Quote for the day “A perfectly clean house is a sign of a wasted life.” I don’t know who said it, but it works for me. It also works well with this quote “Of all the things that matter, that really and truly matter, working more efficiently and getting more done is not among them. Chill. The Universe.”
Words, words, words. Now that I am pretending to be a writer, words have become much more important to me. You could say they are my new drug. It is a great addiction. The supply is unlimited (new words are created every day) and there are no adverse side effects.
Some words are fun and some words are great to learn. Here is where I’ll introduce them.
New additions on 3/23/2011
Joan from San Diego wants to add her two favorite fun words to say: cardigan and rhododendron.
New additions on 3/19/2011
My friend, Joy, from Kentucky loves the word serendipity. Serendipity is one of those fun words to say. Just the dipity part alone is a riot. The World English dictionary has a great definition “the faculty of making fortunate discoveries by accident.”
I recently read Elizabeth Gilbert’s new book “Committed.” In one chapter I found three phrases that stumped me to the point I had to write them down: prescient old friend, parasitical homunculus and unrepentant harridan. Just don’t hear those in every day conversation.
prescient old friend – meaning intuitive or psychic – well, one upbeat one out of the three.
parasitical homunculus – a blood sucking little person – I might have to go reread that sentence….
unrepentant harridan – yikes, harridan means a nag or a shrew – don’t want to be near that type of person.
Earlier….
FUN WORDS
BOOYAH – this started sometime during the summer of 2010. I can’t remember the exact moment. But I thought it had to do with New Orleans. It doesn’t. But it is so fun to say. Boo. Yah. It is a very happy word. Sports figures say it sometime. My friends and family wish I never heard this word.
LUGE – I heard this word with the word martini in front of it. Martini Luge. I wanted one. Whatever it was. I guess they are popular at weddings. You pour your martini down an ice sculpture and you capture it in your glass – icy cold. Some friends told me you can skip the glass and catch it in your mouth. These friends are much younger than me.
RONDO – Rondo rolls around in your mouth. It ends with a beautiful “o” sound. Go Rondo is also fun to say. He is a great basketball player.
EPHIPANY – Ok, this word is a bit overused. But, if someone I know says “I had this ephipany the other day,” it is like EF Hutton spoke. If you are too young for that reference, it means everyone gets quiet and really listens.
WINE DISTRIBUTOR – this is one of my favorite phrases to hear when I am in a bar with my girlfriends. It is extra special when it is combined with these words: “Ladies, that wine is on the house, the wine distributor is here and he wants you to enjoy yourselves.”
GULL WINGS – Not since the DeLorean have I thought a car was sexy. Then Mercedes introduced the SLS AMG. I love gull wings. What can I say – cars with wings.
NEW WORDS I’VE LEARNED
Schadenfreude – this word is obviously from German origin. I read it in a magazine article about friendship. I hope I have no friends like this. It means satisfaction or pleasure felt at someone else’s misfortune.
Lagniappe– this is used mostly in the south, like Louisiana. It is pronounced the way the French would say it. It means a gift given with a purchase or an unexpected or indirect benefit.
Torrontés – I love learning about new wines. This is my new favorite wine. It is a white wine from Argentina. It is dry and crisp. I won’t go on and on. Try it.
