EDT|editing

2009-09-21T08:00:00.000-07:00

ON VACATION ~~ SEE YOU NEXT WEEK!

2009-09-20T08:00:00.000-07:00

WORD|of the day

[furor] noun; an angry or maniacal fit; a fashionable craze; furious or hectic activity

QUOTE|of the day

[Oh! Do not attack me with your watch. A watch is always too fast or too slow. I cannot be dictated to by a watch.]

Jane Austen

2009-09-19T08:00:00.000-07:00

WORD|of the day

[abyssal] adjective; unfathomable; of or relating to the bottom waters of the ocean depths

QUOTE|of the day

[There is a theory that states that if ever anybody discovers exactly what the Universe is for and why it is here, it will instantly disappear and be replaced by something even more bizarre and inexplicable. There is another theory which states that this has already happened.]

Douglas Adams

2009-09-18T08:00:00.000-07:00

WORD|of the day

[elucidate] intransitive verb; to give a clarifying explanation

QUOTE|of the day

[Idealism is what precedes experience; cynicism is what follows.]

David T. Wolf

2009-09-17T08:00:00.000-07:00

WORD|of the day

[transmogrify] transitive verb; to change or alter greatly and often with grotesque or humorous effect

QUOTE|of the day

[In great affairs men show themselves as they wish to be seen; in small things they show themselves as they are.]

Nicholas Chamfort

2009-09-16T08:00:00.000-07:00

WORD|of the day

[velocipede] noun; a lightweight wheeled vehicle propelled by the rider

QUOTE|of the day

[Nothing travels faster than the speed of light with the possible exception of bad news, which follows its own special laws.]

Douglas Adams

2009-09-13T08:00:00.000-07:00

WORD|of the day

[ardent] adjective; characterized by warmth of feeling typically expressed in eager zealous support or activity; shining, glowing; fiery, hot

QUOTE|of the day

[Absence is to love what wind is to fire; it extinguishes the small, it enkindles the great.]

Comte de Bussy-Rabutin

2009-09-12T08:00:00.000-07:00

WORD|of the day

[copacetic] adjective; very satisfactory

QUOTE|of the day

[To sit in the shade on a fine day, and look upon verdure is the most perfect refreshment.]

Jane Austen

2009-09-11T08:00:00.000-07:00

WORD|of the day

[elide] transitive verb; to omit; to strike out (as a written word)

QUOTE|of the day

[He hoped and prayed that there wasn't an afterlife. Then he realized there was a contradiction involved here and merely hoped that there wasn't an afterlife.]

Douglas Adams

2009-09-10T08:00:00.000-07:00

WORD|of the day

[phytivorous] adjective; pertaining to vegetable-eating

QUOTE|of the day

[Nothing will benefit human health and increase chances of survival for life on earth as much as the evolution to a vegetarian diet.]

Albert Einstein

2009-09-09T08:00:00.000-07:00

WORD|of the day

[loupe] noun; the small magnifying glass used by jewelers

QUOTE|of the day

[Would those of you in the cheaper seats clap your hands? And the rest of you, if you'll just rattle your jewelry.]

John Lennon

2009-09-08T08:00:00.000-07:00

WORD|of the day

[fremescent] adjective; becoming murmurous, roaring

QUOTE|of the day

[If fifty million people say a foolish thing, it is still a foolish thing.]

Anatole France

2009-09-07T08:00:00.000-07:00

WORD|of the day

[logomaniac] noun; a person obsessed with words

QUOTE|of the day

[Speak what you think today in words as hard as cannonballs and tomorrow speak what tomorrow thinks in hard words again, though it contradict everything you said today.]

Ralph Waldo Emerson

2009-09-06T08:00:00.000-07:00

WORD|of the day

[festinate] verb; hasten, walk fast, or move rapidly

QUOTE|of the day

[You have to walk carefully in the beginning of love; the running across fields into your lover's arms can only come later when you're sure they won't laugh if you trip.]

