This word instantly caught my fancy. Plus, it's not too difficult to use and expresses the idea evocatively.
Oorie - Dismal, gloomy; cheerless; miserable as a result of cold, illness, etc.
Friday, December 5, 2014
Wednesday, November 19, 2014
Vape: The word of 2014
As a noun - ‘an electronic cigarette or similar device; an act of inhaling and exhaling the vapour produced by an electronic cigarette or similar device.’
As a verb - to ‘inhale and exhale the vapour produced by an electronic cigarette or similar device.’
Vape, the word, came into existence in 1983 when an author named Rob Stepney, writing in the pages of the now defunct UK magazine New Society, described a hypothetical device being explored at the time: “an inhaler or ‘non-combustible’ cigarette, looking much like the real thing, but… delivering a metered dose of nicotine vapour. (The new habit, if it catches on, would be known as vaping.)”
As a verb - to ‘inhale and exhale the vapour produced by an electronic cigarette or similar device.’
Vape, the word, came into existence in 1983 when an author named Rob Stepney, writing in the pages of the now defunct UK magazine New Society, described a hypothetical device being explored at the time: “an inhaler or ‘non-combustible’ cigarette, looking much like the real thing, but… delivering a metered dose of nicotine vapour. (The new habit, if it catches on, would be known as vaping.)”
Sunday, November 9, 2014
Rebecca Solnit's definition of a book
"A book is a heart that only beats in the chest of another."
~ From her beautiful essay on reading and writing.
~ From her beautiful essay on reading and writing.
Thursday, October 30, 2014
Evocative phrases
“The sere and yellow leaf” (from Macbeth.)
Sere and yellow is for I'm old.
And another one I came across:
I shall peg out one of these days.
Peg out - meaning die
Sere and yellow is for I'm old.
And another one I came across:
I shall peg out one of these days.
Peg out - meaning die
Okay
In the years before the American Civil War (1861-1864), journalists thought it was great fun to misspell words for comic effect.
Writer Charles Farrar Browne (1834-1867), for example, who wrote political humor under the byline Artemus Ward, was not the only writer to adopt deliberate misspelling as a stylistic device.
Take OK. The most likely origin of OK is as an acronym for “Oll Korrect.” By 1839, this misspelling, had been compressed to O.K. Now, OK is taken as a word and not an acronym.
The word OK has found its way into just about every language on earth. It’s usually written in all capitals, and pronounced as separate letters.
Writer Charles Farrar Browne (1834-1867), for example, who wrote political humor under the byline Artemus Ward, was not the only writer to adopt deliberate misspelling as a stylistic device.
Take OK. The most likely origin of OK is as an acronym for “Oll Korrect.” By 1839, this misspelling, had been compressed to O.K. Now, OK is taken as a word and not an acronym.
The word OK has found its way into just about every language on earth. It’s usually written in all capitals, and pronounced as separate letters.
Tuesday, October 7, 2014
Robert Ludlum
is a favorite author of mine.
I am totally in love with his Bourne series and no matter how many times I read them, I always find something new.
And I wondered what kind of a person Ludlum was. Got my answer from Paul Garrison about the Robert Ludlum he knew:
The big fellow with his arms wide, a scotch in one hand, a smoke in the other, flashing the hope-filled smile of a man who celebrated everyone's dreams. No man ever loved a wife more madly than he loved Mary. He was thrilled by her existence.
What a man!!!
I am totally in love with his Bourne series and no matter how many times I read them, I always find something new.
And I wondered what kind of a person Ludlum was. Got my answer from Paul Garrison about the Robert Ludlum he knew:
The big fellow with his arms wide, a scotch in one hand, a smoke in the other, flashing the hope-filled smile of a man who celebrated everyone's dreams. No man ever loved a wife more madly than he loved Mary. He was thrilled by her existence.
What a man!!!
Monday, September 8, 2014
And more new usage
Optics - this word is being used to express how something is being viewed. For instance - One should anticipate the optics of one's behavior, so as not to cause misunderstanding.
The theatre of it - the inbuilt drama of one's position. E.g. - Part of the job of those in authority is the theatre of it.
Agnostic - in a non-religious context it means having a doubtful or non-committal attitude towards something. For instance - He was agnostic to the decision made by the members of his political party.
The theatre of it - the inbuilt drama of one's position. E.g. - Part of the job of those in authority is the theatre of it.
Agnostic - in a non-religious context it means having a doubtful or non-committal attitude towards something. For instance - He was agnostic to the decision made by the members of his political party.
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