Tag: word of the day

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#AtoZchallenge Blogging challenges Random thoughts

Z is for ‘zany’

Lucky I choose this word ahead of time, before Hubby wanted help in the garden. Because I’m outta time and need to get this post written!

Zany. I love, love, LOVE this word! I think it describes me… although it probably doesn’t, unless you know me really, really well. And that’s only a couple of you.

I *can*be zany. Extremely comical, clownish; slightly crazy, fantastic or ludicrous.

Yup… that’s me. But only if I’m comfortable around you. And not when I’m in my ‘I’m a responsible mother / teacher / person’ mindset.

Just out of curiosity… is it just me, or is everyone kinda like this to some extent?

Have a great day, dear Reader!

— KRidwyn

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#AtoZchallenge Blogging challenges

Y is for ‘yelp’

Two posts to go, with just an hour or so left til it’s no longer April 30 anywhere in the world, and Hubby comes in from where he’s been working in the garden and say he needs my help.

I yelped. Deadline! [Self-imposed, but whatever…]

Yelp. To give a quick, sharp, shrill cry. (often as dogs, foxes etc)

What a beautiful verb. An expression of a vocal utterance that perfectly encapsulates the sound, the surprise, the emotion.

And now I’d better get going! One more post to go…

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#AtoZchallenge Blogging challenges Random thoughts

X is for ‘xeric’

Okay, so I got stuck with this letter. Seriously – how many choices are there for ‘x’? Really?

And so I opened my dictionary, and discovered the word ‘xeric’.

It’s an adjective from the ecological world, meaning ‘pertaining to an environment containing or characterised by little moisture’ (comparative more xeric, superlative most xeric). A xeric environment or habitat is extremely dry, lacking humidity and water. A xeric organism is one which has adapted to live in a very dry habitat.

Cool, hey!

To me, it conjures thoughts of a ‘Dungeons and Dragons’ style cleric who looks like John the Baptist. Powerful, with a dry, sardonic sense of humour.

Hmm… a new character for a new story, perhaps?

Have a great day, dear Reader!

— KRidwyn

 

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#AtoZchallenge Blogging challenges random scribblings Scribblings Writing

W is for ‘wavelet’

I was writing a short story one day a year or so ago, and I needed the word for one of those small waves that washes into shore. You know, the ones that squealing toddlers get lifted over, that little children run backwards from, that bring the flotsam and jetsam of an uncaring world to deposit on the beach?

“Wave” was too big. Too much power for what I wanted. So I made up ‘wavelet’. Or so I thought…

Wasn’t I surprised to find it in my dictionary, the following day!

Wavelet. Noun. A small wave, a ripple.

Exactly what I had wanted! Don’t you just love the English language?

I do.

Have a great day, dear Reader!

— KRidwyn

PS If you’re interested in the story I was writing, sorry. It was about a woman’s murder at the hands of her drunk ex. It was a pretty intense story. Far too ‘dark’ for this blog. *shrugs shoulders*

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#AtoZchallenge Blogging challenges Random thoughts Work

V is for ‘volition’

“He did it of his own volition.”

Volition. Noun. The act of willing; exercise of choice to determine action. A determination by the will. The power of willing.

In my trusty thesaurus, the phrase ‘of one’s own volition’ is synonymous with:

of one’s own free will; of one’s own accord; of one’s own choice; of one’s own choosing; by choice; by preference; by one’s own preference; voluntarily; willingly; readily; freely; intentionally; consciously; deliberately; on purpose; purposely; spontaneously; without being asked; without hesitation; without reluctance; gladly; with pleasure; with good grace; eagerly; enthusiastically.

Them’s pretty powerful words, methinks.

And it’s all about the attitude. What we will to do; what we decide to do and then act upon.

I have chosen to finish this #AtoZchallenge today… of my own volition. In spite of it being May 1 in my time zone; it’s still April 30 elsewhere in the world. And I have four more posts after this one.

I’m determined! It’s going to happen… just watch me 😀

And have a great day, dear Reader!

— KRidwyn

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#AtoZchallenge Blogging challenges More about me random scribblings Random thoughts Scribblings Writing

U is for ‘unknown’

Jan 1, 2016, saw me decide I needed to ‘practise’ my writing. I realised that I’d never get anywhere if I just started a story, get stuck, get frustrated, start another story, and repeat the same process.

Mentally, I compared this to my chess game. Okay in the opening, wobbly in the middle, and pretty woeful at the ending. I decided practise was in order. Practise of ‘end-game’ stuff; then recourse to the middle, and finish at the beginning.

“Smiling nervously at each, they started walking into an uncertain future.”

So: I worked out the final sentence (above) and worked backwards. Ended up with a 1500 word short Sci-Fi story about two teenagers crash-landing their spaceship onto an unknown planet.