John Carroll

2009-09-05T08:00:00.000-07:00

WORD|of the day

[labrose] adjective; having large or thick lips

QUOTE|of the day

[A kiss is a lovely trick designed by nature to stop speech when words become superfluous.]

Ingrid Bergman

2009-09-04T08:00:00.000-07:00

WORD|of the day

[pecunious] adjective; abounding in money, wealthy, rich

QUOTE|of the day

[Take care of the luxuries and the necessities will take care of themselves.]

Dorothy Parker

2009-09-03T08:00:00.000-07:00

WORD|of the day

[eximious] adjective; choice, select, or excellent

QUOTE|of the day

[To love and be loved--this on earth is the highest bliss.]

Heinrich Heine

2009-09-02T08:00:00.000-07:00

WORD|of the day

[patavinity] noun; the use of local slang or expressions in writing

QUOTE|of the day

[Sloppy, raggedy-assed old life. I love it. I never want to die.]

Dennis Trudell

2009-09-01T08:00:00.000-07:00

WORD|of the day

[hoxter] noun; the inside pocket on a suit or coat

QUOTE|of the day

[No one has ever had an idea in a dress suit.]

Sir Frederick G. Banting

2009-08-31T08:00:00.000-07:00

WORD|of the day

[pandiculation] noun; stretching or yawning before going to bed or after waking up

QUOTE|of the day

[Blessings on him who first invented sleep.]

Miguel de Cervantes

2009-08-30T08:00:00.000-07:00

WORD|of the day

[wimple] noun; the traditional headdress of nuns

QUOTE|of the day

[With or without religion you would have good people doing good things and evil people doing evil things. But for good people to do evil things, that takes religion.]

Steven Weinberg

2009-08-29T08:00:00.000-07:00

WORD|of the day

[sunder] transitive verb; to break apart or in two

QUOTE|of the day

[Thank God men cannot as yet fly and lay waste the sky as well as the earth!]

H.D. Thoreau

2009-08-28T08:00:00.000-07:00

WORD|of the day

[palliate] transitive verb; to cover by excuses or apologies; to moderate the intensity of

QUOTE|of the day

[Sometimes people carry to such perfection the mask they have assumed that in due course they actually become the person they seem.]

W. Somerset Maugham

2009-08-27T08:00:00.000-07:00

WORD|of the day

[confabulate] intransitive verb; to talk informally; to hold a discussion; to fill in gaps in memory by fabrication

QUOTE|of the day

[I used to think that the brain was the most wonderful organ in my body. Then I realized who was telling me this.]

Emo Phillips

2009-08-26T11:51:00.000-07:00

WORD|of the day

[aggrandize] transitive verb; to make great or greater; to increase or enlarge

QUOTE|of the day

[Politics is made up largely of irrelevancies.]

Dalton Camp

2009-08-25T08:00:00.000-07:00

WORD|of the day

[begird] transitive verb; to surround, encompass

QUOTE|of the day

[Space is big. You just won't believe how vastly, hugely, mind-bogglingly big it is. I mean, you may think it's a long way down the road to the chemist's, but that's just peanuts to space.]

Douglas Adams

2009-08-24T08:00:00.000-07:00

WORD|of the day

[dissimulate] verb; to hide under a false pretense

QUOTE|of the day

[A man is not idle because he is absorbed in thought. There is a visible labor and there is an invisible labor.]

Victor Hugo

2009-08-23T08:00:00.000-07:00

WORD|of the day

[susurration] noun; a whisper or murmer

QUOTE|of the day

[In the absolute hush, I could hear plainly its thin murmurs of life.]

Charlotte Brönte (Jane Eyre)

2009-08-22T08:00:00.000-07:00

WORD|of the day

[warison] noun; a musical note used to signal the start of an attack

QUOTE|of the day

[No opera plot can be sensible, for in sensible situations people do not sing.]

