Category: Language
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One Word: Twangled
Twangled â seriously? Yes, âtwangledâ is a real word. An odd, quirky, playful word, with a self-mocking tone that makes it fun to use (sparingly). No, I hadnât heard it before either. Hereâs how it came to my attention: Recently I posted a list of various ways my full name (âGary Leland Matthewsâ) could be…
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All the Candidatesâ Anagrams
Itâs that joyful season when anagram freaks (like me) dig deep to see what things we can spell by reshuffling letters in the names of leading candidates for President of the US of A. Break out your Scrabble blocks, and letâs begin. First, a note: When anagramming public figures, I shoot for humor â ideally…
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One Word: Turmeric
The word âturmericâ fascinates me. So, for that matter, does the actual spice — as distinct from the word. Hereâs the scoop: Turmeric powder ranges in color from bright yellow to deep orange. It has a pungent, gingery-peppery flavor and is a main component of curry. Because of its color, itâs sometimes called âIndian saffronâ.…
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One Word: Reunion
Reunion strikes me as possibly the most sublime of all English words. I love its sound. Even more, I love its meaning. Phonetically, reunion is a word that could be classified as “euphonious” or “mellifluous”. These are neat words, too: The first refers to sounds that please the ear; the second, to sounds that flow…
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The SAE Anagrams
Let’s see — how many words and phrases can we find in “Sigma Alpha Epsilon”? It’s a timely question, now that this national college fraternity (SAE for short) is back in the news: It’s taking heat for running its parties on a “White Girls Only” basis. This won’t help it recover from last March’s viral video…
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One Word: Vasty
Glendower: âI can call spirits from the vasty deep.â Hotspur: âWhy, so can I, or so can any man. But will they come when you do call for them?â (Shakespeare, Kɪɴɢ Há´É´ĘĘ á´Ęá´ Fá´á´Ęá´Ę, Pá´Ęá´ I, Act 3, Scene 1) This famous passage was my introduction to the word âvastyâ. I came across it while…
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One Word: Blog
Am I the only person annoyed by the word âblogâ? It reminds me of blob, glob, bog, grog, flog, and other words none of which do much for me either. Simply stated, blog is a word I experience as grating and vaguely unpleasant. That of course is only in terms of the way it sounds.…
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One Word: Disinterested
Disinterested is a word I find most interesting. Not á´É´ĘĘ because itâs so often misused. (Although it is — like âcompriseâ and so many more.) No, âdisinterestedâ fascinates me because it expresses a subtle, absolutely indispensable concept about which we need to think and talk. And because I canât think of any equivalent word we…
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Making My Post Into a Movie?
Did Hollywood make a movie from one of my blog posts? Not really. (Sigh!) In fact, the movie predated my article by two years. But I didn’t know! When I wrote recently about Words and Pictures, I hadn’t heard of the film. Yet there it is, starring Juliette Binoche and Clive Owen, and directed by…
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One Word: Worth a Thousand Pictures
Does anyone else feel oppressed by the âtyranny of picturesâ? I do, and Iâm fighting back with a new series of posts about words I love. Words that interest, fascinate, and delight me; words that (for me) carry depths of meaning mere pictures canât duplicate. One article per word — posted á´ĄÉŞá´Ęá´á´á´ á´ÉŞá´á´á´Ęá´s. Hereâs why…
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New Websites
Several long-term projects coming to fruition: Please take a look at the all-new Stonehaven Press website at stonehavenpress.com. This site, the storefront for the publishing company Cheri and I own, has been in the works for a long time. Way overdue, but we havenât had the time needed to bring it into being. Also its…
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Seoul Pancake
May 9, 2012 (Tuesday) â Apologies to Rainn Wilson for the pun on his wacky, wonderful website. But facing a 13-hour layover in Seoul, Korea, I was ready to disclaim any further responsibility for anything. Then Zabine and I got a clue: We remembered our Vietnamese home-stay host telling us of a terrific five-hour tour of Seoul we could…