|
|
|
|
Solving your writing problems since 1998! |
|
| |||||||||||
|
~ The Write Way ~ Friday 15 December 2000 Wedding Anniversaries Greetings, It was our wedding anniversary last weekend and we decided that this year, instead of going away somewhere, we'd book into a city hotel and just be tourists - and do all those things in our own city that we never have time to do. It was great! We went on ferry rides (yes, I know I'm probably too old to still believe in ferries ...), walked for miles and actually stopped to look at all the wonderful old buildings. We went to the Botanical Gardens on the river and stood in the same spot we'd had our photos taken on our honeymoon 32 years ago! Then we met our kids for dinner at one of those little cottages-converted-to-restaurants that are so popular out here (and maybe where you are too). Both our daughter and new daughter-in-law are vegetarians and they always seem to find the most interesting places to eat.It was one of those lovely balmy nights that memories are made of - t'riffic! Because it was our anniversary, I've been contemplating partnerships, twosomes and the like this past week and that's why I thought we'd look at some of those words which sound as if they should have partners ... but don't. (And you thought I was just rabbiting on about my weekend ... see? There's always method to my madness ... it's just that sometimes it takes a little longer to surface.) So, let's explore some of those quirky little words ...
You know what it's like when you get home after standing in queues at the bank, the supermarket, the train station? How do you feel? Decidedly disgruntled. But what about when you wake up during your holidays and know that you don't have to do a single, solitary thing unless you really want to? How do you feel then? Gruntled? Probably not. Have you ever known anyone who was particularly ept at doing something? Do you have friends who adopt a chalant pose at parties? Have you ever spent an hour getting ready for an important function, glanced at yourself in the mirror and smiled at your hevelled appearance? Hmm Makes you wonder, doesn't it? If you'd like to give your little grey cells an extra workout, you can now test your skills with these new vocab quizzes. The answers are there as well - I plan to put up new quizzes on a regular basis - so as well as the weekly vocab quiz in the newsletter, you'll also have these to try. Please encourage any friends and colleagues who might be interested in improving their word skills, to subscribe to The Write Way. Send them a copy and tell them they can just click on the link to get their own newsletter each Friday. If everyone was able to get just one person to subscribe, we'd have over 5,000 members. That's 2,500 more people to send me their funny language stories and bon mots :) If you received this from a friend, click here to receive your own copy: mailto:WritingTips-subscribe@onelist.com This week's quiz: For each word below, choose a word from the list which is most nearly its antonym: irreverent, assiduous, amorous, explicit, acquiesce, intemperate, aversion, antagonist, enigmatic, resolute 1. deferential 2. remonstrate 3. tacit 4. clement 5. indolent 6. ambivalent 7. aloof 8. lucid 9. partisan 10.affinity Last week's quiz: 1. to socialise - FRATERNISE 2. full dress, with ribbons, insignia etc - REGALIA 3. having a compulsion to set fires - PYROMANIACAL 4. characteristic of being a wife - UXORIAL 5. felony of burning property for profit - ARSON 6. morbidly dreading wide-open spaces - AGORAPHOBIA 7. alcoholism - DIPSOMANIA 8. excessively indulgent to one's wife - UXORIOUS 9. kingly, royal; splendid - REGAL 10.person who sets fires for revenge - INCENDIARY Last week, I included The Twelve Days of Christmas which prompted Maitiu to send this quick note: Enjoyed your 12 days of Christmas item. That item was originally released by a neighbour of mine in Dublin, Ireland, as a Christmas "funny" song in the early nineties.. His name is Frank Kelly and he is one of Ireland's best known and best loved comedians. The song went to No. 1 in the UK charts for three weeks before Christmas and greatly heightened his profile. As a result he was recruited for several comedy roles on TV and changed his career to being an actor. He is now very well known in Irish and British comedy circles and TV sitcoms etc. Enjoyed seeing it again.Rgds, Maitiu MacCabe So, now we know who to thank for the original version of this little ditty. If you need to write sales letters in a hurry, but hate the thought of sitting at your keyboard trying to be creative ... here's the answer - just fill in the blanks! It really is as easy as that. Don't believe me? Take a look! I also received this gem during the
week and had to pass it on. This is
supposedly the actual radio
conversation of a US naval ship with Canadian
authorities off the coast of Newfoundland in October 1995. Radio
conversation released by the chief of naval operations, 10-10-95. It's a bit of a worry, isn't it? I mean, you'd think that any right-minded seaman who was aboard an icebound ship would be bored witless and longing for the time he could escape ... but no. I wonder how much mallemaroking is going on aboard the ship that is currently stuck in the ice off the coast of Antarctica? Tautology of the week: Free gift! A handy Latin phrase for the Party Season: Da mihi sis cerevisiam dilutam. (I'll have a light beer.) ... how's that for responsible drinking? I know I've mentioned this a squillion times already - but it never ceases to fascinate me - Julius Caesar only ever drank plain water. In Roman times there wasn't that much of a choice - it came down to water, beer or wine basically. No cordial, no tea and coffee, no fizzy drinks ... They seemed to survive quite nicely without their daily fix of Coke. Half their luck ... here's a disturbing little piece that I received recently ... (you can make up your own mind about its worth) ... What the world needs today... Regards, Jennifer
|
|
Home
| Contact
| Order
| Site
Map |Subscribe
Copyright 200 |