W.H. Auden

2009-08-21T08:00:00.000-07:00

WORD|of the day

[jentacular] adjective; pertaining to breakfast

QUOTE|of the day

[Only dull people are brilliant at breakfast.]

Oscar Wilde

2009-08-20T15:30:00.000-07:00

WORD|of the day

[waggoner] noun; a collection or book of nautical maps

QUOTE|of the day

[All in the golden afternoon

Full leisurely we glide;

For both our oars, with little skill,

By little arms are plied,

While little hands make vain pretense

Our wanderings to guide.]

Lewis Carroll (Alice in Wonderland)

2009-08-19T08:00:00.000-07:00

WORD|of the day

[eroteme] noun; a mark denoting a question or interrogation, i.e. a question mark

QUOTE|of the day

[What is the use of a use of a house if you haven't got a tolerable planet to put it on?]

H.D. Thoreau

2009-08-18T08:00:00.000-07:00

WORD|of the day

[divagate] intransitive verb; to wander or stray from a course or subject

QUOTE|of the day

[I may not have gone where I intended to go, but I think I have ended up where I needed to be.]

Douglas Adams

2009-08-17T08:00:00.000-07:00

WORD|of the day

[defenestrate] transitive verb; to throw a person or thing out of a window; to swiftly dismiss or expel (as from a political party or office)

QUOTE|of the day

[Never fight an inanimate object.]

P.J. O'Rourke

2009-08-16T12:58:00.000-07:00

WORD|of the day

[aubade] noun; a love song that is sung at dawn

QUOTE|of the day

[Love one another, but make not a bond of love: Let it rather be a moving sea between the shores of your souls.]

Kahlil Gibran

2009-08-15T08:00:00.000-07:00

WORD|of the day

[autovoxiphillia] noun; love of one's own voice

QUOTE|of the day

[There are people who, instead of listening to what is being said to them, are already listening to what they are going to say themselves.]

Albert Guinon

2009-08-14T08:00:00.000-07:00

WORD|of the day

[edacious] adjective; voracious and devouring

QUOTE|of the day

[I want to remember every minute, always, always to the end of my days.]

"Brief Encounter" (1945)

2009-08-13T08:00:00.000-07:00

WORD|of the day

[daedalian] adjective; ingenious and cunningly designed

QUOTE|of the day

[Don't worry about people stealing an idea. If it's original, you will have to ram it down their throats.]

Howard Aiken

2009-08-12T08:00:00.000-07:00

WORD|of the day

[asthenic] adjective; being lean or frail

QUOTE|of the day

[Our life is frittered away by detail. Simplify, simplify.]

H.D. Thoreau

2009-08-11T08:00:00.000-07:00

WORD|of the day

[chirotony] noun; an election by show of hands

QUOTE|of the day

[Anyone who is capable of getting themselves made president should on no account be allowed to do the job.]

Douglas Adams

2009-08-10T13:18:00.000-07:00

WORD|of the day

[arithmophobia] noun; a fear of numbers

QUOTE|of the day

[My definition of an expert in any field is a person who knows enough about what's really going on to be scared.]

P.J. Plauger

2009-08-09T08:00:00.000-07:00

WORD|of the day

[eleemosynary] adjective; of, relating to, or supported by charity

QUOTE|of the day

[Happiness resides not in possessions and not in gold; the feeling of happiness dwells in the soul.]

Democritus

2009-08-08T08:00:00.000-07:00

WORD|of the day

[baize] noun; the green cloth used on billiards tables or other gaming tables

QUOTE|of the day

[The problem with the universe is that everyone is a few drinks behind.]

Humphrey Bogart

2009-08-07T08:00:00.000-07:00

WORD|of the day

[abderian] adjective; given to incessant or idiotic laughter

QUOTE|of the day

[Never play peekaboo with a child on a long plane trip. There's no end to the game. Finally, I grabbed him by the bib and said, "Look, it's always gonna be me!"]

