SMART Degree?
Doctor I'm okay with... What can you come up with?
I seriously think this should be corrected; we no longer call CongressWomen CongressMen.
Help, a Sista' out. Wonder if I'm the only one who thinks about this stuff?

Crystal

I don’t think Crystal is alone in thinking about these things. I’m sure I thought about it, too, when I graduated from college more than 20 years ago and received my Bachelor’s degree. That means I became a “bachelor.” The most common definition for this is an unmarried man. Another definition listed is a graduate of a 4 year college program.

I’m also a “Master.” I received my Master’s degree about 10 years ago. This is not really a gender-neutral term, either. There is a feminine equivalent to this, which is Mistress. Of course the most common meaning of this word is very negative in our modern society, and if I said I was a Mistress, no one would think I was referring to an academic accomplishment.

So we need some better terms which are not laden with masculine imagery.

There are 4 academic degrees: associate, bachelor, master, and doctor. Who can think of some good names? Small, medium, large, and extra large? Tall, grande, venti, venti, and superiore?
I’m going to have to consider this, because the best I can come up with are mundane, but accurate and gender-neutral:
Academic Level 1, 2, 3, or 4, or
Undergraduate level 1, or 2, and Graduate level 1 or 2.

Student: Great News, Grandma, I have achieved academic level 3!
Grandma: (yawn).

Not titles to aspire to. Please send me some suggestions and help us out, here!

Rantings (NOT Ranting's)

Apostrophes are appearing everywhere lately. Especially where they don’t belong. I receive electronic mail messages with errors in them all the time. Should we do away with apostrophes? Apostrophe! PH, must be Greek. We can say the book belonging to the boy, instead of the boy’s book. Apostrophes show ownership. The problem is rooted in the difference between its and it’s. Apostrophes are used for contractions (shortened forms). They used to call them "contractions" when I was in school. The educational system thinks it is beneficial to change the names taught to children. The material is the same, but something like "carrying" is now called "regrouping." For parents who had trouble with mathematical concepts in elementary school this only serves to make it impossible for parents to assist their children in doing homework. I don't think it really makes mathematics any easier. And tell me what happened to the word "arithmetic?"

But back to apostrophes. “Its” means belonging to it. "It’s" is a shortened form of it is. And now that acronyms are so popular we want to write the plural of PC as PC’s. Plurals of common capitalized abbreviations are supposed to require an apostrophe. Maybe it should be PCs for several personal computers and PC’s for belonging to the PC. Maybe we should bring back periods. PERIODS, not "dots!" Remember P.C.? Or better yet, forget capitals and punctuation altogether and adopt the style of e. e. cummings. Wonder why he used periods in his name, but not in his poetry? I think chaos would break loose though if we did that. Maybe a few superfluous apostrophes are a small price to pay for world order.

Nevermind. Apostrophes may be overused or incorrectly used, but except for that, all is right with the world.

Goose Bumps

What gives you goose bumps? Do geese have bumps? Or is that only after the feathers are plucked? I don’t know, I never have plucked a goose…

Strange term: “goose bumps.” My dictionary lists goose flesh and goose PIMPLES. I never heard that last one. Goose bumps can be caused by the heebie-jeebies or by a cool breeze. I’m proud to report that my dictionary does list heebie-jeebies! I just checked. The last time I heard this question, though, I interpreted it in a positive way and thought about the things that give me goose bumps:
Good writing ( Not merely “good,” I mean eloquent),
a song vocalized by Mario Frangoulis accompanied by an orchestra,
a phone call from a far away friend (especially after you were just thinking about them),
a standing ovation from my audience,
my husband kissing the back of my neck….

How droll!

I left out a very amusing word on my list of monosyllables: droll. I came across this word in one of my son’s chapter books recently. I had to look it up to make sure I knew what it meant. I seem to remember hearing it in some old black and white movies, usually spoken by some sophisticated snob. It’s just a cute little word, which means comical or amusingly odd. I think it should be brought back into current usage.

Droll comes from an Old Dutch word, drol, meaning little man. I thought it might be related to troll, but my dictionary says that comes from an Old Norse word. Nonetheless, I think they share a common ancestor.

I think some of my articles are droll. If not humorous, they are certainly odd.

Epiphany

Epiphany was celebrated in Tarpon Springs, also known as “Epiphany City,” last Saturday. It has earned this epithet because every year, thousands of people gather to observe the Greek Orthodox tradition of retrieving a cross from a body of water. The teenage boy who retrieves the cross, is given many blessings for the coming year. This was the 101st year this has been performed in Tarpon Springs, and the warmest one in the last 100 years, lucky for the 30 young men who dived into Spring Bayou this year.

Epiphany n. Christian festival held on January 6.
epiphany n. revelation, spiritual event. From Greek, to reveal.
epitaph n. inscription on a tombstone. From Greek, over a tomb.
epithet n. adjective or descriptive phrase; abusive or contemptuous phrase used to describe a person. From Greek, to add on

Note: an epithet is not always negative. It is synonymous with "label."

Monosyllablic Words

Bane, daft, dolt, hurl, irk, squelch, words don’t have to be big, to be interesting!

Eloquence

Words are sooooo important. That’s why the word of the day is eloquence.

Does anyone look up words in dictionary anymore? Even I rarely do anymore and I used to study the dictionary when I was in grammar school. Now I just use the thesaurus option in MS Word.

An eloquent and loquacious speaker once told me,
“Eloquence is Silver. Silence is Golden.”

Loquacious--talkative, from Latin, loqui, to speak, which is also the root of
Eloquent--well spoken, expressive

Aphorisms

My father had some good sayings. I don’t think I ever heard this one from anyone else:

"A man convinced against his will is of the same opinion still.”

And he was the first to tell me the second part of this one:

“Time heals all wounds, and wounds all heels.”

Oh, I forgot to say, "Happy New Year, Dear Reader!"

New Year's Resolutions

I once made a resolution not to ever make New Year's resolutions. I kept this resolution for probably 20 years. I just couldn't understand what was so special about New Year's Day for a new beginning. I mean besides hanging up a new calendar, New Year's Day is just another day. And not a particularly good one if you are starting a weight loss program. The fitness club is closed and after devouring all the Christmas cookies (and pies), you're likely to go through sugar withdrawal.

I always thought one should make resolutions as they become necessary, but I've always been into self-improvement. I guess after almost 30 years, I should be perfect by now! Far from it! There's always room for improvement.

The Sunday paper yesterday had an article yesterday about How to Make New Year's Resolutions, by Ellen Degeneres. It was meant to be funny, but did contain some excellent points. She advised that you make a short list, only 4 or 5 resolutions and you should consult your list from prior years before you compile this one. If you had a resolution on your previous list like "I resolve never to eat another Christmas Cookie," and it didn't work out, this year put "I resolve to eat Christmas Cookies at every opportunity." That way you get a little head start. And if you did quit smoking or some other bad habit in the past, include that this year as well, like this, "Continue not smoking." That is another one with guaranteed success. You want to build on your successes!

But you can read the article for yourself. The point is to KEEP your resolutions, to avoid the trap that many people fall into. In a few weeks, I'll see all kinds of articles about what to do after you've broken all your resolutions! My advice would be to see a hypnotist or hypnotherapist, but I am biased.

Resolute n. determined, bold, firm of purpose.

Resolution n. process by which discord is made to pass into concord; the solving of a problem; boldness and firmness of purpose; decision, goal statement.

Regret n. what happens after you break all your New Year's resolutions.