Greetings,

No-one can deny the power of words.

"Give me the right word ... and I will move the world," said Joseph Conrad.

If this is the case (and it is, when you think about it), doesn't it seem sensible to learn how to use words correctly?

Of course it does - otherwise you wouldn't be reading this and I wouldn't be rabbiting on about it!

Changing just one word in a sentence can completely change its tone and, therefore, its meaning.

Not convinced?

O, ye of little faith ... read on ...

I'm sure we've all done our time in meetings, either on committees or as members of the audience - don't tell me you don't recognise some (or all) of the following:

There was confusion during the meeting and so no decision was reached.

There was bewilderment during the meeting and so no decision was reached.

There was turmoil during the meeting and so no decision was reached.

There was astonishment during the meeting and so no decision was reached.

There was chaos during the meeting and so no decision was reached.

There was ferment during the meeting and so no decision was reached.

There was pandemonium during the meeting and so no decision was reached.

The words used vary from the neutral "confusion" and the dramatic "turmoil" to the derogatory "chaos."

I rest my case ...

~ * ~

~ * ~

Last week's discussion of homophones and homonyms, reminded Sam of a street interview which appeared on Jay Leno's Tonight Show. He asked a young lady to define 'homogeneous.' She replied, "Is that a really smart, gay person?"

And Bethanny commented: "The definition you gave for homonym is more like a homograph, which Webster's defines as "a word with the same spelling as another but a different meaning and origin, and, sometimes, a different pronunciation." A
good example is 'wind', a current of air, and 'wind', to turn or coil."

Language is such a fascinating subject - it's no wonder some people make a living exploring its origins.

Learn a new word each day

Arbitrator \ar'-bi-tray-ter\: A cook who leaves Arby's to work at McDonald's.

Avoidable \uh-voy'-duh-buhl\: What a bullfighter tries to do.

Baloney \buh-lo'-nee\: Where some hemlines fall.

Bernadette \burn'-a-det\: The act of torching a mortgage.

Burglarize \bur'-gler-ize\: What a crook sees with.

Control \kon-trol'\: A short, ugly inmate.

Counterfeiters \kown-ter-fit-ers\: Workers who put together kitchen cabinets.

Eclipse \i-klips'\: what an English barber does for a living.

Eyedropper \i'-drop-ur\: a clumsy ophthalmologist.

Heroes \hee'-rhos\: what a guy in a boat does.

Left Bank \left' bangk'\: what the robber did when his bag was full of loot.

Misty \mis'-tee\: How golfers create divots.

Paradox \par'-u-doks\: two physicians.

Parasites \par'-uh-sites\: what you see from the top of the Eiffel Tower.

Pharmacist \farm'-uh-sist\: a helper on the farm.

Polarize \po'-lur-ize\: what penguins see with.

Primate \pri'-mat\: removing your spouse from in front of the TV.

Relief \ree-leef'\: what trees do in the spring.

Rubberneck \rub'-er-nek\: what you do to relax your wife.

Seamstress \seem'-stres\: describes 250 pounds in a size six.

Selfish \sel'-fish\: what the owner of a seafood store does.

Subdued \sub-dood'\: like, a guy, like, works on one of those, like, submarines, man.

Sudafed \sood'-a-fed\: bringing litigation against a government official.

If you have any to add, please send them in.

Eliminate the jarring word:

1. fondle, buffet, embrace, caress

2. sincere, insidious, evil, guileful

3. rectitude, integrity, morality, guile

4. loose, desultory, thorough, erratic

5. apathetic, hot, impassioned, fervent

6. inclement, unpropitious, auspicious, harsh

7. mendacious, spurious, deceitful, authentic

8. ephemeral, endless, evanescent, transitory

9. enervating, bracing, invigorating, exhilarating

10.prolific, fecund, sterile, productive,

dear - expensive /- held in great affection

grave - serious /- hole in the ground for burial

down - opposite to 'up' /- soft feathers from ducks

trip - a short voyage /- to stumble

exact - precise /- to extract a promise etc

order - to command /- to be organised

fine - something pleasant /- a monetary punishment

wave - movement of the ocean /- movement of the hand in greeting

kind - to be generous and affectionate /- a variety

bear - to put up with /- large furry animal

ascent / assent: to go up / to agree with

allowed / aloud: to be permitted / noisy

buy / by (and bye): purchase / next to / ta-ta

coarse / course: a bit rough / a series

feat / feet: an undertaking / what stops your legs from fraying!

passed / past: has gone by / any moment of time before now

sight / site: a view / a location

their / there (they're): possessive form of 'they' /somewhere not 'here' / contraction of 'they are'

wait / weight: to linger / measurement of mass

cereal / serial: what you have for brekky / what you used to listen to on the wireless

council / counsel: a group of people / advice given

foul / fowl: really nasty / a chook

hear / here: to be audible / this place

you / ewe: not me / woolly animal

stationary / stationery: to be still / pens and paper

threw / through: to have hurled something / in one side and out the other

whole / hole: having all its bits / an empty space

too / to (two): as well as / toward / the number

Your definitions only have to indicate that you know the difference in meaning - as you can see, they can be a bit rough around the edges!

It belongs to Ron Brandon (a new member of our Write Way group) and contains some fascinating information and links to sites all around the globe. One section is a directory of staff at universities etc around the world - and I even managed to track down some old friends I haven't seen since my uni days (only yesterday, really ...)

This week's Latin phrase is one of those multi-purpose ones:

Non sperabam te domum tam cito revenire! (I didn't expect you home so soon!)

Regards,

Jennifer

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