Rita Rudner

2009-08-06T08:00:00.000-07:00

WORD|of the day

[schwack] adjective; a large amount

QUOTE|of the day

[A boy can learn a lot from a dog: obedience, loyalty, and the importance of turning around three times before lying down.]

Robert Benchley

2009-08-05T08:00:00.000-07:00

WORD|of the day

[euonym] noun; a name well suited to the person, place, or thing named

QUOTE|of the day

[Frisbeetarianism is the belief that when you die, your soul goes up on the roof and gets stuck.]

George Carlin

2009-08-04T08:00:00.000-07:00

WORD|of the day

[logorrhea] noun; excessive and often incoherent talkativeness or wordiness

QUOTE|of the day

[Television has done much for psychiatry by spreading information about it, as well as contributing to the need for it.]

Alfred Hitchcock

2009-08-03T08:00:00.000-07:00

WORD|of the day

[demarche] noun; a course of action or maneuver

QUOTE|of the day

[Always forgive your enemies; nothing annoys them so much.]

Oscar Wilde

2009-08-02T08:00:00.000-07:00

WORD|of the day

[guerdon] noun; something that one has earned or gained; a reward, recompense, requital

QUOTE|of the day

[Happiness is that state of consciousness which proceeds from the achievement of one's values.]

Ayn Rand

2009-08-01T19:25:00.000-07:00

WORD|of the day

[gallimaufry] noun; hodgepodge

QUOTE|of the day

[Sometimes I lie awake at night and I ask, "Where have I gone wrong?" Then a voice says, "This is going to take more than one night."]

Charles Shulz

2009-07-31T08:00:00.000-07:00

WORD|of the day

[peccant] adjective; guilty of a moral offense; violating a principle or rule

QUOTE|of the day

[Why do they always teach us that it's easy and evil to do what we want and that we need discipline to restrain ourselves? It's the hardest thing in the world--to do what we want. And it takes the greatest kind of courage. I mean, what we really want.]

Ayn Rand

2009-07-30T08:00:00.000-07:00

WORD|of the day

[resplendent] adjective; shining brilliantly, characterized by a glowing splendor

QUOTE|of the day

[The very purpose of existence is to reconcile the glowing opinion we have of ourselves with the appalling things that other people think about us.]

Quentin Crisp

2009-07-29T08:00:00.000-07:00

WORD|of the day

[terraqueous] adjective; consisting of land and water

QUOTE|of the day

[The ocean is a body of water occupying about two-thirds of a world made for man--who has no gills.]

Ambrose Bierce

2009-07-28T08:00:00.000-07:00

WORD|of the day

[reinscribe] transitive verb; to reestablish or rename in a new and especially stronger form or context

QUOTE|of the day

[Maybe this world is another planet's hell.]

Aldous Huxley

2009-07-27T08:00:00.000-07:00

WORD|of the day

[prolix] adjective; unduly prolonged or drawn out, too long; marked by or using an excess of words

QUOTE|of the day

[A man can stand anything except a succession of ordinary days.]

Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

2009-07-26T08:00:00.000-07:00

WORD|of the day

[increscent] adjective; becoming gradually greater; waxing

QUOTE|of the day

[At the age of eleven or thereabouts women acquire a poise and an ability to handle difficult situations, which a man, if he is lucky, manages to achieve somewhere in the later seventies.]

P.G. Wodehouse

2009-07-25T08:00:00.000-07:00

WORD|of the day

[forfend] transitive verb; to ward off, prevent, protect, preserve

QUOTE|of the day

[It was such a lovely day I thought it a pity to get up.]

W. Somerset Maugham

2009-07-24T08:00:00.000-07:00

WORD|of the day

[appurtenances] plural noun; accessory objects

QUOTE|of the day

[Every time you open your wardrobe, you look at your clothes and you wonder what you are going to wear. What you are really saying is, "Who am I going to be today?".]

