Word of the Week 8: Inveigle

Inveigle (vb) - 1. to entice, lure, or ensnare by flattery or artful talk or inducements (usually fol. by into): to inveigle a person into playing bridge 2. to acquire, win, or obtain by beguiling talk or methods (usually fol. by from or away): to inveigle a theater pass from a person (dictionary.com)

I came across this strange word in Great Expectations last week. Wemmick, in describing to Pip the respect/fear the masses have for Mr. Jaggers, says of the latter's watch, "Mr. Pip, there are about seven hundred thieves in this town who know all about that watch; there's not a man, woman, or child among them, who wouldn't identify the smallest link in that chain, and drop it as if it was a red-hot, if inveigled into touching it." - Charles Dickens

Such an odd sound this word has, hence my extra notice of it as I was reading. It has a familiar tone to conniving; perhaps it's the "v?" The "v" does have a sinisterness to it, as in "villain" and "vain" and "vermin." Its pronunciation has a combination of subtle breath and forcefulness. Ah, words!

Word of the Week 7: Excited

Excited (n) - 1. stirred emotionally; agitated 2. stimulated to activity; brisk

(Dictionary.com)

When people ask me if I'm excited about such and such upcoming event or other, I'll often say that I'm trying not to think about it much because I know that won't help. If I look forward to something, I can't stop thinking about it, which doesn't allow me peace of mind and mars the moment when it finally comes. Excited, it almost has a bad connotation as applies to me, unless it's for a short time period. I'm quite quite pleased with this definition, then. "Agitated?" That's never a good thing. "Stimulated to activity," that follows naturally. When excited isn't a bad thing, activity should come next. Either you see that movie you've been waiting for or you work for that cause you just found out about. The only thing I'm surprised isn't in this definition is time. People usually use it to describe looking forward to something. That's covered in the second part only in a round-about way. Dictionaries are usually so detailed, but this time it could be more specific.

Word of the Week 6: Assiduous

Assiduous (adj) - 1. constant; unremitting 2. constant in application or effort; working diligently at a task; persevering; industrious; attentive

(Dictionary.com)
This fancy word for "busy" makes you sound much more organized. "Busy" sounds like you're overrun, with papers and calendars flying around, hardly enough time to brush your hair in the morning, and overall pretty sloppy. "Assiduous," on the other hand, makes you out to be devoted. You have so many things to do because you're caring enough to take them all on, then complete them all. Only problem is, you'll sound a little funny saying calling yourself "quite assiduous lately" in casual conversation. It's true, though, that they're not exact synonyms. Busy is just defining the amount of work you have to do, while assiduous explains how you approach your work.

Me, I'd like to say I'm being assiduous. If I don't get done with the day's work until late, I still read a chapter or two in the book I'm reading right now (title to be disclosed once I finish it -- hopefully in the next week.) That means I've been getting to bed past eleven . . . hurray for Saturdays to sleep in. But in my present assiduousness I must be going now.

Word of the Week 5: Kitchen

Kitchen (n) - 1. a room or place equipped for cooking. 2. culinary department; cuisine.

I've been spending a lot of time in the kitchen this week, so I chose it for my word this time out of the others that came to mind: food, eating, table. Kitchen's a more flexible term, because has a similar joy/happiness duality to it. Technically, a dining room and a kitchen are separate things. And if there's a table in the kitchen, it's a "breakfast nook." The word "kitchen" is of a coarse sort, implying the out-of-the-way room where servants work in old books (there's my connection to books for this post!), but if the table and chairs are in it, it usually becomes a more homey place.

For one, the table gets used for more than just eating. If you have a formal dining room, chances are this won't be the case. I've been sitting in the little kitchen of my new abode, reading, going through papers, on the computer. It can be a handy thing because it lets me keep an eye on anything that's on the stove. The cooking is still there, just added to.

So I propose we come up with a new room for multi-functional kitchens. If we have bedroom and bathroom, why not call it stoveroom? It just mentions something in the room, not a limit. But it's still not quite right . . . . I guess I'll leave "kitchen" be.

Word of the Week 4: Home

Home (n) - 1. a house, apartment, or other shelter that is the usual residence of a person, family, or household 2. the place in which one's domestic affections are centered

Wow, I have to admit, Mr. Webster, I'm disappointed with this definition. I was expecting a little more emotion, even for a dictionary. How about if we compare it to another word.

House (n) - 1. a building in which people live; residence for human beings

Okay, I was right, the "home" definition is saturated with emotion now compared with this. Dictionaries are so cold . . . .

Why did I choose such a word this time? Naturally, because I'm moving this weekend and have been thinking a lot about what place I'd like to truly call home. I'm only moving two hours away, but I'm also moving from rural to urban. There are advantages and disadvantages to both, so I think I've decided that all I'm really concerned about keeping right now is Arizona. I've said before how much I love this place. It's a familiar place that I've grown used to. Small town/big city, I can get used to as long as I stay here.

Which makes me think about people in past times. They didn't move around very much, minus the long travels of the wealthy. Home was always the same place. I think we can make ourselves love many places if we know that they're where we live and will live. Because it's the eyes we see through that determine what the place looks like, and it's we who fashion how those eyes see.

Word of the Week 3: Inexplicable

Inexplicable (adj) - not explicable; incapable of being accounted for or explained

I kind of like this word just as much as "delirious," but it's harder to pronounce. I always seem to get tangled up in it, so I don't use it as often. But it's still an intriguing word.

It's one I can relate to. Sometimes, words don't seem to have much flavor. We use them without really having a connection to the word itself. But this one, I can see its perspective. It stands for all those things that I instantly love, though I don't know why. A worn and broken doll in an antique store, a certain rock on the side of the path. Or the desert. Very inexplicable, on the outside, to love the desert. But then not so unlikely. The desert has such a strong presence that it demands a reaction. You can either love it or hate it. Since I live here, I've chosen to love it. And that's one thing I can't really call inexplicable. I think Arizona is beautiful. But that beauty itself is what's inexplicable. Why is a thorny plant under an oven-sun beautiful?

Just because it is. You can explain about admiring its strength or such, but why does that mean that it's beautiful? Feelings can be very inexplicable. They just are.

Word of the Week 2: Ominous

(I know, that was way longer than even two weeks, but I've realized that spring is a very busy time of the year.)

ominous (adj) - giving the impression that something bad or unpleasant is going to happen; threatening; inauspicious

This is probably one of those words that sounds cool, but can easily be overused. It's just so easy to go right out and say "ominous" instead of creating an ominous feel with other, less likely words.

The book I'm just starting (another reread) is Joseph Conrad's Heart of Darkness. Talk about ominous. . . Maybe that's why this was the first word that came into my head and hence became this post's topic.

Word of the Week 1: Delirious

I'm going to try out doing a "Word of the week," but it'll probably end up being every two weeks. "Word of the Fortnight" would just sound too weird, though, so I'll still be labeling it that way.

Webster's says: delirious - 1. affected with or characteristic of delirium. 2. wild with excitement, enthusiasm, etc.

delirium - 2. a state of violent excitement of emotion

I just had to add "delirium" in there, also, because I prefer "violent" to "wild." I think of "delirious" as fey and half-crazed. Hence the name of my blog. It's supposed to be as utterly random and delirious as my plain thoughts can be. Delirous is, to me, the point where "crazy" is a cool thing.