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?)