Fay Weldon

2009-07-23T08:00:00.000-07:00

WORD|of the day

[panoply] noun; a full suit of armor; ceremonial attire; something forming a protective covering; a magnificent or impressive array; a display of all appropriate appurtenances

QUOTE|of the day

[War does not determine who's right--only who's left.]

Bertrand Russell

2009-07-22T08:00:00.000-07:00

WORD|of the day

[renitency] noun; resistance, opposition

QUOTE|of the day

[When one makes enemies, one knows that one's dangerous where it's necessary to be dangerous.]

Ayn Rand, The Fountainhead

2009-07-21T08:00:00.000-07:00

WORD|of the day

[dog days] plural noun; the period between early July and early September when the hot sultry weather of summer usually occurs in the northern hemisphere; a period of stagnation or inactivity

QUOTE|of the day

[The real tragedy is the tragedy of the man who never in his life braces himself for his one supreme effort, who never stretches to his full capacity, never stands up to his full stature.]

Arnold Bennett

2009-07-20T08:00:00.000-07:00

WORD|of the day

[siege mentality] noun; a defensive or overly fearful attitude

QUOTE|of the day

[Three may keep a secret, if two of them are dead.]

Benjamin Franklin

2009-07-19T08:00:00.000-07:00

WORD|of the day

[sylvan] adjective; living or located in the woods/forest; of, relating to, or characteristic of the woods/forest; abounding in woods, groves, trees—wooded

QUOTE|of the day

[Nature is painting for us, day after day, pictures of infinite beauty if only we have the eyes to see them.]

John Ruskin

2009-07-18T08:00:00.000-07:00

WORD|of the day

[trenchant] adjective; keen, sharp, vigorously effective and articulate

QUOTE|of the day

[The defining function of the artist is to cherish consciousness.]

Max Eastman

2009-07-17T08:00:00.000-07:00

WORD|of the day

[vamoose] intransitive verb; to depart quickly

QUOTE|of the day

[I have discovered that all human evil comes from this, man's being unable to sit still in a room.]

Blaise Pascal

2009-07-16T08:00:00.000-07:00

WORD|of the day

[zeugma] noun; the use of a word to modify two or more words in such a way that it applies to each in a different sense or makes sense with only one

QUOTE|of the day

[Who sees with equal eye, as God of all,
A hero perish, or a sparrow fall,
Atoms or systems into ruin hurled,
And now a bubble burst, and now a world.]

Alexander Pope

Last line is an example of zeugma -- both a bubble and a world are described as having "burst."

2009-07-15T08:00:00.000-07:00

WORD|of the day

[kibitzer] noun; one who looks on and offers unwanted advice or comment; broadly, one who offers opinions

QUOTE|of the day

[The covers of this book are too far apart.]

Ambrose Bierce

2009-07-14T08:00:00.000-07:00

WORD|of the day

[proclivity] noun; an inclination or predisposition toward something

QUOTE|of the day

[What I look forward to is continued immaturity followed by death.]

Dave Barry

2009-07-13T08:00:00.000-07:00

WORD|of the day

[cloying] adjective; disgusting or distasteful by reason of excess; also, excessively sweet or sentimental

QUOTE|of the day

[Manners are especially the need of the plain. The pretty can get away with anything.]

Evelyn Waugh

2009-07-12T08:00:00.000-07:00

WORD|of the day

[periphrasis] noun; use of a longer phrasing in place of a possible shorter form of expression

I often try to help clients cut down on the use of "periphrasis" if there is a more concise way to say something.

QUOTE|of the day

[I write down everything I want to remember. That way, instead of spending a lot of time trying to remember what it is I wrote down, I spend the time looking for the paper I wrote it down on.]

Beryl Pfizer

2009-07-11T08:00:00.000-07:00

WORD|of the day

[corvine] adjective; of, or relating to, crows; resembling a crow

The seagulls here have a surprising "corvine" quality to their cries. You really don't expect a seagull to sound like that; maybe it's all the smog out here :-)

QUOTE|of the day

[Where there is no imagination there is no horror.]