Fast forward a few weeks, and I related this story to the members at Beerwah Writers Group. Inspired, they used my final sentence, and produced their own stories. I joined them, and ended up with a 500 word story about a Greek God who’d been cast out from Mount Olympus. Prophemius, I called him. God of the Future… except his powers were stripped from him, meaning he couldn’t see the future anymore.

I wrestle, regularly, with the fact I can’t see the future. I want to know what will happen before it does, so I can prepare for it. Part of my control-freak-ishness, probably. (Yeh, I know. Not a word.)

But I always come back to the fact that it’s good I don’t know. I’m glad, deep down, that I’m in the same boat as everyone else. That the future – for all of us – is an unknown. I like that. We’re all on the same playing field, as it were.

And there’s so much freedom in that!

Have a lovely day, dear Reader!

— KRidwyn

 

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#AtoZchallenge Blogging challenges Random thoughts Writing

T is for ‘tepefy’

‘Tepefy’ is a verb, which means ‘to make or become tepid or lukewarm’.

And it’s a transitive verb, which means it can’t exist by itself but needs a noun to complete the action, just like ‘kick’ (the ball), ‘paint’ (the portrait) or ‘clean’ (the kitchen – ha!). So you’d ‘tepefy’ the bathwater on a frozen winter’s morning.

And its related noun is ‘tepefaction’. Which makes sense, when you think about it.

We need this word in more regular use in everyday life, don’t we.

Yes? Because the word ‘warm’, which seems to have replaced it, both as the transitive verb and as its related noun, seems too simple. Too quick, too easy.

Yes?

Any takers? Anyone out there agree with me? Yes? Anyone? Going… going…

gone.

Ergo, the disappearance of so many words…

Here’s to your day, dear Reader.

— KRidwyn

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#AtoZchallenge Blogging challenges Christianity Life Random thoughts

S is for ‘scamper’

I love this word. I smile every time I see it. In my mind’s eye, I picture a child of 5 or 6, enthusiasm exuding from every pore, beaming widely as they run about exploring, delighting in their discoveries and keen to squeeze as much as possible into every single moment.

I remember that age… I think. I remember the excitement, the feeling of life extending forever, the knowledge of my own invincibility, convinced I could go anywhere, be anyone, do anything.

Where did that feeling go?

And why?

I’m reminded of that verse in the gospels, where Jesus said, “Unless you become like a little child, you will never enter the Kingdom of Heaven.”

Honestly, I can’t actually remember the last time *I* felt that excited. That eager to squeeze the joy out of every single moment.

I should probably try that again…

Here’s to a ‘scamper’-ing day today! And have a ‘scamper’-ing one for yourself too, dear reader!

— KRidwyn

[PS That Bible verse was Matthew 18:3, by the way…]

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#AtoZchallenge Blogging challenges Reading Writing

R is for ‘rainband’

Yes, that’s the correct word. No, not ‘rainbow’, but ‘rainband’.

So what is it? I hear you ask.

[Great question! she replies, grinning widely.]

According to my Macquarie Dictionary, a rainband (noun) is a dark band in the solar spectrum, due to water-vapour in the atmosphere.

Huh!

Ten minutes ago, I never knew this word existed. But sitting here at my messy desk, dictionary on my lap and curiosity in my mind, I’ve just discovered that something I’m sure I’ve seen many times in my life before, boasts its very own name.

Well, that makes sense. Most things are named, aren’t they? That’s how we can communicate about them. It reminds me that the Eskimos have many words (apparently!) describing ice and snow – as opposed to the two I would commonly use.

It’s a pretty cool feeling, discovering words. I wonder if I could somehow be influential into making them more popular. Or would my usage of these words I’d newly discovered just be taken as bragging? Would I be seen to be preening with my new-found knowledge?

And does that even matter?

Only one way to find out, I guess…

Have a great day, dear Reader! And look out for a rainbands 🙂

— KRidwyn

[Image of rainband courtesy Wikipedia, retrieved 1 May, 2017]

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#AtoZchallenge Blogging challenges Random thoughts teaching Work

Q is for ‘quiet’

Which is what this blog’s been since… um… well, since the ‘P’ post, well over a week ago. But it feels like a month, indicative of just how crazy-busy my life has been since the last post.

To be truthful, that last post kinda scared me a little too. “P is for Power” means that I also have the choice to *not* post – to be lazy, to procrastinate, to pretend life is just too busy.

Well, right here, right now, it’s May 1st. I missed completing the final 10 posts of the #AtoZchallenge in April. My blog was dead quiet. Silent. As in, as the grave. Goodbye, dear April, I’ll never see you again. #AtoZchallenge, I failed you. I did not manage to post 26 posts during April.

April in my time zone, that is.

New challenge: finish them before May 1st worldwide!

Ready… set…

GO!

[And have a great day, dear Reader!]

— KRidwyn