so i thought i'd take up fencing.

and then i thought, "nahhhh." but, if i did take up fencing, i would probably be really good at the riposte. because i am quick like a cat. like a ninja. like whatever kind of animal and or person who has mastered the art of stealth fighting. actually, the only reason i know that i am quick is because i have much experience in the area of recovering from slips and trips. that's right, my friends. i have excellent reflexes. it's a blessing. i was blessed with quick reflexes to counteract the curse of clumsiness.

riposte \rih-POST\, noun:
1. A quick thrust given after parrying an opponent's lunge in fencing.
2. A quick and effective reply by word or act.
3. To make a riposte.

now, i say that i would be good at the #1 definition of the word for a few reasons. because i like to think that i would. because, as i mentioned earlier, i have quick reflexes. and because i somewhat lack skill in the #2 definition of riposte. i can be effective in reply by word or act. but there's usually no quick about it. i suffer from what george costanza himself suffers from. the inability to think of a clever, spot-on comment when the need arises.

it's a horrible curse which one day i will hopefully be able to overcome.

resolutions.

this may surprise several of you, but i swear. i use swear words and i sometimes don't even realize that i do it. and other times i feel like there is no way to better express myself than to use these words. people know what they mean and they know that when i am screaming them, i am very upset.

but today i am turning over a new leaf. i am going to stop. i mean, if i slip up and "accidently" let one slip out, give me a break. this is not a habit that i can break in just a few short days. why can't i break it in a short period of time? well because i have decided that the best way to break my swearing habit is to teach myself new, more intelligent words to replace the lowly words i already know.

so, today (or for the last few days), i have been trying to use this word instead of other, more foul words. (and if you have the same habit i do, i challenge you to join me on my endeavor.)

dolt \'dōlt\ noun
1: a stupid person

i can't even wait to use this word in conversation or in my rage. it will rock.

keep it low.

so, you might know by now that i get a wee bit excited about learning new words. so what could possibly get me even more excited than that? learning new words that are from a different language that have, over time, been adopted into our very own english.

case and point...

sotto voce \SAH-toh-VOH-chee\, adverb or adjective:

1. Spoken low or in an undertone, as not to be overheard.
2. (Music) In very soft tones. Used chiefly as a direction.

Behind the scenes, however, were sotto voce grumblings that Kohl was perhaps hanging on too long and that the party might be better off if he were to step aside and hand the candidacy to popular majority leader Wolfgang Schauble.
-- Jordan Bonfante, "The Challenger", Time, March 16, 1998

mostly i like this word because it involves stealth. you know, "keep it down, or we might be found out while we're sneaking around robbing this bank." or something to that effect.

i am going to try to use this new word(s) in my daily activities today, which thus far should include: working with buyers, mowing the lawn, washing my car, attending a dinner/baby shower with my old coworkers, and finally, reading the new harry potter book. i'm afraid that it might prove to be difficult since there are only two activities on this list which include conversing with others.

you were right.

i really want to tell my dad that he was wrong, but i won't. let me explain.

the other night my dad was telling me that he has been reading my blog and that he liked it. we got into a discussion about a word i used in a recent post on my other blog.

i used the word tenaciousness. he tried to tell me that tenaciousness was not a word and proceeded to tell me that i should have used the word tenacity. he said he knew this because he had gotten into a discussion about this word with someone else--i'm guessing years ago. i tried to tell him that he was wrong, but i didn't fight too hard because what if--heaven forbid--i was wrong.

well, today i went to my trusty friend, m-w.com and looked up tenaciousness. and my trusty friend informed me that i was right and my dad was wrong.

or that all those years ago, dad, you were right.

psycho syco.

sy·co·phant
Function: noun
: a servile self-seeking flatterer
Example sentence:"I can't stand sycophants," said Rosemary, "so if you want that promotion, do your best and let your work speak for itself."

do you remember how i once did a post about words being defined by other words with which i am not familiar? i may be dumb, but i don't really know what "servile" means.

ser·vile
Function: adjective
1 : of or befitting a slave or a menial position
2 : meanly or cravenly submissive : abject

oh, this can go on forever.

cra·ven
Function: adjective
1: archaic : defeated, vanquished
2: lacking the least bit of courage : contemptibly fainthearted

and ever.

con·tempt
Function: noun
1 a: the act of despising : the state of mind of one who despises : disdain b: lack of respect or reverence for something
2: the state of being despised
3: willful disobedience to or open disrespect of a court, judge, or legislative body

well, now i have become completely sidetracked. i don't know where i was going with this. but i do like the word sycophant. i've noticed they use it in movies and books a lot. so now i know. and now you know.

two words that don't make one.

per request, today's lesson is about two words that some believe can be combined to create one word, but in actuality, they are wrong. combining the two words is wrong. i learned this in eighth grade. and you all should have, too. if you didn't, then learn it now.

a lot.

it is not "alot."

it is "a-space-lot."

two words.

and that is the end of today's lesson.

you are welcome.

these three words.

i can't believe the luck i have been having with the words of the day this last week. these three words are the most awesome words and to get them in the same week is amazing.

first--
pococurante \POH-koh-kyoo-RAN-tee\ adjective
: indifferent, nonchalant

i definitely did not know this word. it took me a minute to figure out the pronunciation and then i checked with m-w.com to make sure i was saying it right. that it one of the best features of m-w.com.

