Today’s word is PANTAGRUELIAN.
It means enormous. Geez. Why not just say enormous? This one is a mouthful, isn’t it? It comes from a character in Rabelias’ satirical stories of Gargantua and Pantagruel. He and his father, Gargantua were giants. The stories were written in the 1500s. I, for one, think it’s a cool word but would probably never use it in a sentence.
You can get the book on Project Guttenberg if you’re so inclined.
Today’s word is a fun one. Its meaning is comparing horoscopes between two (or more) people to determine if they are likely to be compatible or have a good relationship. The word is SYNASTRY.
Have you ever done that? I’ve done it in a few Chinese restaurants where they have the years on the paper placemat. We always check that out with the people we’re with to see if we’re supposed to even be at the same table. I’m a Rat. Next time you’re in the mood, research your animal and see if we’d be compatible. Check it out here– Seems like Rats make good lawyers. Who knew? LOL!
The smell of lemon cookies baking transports me back in time to when I was a little girl and being in my grandmother’s house. She baked the best ever lemon cookies. I loved them- they were so soft on the inside and yummy with just the right amount of tang to set your mouth alight.
She passed away when I was fifteen and I still miss her to this day. Not a week goes by without me thinking of her. The closest I’ve ever gotten to those cookies again (and believe me, I’ve tried some recipes) was when I bought some lemon flavored Grandma’s Cookies. As soon as I opened the pouch, I was back in the late
60’s-early 70’s. The taste even lived up to my memories.
Sadly, I usually only see the other flavors like chocolate chip and peanut butter when I find Grandma’s Cookies. I need a supplier to stock the lemon ones near me
The word of the day today is a super fun one. It’s Cockalorum and means a self important little man.
It’s from the 18th century and of course, it’s a noun. I guess Napoleon would be the obvious choice for this word in that century? I know some in this century as well. Sadly, I have to deal with some of them often. Ha ha.
I’ve now written a young adult novel and I’m pretty happy with how it turned out. I’ve already edited it and sent it out to a couple of agents. It’s a story about magic and is a bit of an adventure. I like a lot of stuff going on in the books I read and so I tend to load up the ones I write, too.
This story is kind of a mashup of Mean Girls and The Craft with a side dose of a teen crush.
I’m hoping that others whom I’ve shared this one with like it. It was a departure for me to go back to the first person writing I did when I started and it was also a new age group for the protagonists so I hope that the young adult voice is acceptable. One other writer I know who does children’s stories told me she thought I had a great YA voice. Let’s hope she’s right.
The inspiration for this story was something that happened to me a bit over a year ago and this was my way of working out in my head that the events that occurred weren’t all on me. LOL
Sorry I’m a bit late posting today. Lots on my plate.
Today’s word is CONVERSE.
Converse is a noun as well as a verb and an adjective. It’s a true multi-purpose word.
As a verb it means to talk or chat. In other words, to engage in conversation.
As a noun it is an object, situation or statement that’s the opposite or reverse of another.
The adjective is similar to the noun since it basically means the reverse of something else.
So, someone could have a conversation that deals with the converse of something else or maybe they could just wear their Converse sneakers.
In the last week, I’ve had a lot of sadness in my life. It’s weird how it comes in spurts like that. It started with the death of the man who rented office space from me. He’s been ill for a while so even though we all knew he was not doing well, it was a bit of a shock to hear that he passed away in his sleep during the day on last Friday. His family has decided to have his services in the town where he grew up instead of here where he lived for over thirty years. This saddens me as he was a big part of the community here and they are robbing us of the chance to say goodbye.
In the last day, I learned that a friend’s son was killed when a car backed over him. He was only seven. I’m utterly shattered for my friend and her family. I know how much they adored that little boy and I can’t wrap my head around such a devastating loss. I don’t know how they’re going to make it from day to day with this hole in their lives. There’s nothing I can say or do to make it better. I wish there was.
Death really puts things in perspective. I know I let things bother me and I get hurt easily but as I think about these people -both too young to go- being gone and no longer able to enjoy time with family and friends, I find myself hoping that the life I lead in the time I have left is one such that my family and friends will be as bereft as I am at the loss of these two. I endeavor to be as good a person as they both were.
The word of the week is PHILLUMENIST.
I used to do this when I was a young girl and teen. In fact, I did this until I graduated from law school. I had a metric ton of these from restaurants, hotels, tourist stops and all kinds of places. What were they? Matchboxes or matchboxes.
Yep, a Phillumentist is a collector of matchbooks or matchboxes.
Today’s word is APTRONYM which means a person’s name that is regarded as amusingly appropriate to their occupation.
Here where I live, we have a dermatologist named Dr. Skinner; a urologist named Dr. Peters; and a lawyer named Chancellor.
I also had a probation officer I knew (interned for) in Alabama named Mr. Law.
I love the way the word apt is in the word aptronym as it really is apt, isn’t it?
Check out this new cover for a romance novel set in Venice, Italy coming out in April. Isn’t it lovely?
Since it’s St. Patrick’s Day weekend, I’m planning to watch one of my all time favorite Irish movies, Michael Collins. That man was truly what I would call one of my bad boys. He was strong, full of conviction and even though he was hated by the British, he did what he needed to do to stand up for what he believed even to the point of dying for those beliefs. This movie somewhat romanticizes what happened in the fight for Irish independence but it’s a good film. I love the way the cast relates to each other and the scenery and cinematography are superb. It doesn’t hurt that Alan Rickman, Aiden Quinn and Liam Neeson are easy on the eyes, too. Enjoy the day, drink a toast to your favorite Irishman and watch a flick.
Ramblings of a Writer 