Words

I love words!  No, I don't read dictionaries for fun, although I might try it.  Some words just sound great, almost rolling off the tongue.  They are musical.  Others have meanings so precise that they can't be replaced.

I subscribe to "Word of the Day," from www.dictionary.com.  Daily, then, I receive a new word.  Some are not particularly interesting.  Others seem made-up, not real words.  But most are really cool.  I even try to use them in my writing and speaking, everyday conversations, too.  I share many words with Karen and Carrie, a first-grade teacher.  Some she shares with her students, as I intend, although many of the words are beyond them.  When I use the words in everyday conversations with them, usually they just shake their heads.  But some, such as "sycophant," have become buzzwords for us, always bringing smiles to our faces.

Now, some words have become so trite, so overused or used in the wrong sense, that, at least to me, have become meaningless.  At least, I no longer use them.  "Absolutely" is one of them.  "Bizarre" is another.  Can any word have acquired less meaning that "totally?"  And I'm not fond of "boring," either.  Most people just toss it out, not really meaning "boring," but something else, such as "not liking," "time-consuming," etc.  For the most part, I don't say these words and I certainly don't write with them.

But there are lots of cool words out there.  People don't use them and, I suppose, using them might seem a bit affectatious.  Now there's a cool word, "affectatious."  So are "sycophant, " "debacle," "sisyphean," and "solypcism."  Add in "abstemious," which has the added feature of all the vowels in proper order.

Words......