there is a good chance i will probably not use this word in my everyday conversations because: a) it is somewhat of a difficult word to pronounce on the fly. b) the people i communicate with on a daily basis, more than likely, won't know what it means. c) if i use a word people don't know, they might think that i am arrogant or a know-it-all, and we don't want that.

next--
anchorite \ANG-kuh-ryte\ noun
: a person who lives in seclusion usually for religious reasons

i love when i learn words where the chance that i will use them in a conversation is slim to none. i don't know anyone who is an anchorite. nor do i know anyone who would become an anchorite. but i love that i now know this word, so when i am watching pbs or discovery, and there is a show on about anchorites, i won't have to wait to find out what an anchorite is to change the channel. i'll know and i can change the channel right then.

finally--
jeopardy \JEP-er-dee\ noun
1 : exposure to or imminence of death, loss, or injury : danger
2 : the danger that an accused person is subjected to when on trial for a criminal offense

i know this word. obviously. who doesn't? i mean, i know it because it is the name of my favorite game show. but, did i know that the meaning was so serious? no, i hadn't actually thought about how serious this word is. do you think that a quiz show should be called jeopardy? is there really an imminence of death? or injury? are they in danger? i mean, i guess that there is an imminence of loss. but that money was really never their's to begin with, so can you lose something that isn't yours?

so funny. hahaha. i do love jeopardy, though. and i will now view it with a more serious approach. i mean, it is jeopardy, after all.

two words of the day.

today's word of the day:

purview \PER-vyoo\ noun
1 a : the body or enacting part of a statute b : the limit, purpose, or scope of a statute*2 : the range or limit of authority, competence, responsibility, concern, or intention3 : range of vision, understanding, or cognizance
Example sentence:The court ruled that the student's T-shirt fell under the purview of the First Amendment.

i have a hard time with words that are defined by words i don't exactly know. like cognizance.

so,
cog·ni·zance
1 : a distinguishing mark or emblem (as a heraldic bearing)2 a : KNOWLEDGE, AWARENESS b : NOTICE, ACKNOWLEDGMENT 3 : JURISDICTION, RESPONSIBILITY

all right. now i realize that i vaguely knew this word but just wasn't sure how to define it. so today i have learned two new words. having said all of that, i have just now admitted to a few people that i don't know everything. see? i am not a know-it-all. or a smarty-pants. i would also like it to be known that these are not endearing phrases, so when you call your friend a know-it-all or a smarty-pants, please be aware that their reaction may not be one of gratitute. maybe they will shoot back with a sarcastic remark to cover their hurt feelings, but deep down their pride and ego have been severely wounded.

where am i going with this? someone called me a smarty-pants today. at first, i was nonplussed. then a little bit offended. i'm a bit knowledgable, but i'm no "smarty-pants", thankyouverymuch.

another favorite word.

resplendent \rih-SPLEN-dunt\

adjective : shining brilliantly : characterized by a glowing splendor

this was the word of the day for monday. i know this word. i may have used it in the past, but once again, i am drawn to the word because of the definition. i like this definition because it has the word brilliantly in it. i love the word brilliant and all variations thereof.

and i will tell you why i love it. i love it because adriane, my co-author, uses it all the time. and i love adriane. and i love that she uses this word. it is so "british" and, for some odd reason, i associate "british" with sophisticated. and when she uses this word, i feel sophisticated, too.

yeah. so that might be the lamest reason to love a word. but i love words and i will not apologize for that, nor for the reasons why. hahaha.

and now i love the word resplendent, because the definition rocks.

danglish language.

i have cleverly (or accidentally) created my own word today: danglish. really, it started as a typographical error. sometimes when i type, i merge words, leaving out the end of one word and the beginning of the following word. thus, danglish. in my mind, the title was supposed to read "dangling english". i liked the accidental effect much, much better.

so, since i have not been actually studying the english language on a regular basis since about my 19th year of life, i have decided that i am getting a little bit dumber and now i am going to use this blog as an opportunity to re-educate myself. i know, it seems preposterous - "adriane, not knowing something about the english language when she claims to know everything!?" but it's true. and i'll be the first one to admit it. i cannot remember what a dangling participle is. and who reminded me that i don't know? house. yes, that ornery, negative, genius of a fake doctor, gregory house. i was watching the season finale and he said "dangling participle" while criticizing a cuban on his poor english. so i looked it up.

Dangling Participle
A present participle is a verb ending in -ing, and is called dangling when the subject of the -ing verb and the subject of the sentence do not agree. An example is "Rushing to finish the paper, Bob's printer broke." Here the subject is Bob's printer, but the printer isn't doing the rushing. Better would be "While Bob was rushing to finish the paper, his printer broke." (Pay close attention to sentences beginning with When ——ing.)

One way to tell whether the participle is dangling is to put the phrase with the participle right after the subject of the sentence: "Bob's printer, rushing to finish the paper, broke" doesn't sound right.

Not all words ending in -ing are participles: in the sentence "Answering the questions in chapter four is your next assignment," the word answering functions as a noun, not a verb. (These nouns in -ing are called gerunds.) [Revised 3 August 2001.]

so there's your english lesson for today. don't dangle your participles or an arrogant doctor type may harshly criticise you. and now i can, too.