Arthur Conan Doyle

Isn't this true? If you can't take your mind outside the ordinary, everyday to a scary place then you can't be frightened.

2009-07-10T08:00:00.000-07:00

WORD|of the day

[cavalcade] noun; a procession of riders, carriages, vehicles, or ships; a dramatic sequence or procession/series

QUOTE|of the day

[The human race is a race of cowards; and I am not only marching in that procession but carrying a banner.]

Mark Twain

2009-07-09T08:00:00.000-07:00

WORD|of the day

[miff] verb; to put into an ill humor, offend

QUOTE|of the day

[In the beginning the universe was created. This has made a lot of people very angry and been widely regarded as a bad move.]

Douglas Adams

2009-07-08T08:00:00.000-07:00

WORD|of the day

[foment] verb; to promote the growth or development of

QUOTE|of the day

[I find that a great part of the information I have was acquired by looking up something and finding something else on the way.]

Franklin P. Adams

2009-07-07T08:00:00.000-07:00

WORD|of the day

[hysteroid] adjective; resembling or tending toward hysteria

QUOTE|of the day

[Nobody really cares if you're miserable, so you might as well be happy.]

Cynthia Nelms

2009-07-06T12:59:00.000-07:00

WORD|of the day

[interdigitate] verb; to become interlocked like the fingers of a folded hand

QUOTE|of the day

[The ultimate test of a relationship is to disagree but to hold hands.]

Alexandra Penney

2009-07-05T13:09:00.001-07:00

WORD|of the day

[lustrum] plural noun; a period of five years (also refers to the Roman census, which was taken every five years)

QUOTE|of the day

[Most modern calendars mar the sweet simplicity of our lives by reminding us that each day that passes is the anniversary of some perfectly uninteresting event.]

Oscar Wilde

2009-07-04T08:00:00.000-07:00

WORD|of the day

[desultory] adjective; marked by lack of definite plan, regularity, purpose; not connected with the main subject; disappointing in progress, performance, or quality

After I get my hands on a client's work, it will never be considered "desultory."

QUOTE|of the day

[What we need is to take the gas and hot air out of the real business of living and send it sizzling off in sky-rockets for the entertainment of our idle hours.]

Marjorie Barstow Greenbie

2009-07-03T08:00:00.000-07:00

WORD|of the day

[ramose] adjective; consisting of or having branches

My hippy neighbor's dreadlocks give her head a "ramose" look. It's really quite unique.

QUOTE|of the day

[Suburbia is where the developer bulldozes out the trees, then names the streets after them.]

Bill Vaughn

2009-07-02T08:00:00.000-07:00

WORD|of the day

[solecism] noun; an ungrammatical combination of words in a sentence; a minor blunder in speech; something deviating from the normal/proper order; a breach of etiquette or decorum

As an editor I help people avoid "solecisms" in their writing.

QUOTE|of the day

[It often happens that the real tragedies of life occur in such an inartistic manner that they hurt us by their crude violence, their absolute incoherence, their absurd want of meaning, their entire lack of style.]

Oscar Wilde

2009-07-01T08:00:00.000-07:00

WORD|of the day

[conation] noun; an inclination to act purposefully; impulse

When my husband and I (and the dogs) made a trip to San Diego this past Christmas, we returned with an urgent "conation" to move here as soon as possible.

QUOTE|of the day

[The only way to get rid of a temptation is to yield to it. Resist it, and your soul grows sick with longing for the things it has forbidden to itself.]

Oscar Wilde

2009-06-30T08:00:00.000-07:00

WORD|of the day

[sedulous] adjective; involving or accomplished with careful perseverance; diligent in application or pursuit

I guess you could say my husband and I were quite "sedulous" in our quest to move across the country.

