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Whether
you're Dr. Seuss or Dr. Spock (or just plain Spock), if you
want to write, then words are the tools of your trade.
So the
writer who breeds more words than he needs,
is
making a chore for the reader who reads.
Dr. Seuss
I love
words. I think words are fascinating, intriguing, often
hilarious and downright sexy when used just so. :-) I also
confess to being one of those "nerds" that has, at times,
(okay, since childhood), entertained myself by reading the
educational pages of the dictionary.
Once I
entered the workforce, several co-workers were nice enough
to correct my often incorrect pronunciation.
The three individuals that that did this were well-educated
gentlemen—some decades removed from my own post-college
generation—and each of them only pointed out my
mispronunciations when we were in private, not amidst
others, which was thoughtful.
At this
time, I was routinely reading three good-sized romance
novels a week (at a minimum). One of my co-workers took to
teasing me about my choice of literature. I was quick to
inform him how much I learned by reading—that
Hershey's syrup always tastes better poured over a hero's
muscled abs, that reading provided a valid escape from the
often mundane realities of life (dishes, dirty laundry, and
doctors), and that a good used bookstore—and the friends met
therein—could always be counted on for wonderful lengthy
discussions concerning certain heroes, cover models (& which
ones were gay—most, we figured), and the value of chocolate.
There are
only two things a child will share willingly -
communicable diseases and his mother's age.
Dr. Spock
But I
digress. When one of the gentlemen continually derided my
romance novels, I vowed to show him just how much I really
was learning and demonstrated how I'd taken to writing down
any words that were unfamiliar to me as I turned the pages
of each novel. Typically, I would then look these words up
and see what their definitions were, but on a lark he
offered to define them himself. I believe he considered
this somewhat of a challenge, as English was his second
language. (Hungarian being the first, if I'm not mistaken.)
What
ensued was a very enjoyable, mutually beneficial—I
hope—transaction in which I would present him with a single
sheet of paper listing the words from any one book that I
was unfamiliar with and in only moments, he would return the
paper, with the correct definitions scratched out next to
each word he knew. Surprisingly, while I usually gave him a
list of 12-20 words, he usually left only two or three
blank. I would then look those up, add my own definitions,
and consider myself very well educated for the moment.
Until I began the next novel, which again would have words I
was unfamiliar with, and the process started all over again.
"It is
undignified for a woman to play servant to a man
who is not
hers."
Spock
I
definitely believe the longer you are here on this planet,
combined with the amount you read, adds tremendously to your
working vocabulary. If it's not on the television, or
common in the movies, a great many fantastic words never
make it into the lexicon of the typical American (or
Englishman or Australian...any other overseas Wicked Escape
fans out there??).
I
discovered that by reading and learning the meaning of new
words, I greatly expanded my vocabulary, but I wasn't
teaching myself the correct pronunciation. Who in the world
can understand those curvy little symbols stuck in every
dictionary, above every vowel? I must have missed that week
in second-grade. So I found it very helpful, and am
appreciative to this day, of those people who kindly correct
my pronunciation.
It dawned
on me recently that even though I still come across words
I'm unfamiliar with (on the rare occasions I pick up a book
these days), I no longer take the time to write them down or
learn them. Granted, this exercise could become extremely
tedious if done for every single book one reads, but I
definitely decided it was a worthy effort worth continuing.
[And isn't that last phrase worth saying ten times
fast?]
Happiness is
mostly a by-product of doing what makes us feel fulfilled.
Dr.
Spock
To that
end, I would like to share with you the words used in Eloisa
James's The Taming of the Duke that I recently
read—with relish, in a scant day and a half, to the
detriment of my kitchen—that I lacked a working knowledge
of, along with the definitions both surmised initially from
the context, then looked up.
Here's to
a hearty vocabulary, a writer's best tool on the planet—the
brush and accompanying paints that create a masterpiece—and
a reader's enjoyment, for upon viewing said masterpiece
brings them such a rush of emotion that they cannot put the
words or feeling from their mind—a noble feat that as a
writer, I aspire to greatly. >^..^< Larissa
From the
first half of the novel:
-
tipple
(which I surmised meant drunk)
-
chipper, light-frigate,
a drab (all of which I surmised meant a whore)
-
chuffy (chubby)
-
stroking the sheets
(sex)
-
salubrious (while I've seen
this word previously, I truly have no notion what it
means. From the context, I thought perhaps sexy,
naughty, or sleepy... sounds like a new version of the
seven dwarfs, doesn't it?)
-
peccadillo (affair, I think)
-
[This
next one, I have no idea how to say it ergo my dictation
software is useless in this instance and I must actually
type the word—eegad] efficacious (no clue on
meaning)
-
[ditto] cicisbeo (a lover possibly, or an
escort?)
If I bring
you a dead rodent, I expect thanks.
Garfield
And now,
the words with their actual dictionary definition, of which
I always read then reword, making it short and easy for me
to learn and remember.
-
tipple
(drunk)
to drink habitually
-
chipper, light-frigate,
a drab
(whore)
chipper wasn't in any of the three dictionaries I
checked; neither was light-frigate; the fourth
definition of "a drab" yielded positive results = a
prostitute!
-
chuffy
(chubby)
wasn't
in any dictionary
-
stroking the sheets
(sex)
of
course it wasn't listed. As this is much more of a
"phrase" than a single word, I didn't really expect it
to be, but I hadn't heard this term before and I like
it, so I deemed it worthy of writing down and learning.
-
salubrious
(sexy, naughty, or sleepy)
Boy was I off on this one: it means wholesome and
healthy. (Who knew?)
-
peccadillo
(affair)
This one means a relatively minor offense or sin. (I
certainly don't know that many people that would
consider an affair a peccadillo. Go me! Used it in a
sentence!!)
-
efficacious
(no clue)
When
something is efficacious, it means that it produces the
desired end result. (I must confess, I still don't have
a thorough enough understanding of this word to use it
any time soon.)
-
cicisbeo
(a lover an escort) And
I still have no idea exactly what this means as it
wasn't listed in my dictionaries either.
Just so
everyone knows, I was looking things up in my many-creased
Webster's dictionary given to me by my high school drafting
teacher when I graduated :-) as well as the big-ass New
Oxford American Dictionary I bought when I began writing and
also one of my favorites... a dictionary of sexual slang.
I hope
you've enjoyed this snippet of insight into the crowded mind
of a perpetually "confused erotic
writer." :-) Larissa
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