Dec
19
Aerodrome
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This word evokes for me a sense of the early days of air travel when flying seemed very glamorous and sophisticated.
It also conjures up memories of idle, sun-splashed afternoons lying on soft grass with the sound of a single-engine plane off in the distance somewhere.
Neale
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Dec
19
Aegypt
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The fantastical country of yore, where anything that couldn’t be explained came from. John Crowley also wrote an astonishing book by the same title, about our all-too-human propensity to impose patterns and masques on the world where there is really no pattern — but it does help us sleep at night.
Losing the original spelling of this word (and others like it, such as aether) seems to me a great pity, a bit like losing a bit of wonder. Oh, well, we still have aegis. Woo hoo.
Peter Naus
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Dec
19
Actually
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As an English teacher in Spain, I have a hard time convincing students that “actually” is not the same as the Spanish, actualmente, which means “currently”.
“Okay,” they say, arms folded. “So what does it mean?”
Struggling for a definition, I decide to give them an example:
A: Would you like to go skiing this weekend?
B: Actually, I have to go see my mother-in-law do community theater.
Their faces light up. “Oooh. So it means, Of all the rotten luck?”
Okay, let’s try again:
A: Isn’t Barcelona the capital of Spain?
B: Actually, it’s Madrid.
I tell them it’s a polite way to refuse an invitation, or to disagree with someone. The class has fallen silent. I reach out for help. “Can anyone think of a Spanish translation?” A hand goes up. “Yes, Pedro?”
“No,” he says. His classmates seem to agree.
So there you have it. “Actually” means “no.”
Geonae Edwards
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Dec
19
Accoutrement
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What an absolutely charming way to describe stuff! It makes everyday “things” seem much more important:
It’s not a pile if junk, it’s “assorted accoutrement”!
It’s not a bunch of crap, it’s “a stunning array of accoutrement”!
It’s not a load of old tat, it’s “every accoutrement you could ever need”!
What’s not to love about a word that makes you feel witty, worldly, and well-heeled. It’s what’s commonly referred to in some circles as a 50 cent word, giving any boring old sentence an air of style and grace.
Put on your fancy dress with your best accoutrements and lets go out on the town!
Mama made pot roast with all the accoutrements! Yum!
Our new car came with all the modern accoutrements – we’re so spoiled!
Accoutrement good! So very, very good!
Rebecca Roberts, Manassas, VA
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Dec
19
Abstruse
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My father was neither rich nor well educated. From the stories he told of his days in public school, I’m not sure how he ever graduated. Perhaps he never did. Nevertheless, he loved words, and he thought that a good vocabulary was more valuable than money because no one could take it away. He taught me poems I’ve never found in books. He taught me multiplication: “Eight eights are eighty-eight; you can have it for sixty-four.” But most importantly, he taught me to love words, and one of the first words he taught me was “abstruse.” I love the way it slithers off my tongue and sloshes around in my ear. I doubt if I’ve used it six times in conversation during the fifty years I’ve owned it, but I wouldn’t give it up because it’s the seed my father planted, and its blossoms have brightened all my days.
KR Mullin
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Dec
19
Abstemiously
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I earned extra credit once in grade school (oh so long ago) for digging this word out of the dictionary. It is one of the few (I forget how few) English words that contains all of the vowels in alphabetical order. I’ve been fond of it ever since.
Kevin
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