vocabulary

A jest differs from a joke. The latter aims to cause laughter at no one’s expense. The former, however, almost always mocks a person or event. A court jester seemingly holds a perilous position; he is meant to jeer at the court and its behaviors without causing offense. It seems that a jester, like an acrobat, requires a firm sense of balance, as well as intuition about which way the wind blows and how delicate the wire is upon which he or she stands.

[Read more…] about Alphabet Adventure: J is for Jest

For some reason, ingenious makes me think of Pinky and the Brain, perhaps because the two mice are the direct opposite of the word. Brain believes himself ingenious, but Brain’s brain (Ha!) overcomplicates things. All his plans to rule the world come to naught and not always because of Pinky’s tendency to be all thumbs or to forget instructions. (Poor Pinky.)

[Read more…] about Alphabet Adventure: I is for Ingenious

Let me tell you a story. Once upon a time, I worked as an activities assistant at an assisted living center. I led exercise; called bingo; sang songs from the 1920s; chit-chatted with the residents; served food and drinks; and, most important of all, upheld peace, law, and order.

[Read more…] about Alphabet Adventure: H is for Hell’s Bells

 

Glottal sounds and appears to be an odd word choice. It certainly wasn’t the first word to come to mind when I started the latest installment in the Alphabet Adventure. Other words, like seashells left after the tide’s retreat, surfaced: glory, grand (related: grandiose and grandeur), garbage, glint (presumably because of Irc, a crow in the Pellinor series), and gainsay.
[Read more…] about Alphabet Adventure: G is for Glottal

Flibbertigibbet sounds like “bibbidi-bobbidi-boo” or “supercalifragilisticexpialidocious.” The sound is appropriate, considering that flibbertigibbet means a silly or flighty person. All three phrases convey a sense of the nonsensical and the downright “atrocious.” (Thank you, Mary Poppins.)

[Read more…] about Alphabet Adventure: F is for Flibbertigibbet

“It is a riddle wrapped in a mystery inside an enigma; but perhaps there is a key.” — Winston Churchill

It’s unfair to use Churchill’s enigma quote out of context. In context, Churchill is speaking of Russia and his uncertainty about how Russia will act. As such, his words contain broader implications; many situations leave a person wondering how events will unfold and people will behave. [Read more…] about Alphabet Adventure: E is for Enigma