The Write Way

11 August 2006

Women in Their Prime with Attitude ... NOT Grumpy Old Women!

Greetings,

We drove down to the Gold Coast a couple of weeks ago, to visit with our friends from Melbourne who are presently staying in Surfers Paradise. (You've met these friends before, when we all got together for the first time in many years.) Since that time, our daughter has moved to Melbourne, so we've managed to catch up more frequently, and so it was that we four met again for a bout of reminiscing, eating and sampling the occasional bottle of cheeky white ... and mellow red.

Maybe it was the wine that made us let down our inhibitions, or perhaps it was the fact that we were with good friends ... whatever the reason, it wasn't long before my friend and I were having a frank and open discussion about some very sensitive matters and freely admitting to behaviour we normally wouldn't share with outsiders.

Yes, boys and girls, we both confessed to past indiscretions, and I have to say, we felt better for it. Our husbands were very supportive, or maybe it was the footy game on TV that had them both grinning and slapping the arms of their chairs ...

You see, my friend and I have rather a lot in common ... and I don't know whether I should divulge this or not. OK (gulp) you know me well enough by now to accept me for my faults, so (gulp again) here goes ... My friend and I are both ... driven to ... Write Letters!

Yes. 

There! I've said it!

As conversation wove in and out of a variety of subjects during our weekend together, we were struck by the number of times one or the other of us would say, "So I wrote to the store ..." or "I sent the council a letter ..." or "I contacted the station ..."

And the reason for this frenzy of scribbling? 

Ads in educational journals that proclaim, "XYZ School is proud to announce it's 75th birthday this year."

Major supermarket chains whose entire ad campaign rests on the slogan "Save everyday!"

Menus that offer "Camembert with pear compost" for dessert.

Sigh ...

My latest letter, however, was to our local council to "discuss," in a frank and open manner, why it is that while the rest of us are on Level 3 water restrictions (which means buckets only for any watering), the council has sprinklers merrily playing streams of water over lawns, gardens, roads, footpaths, car parks, sandy beaches ... 

I haven't heard back for them as yet, but as far as I'm concerned, the battle has only just begun! 

Grrr... 

And before you accuse me of being a little self indulgent, my defence is that I'm an ex teacher ... what can you expect?

And as an ex-teacher, I know that I need a hyphen there ... and here: self-indulgent. I was just checking to make sure you were paying attention.

You use hyphens with compounds beginning with the prefixes: self, ex

You also use hyphens with ex, elect and vice when they are used to form part of a title e.g. president-elect, ex-premier

And use a hyphen in a compound adjective in which the last word is capitalised e.g. un-Australian

Where it gets tricky is with compound words ... You use a hyphen in compounds made up of two or more words used as an adjective before a noun e.g. it was a hair-raising experience; she was a sweet-shop customer (not a sweet, shop customer); a little-known man (not a little, known man)

Some compound expressions always use hyphens e.g. runner-up, start-up, tie-in

You also use hyphens to aid pronunciation e.g. co-worker

And avoid confusion e.g. recover, re-cover; repress, re-press; resign, re-sign

And when double vowels create an ugly sound e.g. pre-empt, co-ordinator, anti-imperialist

And triple consonants just look silly e.g. bell-like

Other places where you use hyphens are with some numbers and fractions:

• in compound numbers between twenty-one and ninety-nine and when used in larger numbers like two hundred and fifty-five (Our 'Murkin cousins don't add the 'and.')
• in a compound adjective that is a fraction e.g. you need a three-fourths majority to pass that by-law

This week's quiz:

Since we've contemplated grumpy old women this week, try matching up these words:

novercal, materteral, enate, gravid, primipara, couvade, giglet, rebarbative, opsimath, mammothrept

1. tending to irritate; repellent 

2. relative on one's mother's side 

3. wanton; a lascivious or light, giddy girl

4. a woman who is pregnant for the first time; a woman who has given birth to only one child 

5. of, relating to, or characteristic of a stepmother 

6. person who becomes a student or learner late in life 

7. in medical genetics, pertaining to an aunt; the genetic relationship between aunts and their nieces and nephews 

8. child brought up by its grandmother; a spoiled child 

9. practice in certain cultures in which the husband of a woman in labour takes to his bed as though he were bearing the child 

10. being with child; heavy with young; pregnant; fruitful 

And an observation from Dave Barry:

"If a woman has to choose between catching a fly ball and saving an infant's life, she will choose to save the infant's life without even considering if there is a man on base."

Last week's quiz:

1. to ask for a favour for someone - INTERCEDE

2. one who receives money etc at a person's death - BENEFICIARY

3. lower in rank - SUBORDINATE

4. ceasing and going on again at intervals - INTERMITTENT

5. to scatter or place randomly - INTERSPERSE

6. to put in the place of another - SUBSTITUTE

7. words of blessing - BENEDICTION

8. an order commanding a person's presence at a court - SUBPOENA

9. under the earth - SUBTERRANEAN

10.a remark thrown into a conversation - INTERJECTION

And here's a story that is NOT about me and my friend!

Amy and Janice are old friends.

They have both been married to their husbands for a long time. Amy is upset because she thinks her husband doesn't find her attractive anymore.

"As I get older he doesn't bother to look at me!" Amy cries.

"I'm so sorry for you, as I get older my husband says I get more beautiful every day," replies Janice.

"Yes, but your husband's an antique dealer!"

(Thanks to Joanna for that one!)

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A Little Something Extra

If you have a shoe fetish, you're going to love this week's Little Something Extra!

Here it is ... Ta-da! All you ever wanted to know about shoes ... their history and how to make them; a glossary of terms; shoe size comparison charts; how to find the perfect fit ... and .... AND ... pictures of every style of shoe you could ever hope to see: http://podiatry.curtin.edu.au/shoo.html 

No ... shucks ... don't thank me ... Just send money!

Word of the week: Nonplussed (adj) Contrary to what you often hear, this term means to be rattled by something; to be filled with bewilderment; to be in a state of perplexity, confusion. 

It comes from the Latin phrase non plus (not more).

Raoul was nonplussed when Lavinia announced they were giving up their lavish lifestyle to go and live in a cave.

It doesn't mean to be unaffected or cool. 

Oxymoron of the week: comfortable stillettos

Our Latin phrase is really just a word this week. ...

Caligula

This was the nick-name given to the Roman emperor, Gaius Caesar Augustus Germanicus when he was just a little tot and quite cute by all accounts. As the son of Augustus's adopted grandson, (and great general) Germanicus, little Gaius went everywhere with his dad and used to wear a miniature soldier's uniform. This was authentic right down to his darling little hob-nailed sandals (called caliga).

He was the soldiers' favourite, and they called him Caligula (little boot). Maybe he was really an annoying little brat, but when your dad's the general and your grandpa is the emperor, I think most soldiers would opt for "cute."

The cuteness soon vanished and Caligula is remembered for murdering assorted rellies ... Read the Life of Caligula as told by Suetonius: http://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Roman/Texts/Suetonius/12Caesars/Caligula*.html