QUOTE|of the day

[If one advances confidently in the direction of his dreams, and endeavors to live the life he has imagined, he will meet with a success unexpected in common hours.]

Henry David Thoreau

2009-06-29T08:00:00.001-07:00

WORD|of the day

[conversant] adjective; having knowledge or experience

Although I feel like I am already fairly "conversant" in the editorial field, I am starting a copyediting class today so that I can continue to improve in this area.

QUOTE|of the day

[Education is the ability to listen to almost anything without losing your temper or your self-confidence.]

Robert Frost

2009-06-28T08:00:00.000-07:00

WORD|of the day

[vaticinate] verb; prophesy, predict

My husband always tries to "vaticinate" what is going to happen in a movie and he is almost always right!

QUOTE|of the day

[Don't worry about the world coming to an end today. It's already tomorrow in Australia.]

Charles Schulz

2009-06-27T08:00:00.000-07:00

WORD|of the day

[agog] adjective; full of intense interest/excitement; eager

I was "agog" at the number of people at the Ocean Beach Street Fair and Chili Cook-off today on Newport Avenue. Check it out here.

QUOTE|of the day

[If you haven't found something strange during the day, it hasn't been much of a day.]

John A. Wheeler

2009-06-26T08:00:00.000-07:00

WORD|of the day

[commove] trans. verb; to move violently, agitate; to rouse intense feeling in, excite to passion

QUOTE|of the day

[If you hate a person, you hate something in him that is part of yourself. What isn't a part of ourselves doesn't disturb us.]

Herman Hesse

2009-06-25T08:00:00.000-07:00

WORD|of the day

[ascensive] adjective; rising or tending to rise

QUOTE|of the day

[Old age is like climbing a mountain. You climb from ledge to ledge. The higher you get, the more tired and breathless you become, but your views become more extensive.]

Ingrid Bergman

2009-06-24T08:00:00.001-07:00

WORD|of the day

[pococurante] adjective; indifferent, nonchalant

QUOTE|of the day

[When nothing seems worth the effort -- it's a screen to hide a wish that's worth too much.]

Ayn Rand, Atlas Shrugged

2009-06-23T08:00:00.000-07:00

WORD|of the day

[retrorse] adjective; bent backward or downward

When practicing yoga a person is often in a "retrorse" position.

QUOTE|of the day

[Never confuse movement with action.]

Ernest Hemingway

2009-06-22T08:00:00.000-07:00

WORD|of the day

[wold] noun; a usually upland area of open country, a hilly or rolling region

QUOTE|of the day

[They don't know evil or jealousy or discontent. To sit with a dog on a hillside on a glorious afternoon is to be back in Eden; where doing nothing was not boring - it was peace.]

Milan Kundera

2009-06-21T08:00:00.000-07:00

WORD|of the day

[hoi polloi] plural noun; the general populace, masses (from a Greek word meaning "the many")

QUOTE|of the day

[I would rather sit on a pumpkin, and have it all to myself, than be crowded on a velvet cushion.]

Henry David Thoreau

2009-06-20T13:23:00.000-07:00

WORD|of the day

[majuscule] noun; refers to a large letter, as in a capital letter (from a Latin word meaning "rather large")

I ran across this word and had never heard it used before. It's odd to me that there is a word for "a capital letter" -- couldn't one just call it a capital letter? I like it though... I'm going to try to use it today. I'm sure it's related to "minuscule" but that word doesn't only refer to letters.

QUOTE|of the day

[Man is the only animal that laughs and weeps, for he is the only animal that is struck with the difference between what things are and what they ought to be.]

William Hazlitt

2009-06-19T08:00:00.000-07:00

WORD|of the day

[esculent] adjective; edible

My whole life, I never considered seafood to be at all "esculent," but, since moving to San Diego, I suddenly love it. Especially recommended if you find yourself in town sometime -- The Fish Market (great view of the harbor) and Brigantine... both delicious!

QUOTE|of the day

[A food is not necessarily essential just because your child hates it.]

Katherine Whitehorn

2009-06-18T08:00:00.000-07:00

WORD|of the day

[salubrious] adjective; favorable to, or promoting, health or well-being

QUOTE|of the day

[To get back my youth I would do anything in the world, except exercise, get up early, or be respectable.]

Oscar Wilde

2009-06-17T08:00:00.000-07:00

WORD|of the day

[clinquant] adjective; glittering with gold or tinsel

QUOTE|of the day

[Excess on occasion is exhilarating. It prevents moderation from acquiring the deadening effect of a habit.]

W. Somerset Maugham

2009-06-16T08:00:00.002-07:00

WORD|of the day

[deterge] verb; to wash off, to cleanse

After taking the dogs to the beach last weekend, we walked to the Dog Wash to "deterge" them. They loved it and smell so good now!

QUOTE|of the day

[I wash my hands of those who imagine chattering to be knowledge, silence to be ignorance, and affection to be art.]

Kahlil Gibran

2009-06-15T13:44:00.000-07:00

WORD|of the day

[obnubilate] verb; to becloud or obscure

QUOTE|of the day

[Half the work that is done in this world is to make things appear what they are not.]

Elias Root Beadle

2009-06-14T15:50:00.000-07:00

WORD|of the day

[perspicuous] adjective; easily understood, lucid

As a Southerner living in Southern California, I often feel like my accent prevents my side of conversations from being as "perspicuous" as I'd like. Sometimes it's funny to hear what the other person thought I said though... I told this kid we see at the dog park that our dogs' names were Rider and Posey so he calls them "Randy" and "Pizzy." I gave up trying to correct him because, to him, that's what it sounds like I'm saying.

QUOTE|of the day

[Life is a foreign language; all men mispronounce it.]

Christopher Morley

I'm learning the truth of this. I used to feel like everyone else had it all together, but now I know we're all just learning how to live as we go. No one is perfect and everyone has some kind of problem in their life... some people just fake it better than others. Once I learned that, it left me free to make mistakes and not beat myself up about them -- now I just try to move on and learn from them.

2009-06-13T15:57:00.000-07:00

WORD|of the day

[suigeneris] adjective; of his/her/its own kind, without equal, unique

I love discovering new words and I have seriously never heard of this word so I'm really excited! What a good one, too! I challenge you to try to use it in a sentence this weekend. Enjoy!

QUOTE|of the day

[It is easy in the world to live after the world's opinions; it is easy in solitude to live after your own; but the great man is he who in the midst of the crowd keeps with perfect sweetness the independence of solitude.]

Ralph Waldo Emerson

Basically what old Ralph is saying is... Whether you're alone or among peers, don't conform, be yourself... be "suigeneris"!

2009-06-12T15:18:00.000-07:00

WORD|of the day

[chiaroscuro] noun; light and shade in a painting (or other artwork) treated to suggest depth or for effect

This is a word my dad came across in a book and had to look up so he suggested it as a Wotd. I was unfamiliar with it as well so here it is. Oh, and below is an example of just such a piece. It is aptly named "Lady Chiaroscuro" and the artist is Dan Earle.

QUOTE|of the day

[Animals are such agreeable friends -- they ask no questions, they pass no criticisms.]

George Eliot

I'm thinking about all of the pets that have been abandoned amidst the recent housing and economic crises. What people should remember is that in times of hardship and stress, a pet is a non-judgmental, sympathetic companion. It is proven that the act of petting an animal releases endorphins (feel good brain chemicals), reduces stress, and lowers blood pressure.

I understand the financial responsibility towards an animal may be seen as added stress, but there are programs that can help with vet care and low-cost food is available at most grocery stores. You can also contact your local shelter/Humane Society -- they may have a surplus of supplies they can share or other ways to help you out.

Click here to learn more about the health benefits of owning a pet.

Click here for tips from the Humane Society for pet owners facing foreclosure.