Michael Gates's Blog, page 4
January 17, 2022
Are you feeling SOMNICULOUS?
What's "the word I'm thinking of"? Today, it's...
SOMNICULOUS [som-NIC-yoo-luss] (adjective)
Sleepy or drowsy
"She soon went to sleep, but dreamt of distresses and vexations, of exertions demanded, and powers not to be excited; of falling from precipices, of painful adieus, and of boats foundering in shoreless waters, and was haunted by all the train of somniculous misery, which the superstitious resolve into causes, and the less weak into effects."
--Laetitia Matilda Hawkins, The Countess and Gertrude (1812) (TWITO, page 139)
November 21, 2021
You'll have more STHENIA if you eat your spinach
What's the word I'm thinking of? Today, it's...
STHENIA [STHEE-nee-uh] (noun)
strength, energy, vitality
"The first condition he called sthenia," I explained. "Meaning lots of energy." "Correct. And the other group, by distinction had a-sthenia." "No energy." "Correct again. You do know your etymology, Samantha."
--Beach Conger, It's Probably Nothing: More Adventures of a Vermont Country Doctor (2011)
October 17, 2021
Tired? Try not to PANDICULATE
What's the word I'm thinking of? Today, it's...
PANDICULATE [pan-DIK-yuh-LAYT] (verb)
To stretch and yawn simultaneously
"I'm troubled with pandiculation, An ailment dire and rooted deep 'Tis caused by undue hesitation In rising from the couch of sleep." --George W. E. Daniels, "Pandiculation", in The Medical Pickwick (1921) (TWITO, page 106)
September 12, 2021
Vaccination is proceeding at a CHELONIAN pace
What's the word I'm thinking of? Today, it's....
CHELONIAN [che-LO-nee-UN] (noun or adjective)
A turtle or like a turtle or tortoise (i.e., slow)
"Weighed down by bickering and blather, the farm bill crept through Congress at a chelonian pace."
--Valerie Strauss, The Washington Post (2013)
August 15, 2021
Have you heard the PSITHURISM today?
What's the word I'm thinking of? Today, it's....
PSITHURISM [SIGH-thur-IS-em] (noun)
The sound of rustling leaves or wind in the trees.
"Another day the sweet south is blowing; do you not see how the larch and lime palpitate with pleasure? ... do you not hear the musical psithurism of the feathered foliage?"
--Mortimer Collins, "The Secret of a Long Life" (1875)
August 1, 2021
Do you need more RHATHYMIA in your life?
What's the word I'm thinking of? Today, it's....
RHATHYMIA [ruh-THY-mia] (noun)
Light-hearted, carefree behavior
"The Beatles proved that one could combine rhathymia with mayhem in ‘Maxwell’s Silver Hammer,’ their bizarrely jaunty little ditty about a serial killer." (TWITO, page 125)
June 20, 2021
Humpty was no longer OVATE
What's the word I'm thinking of? Today, it's....
OVATE [OH-vait] (adjective)
Having an oval shape, like an egg
"Todd Smith's engaging small paintings create intricate patterns out of myriad, carefully hand-painted ovate dots, which set the eye dancing in somewhat the same manner as op-art."
--Peter Clothier, "Gallery Rounds/Bergamot Station" (2007)
May 30, 2021
STERNUTATION? Gesundheit!
What's the word I'm thinking of? Today, it's....
STERNUTATION [ster-nyuh-TAY-shun] (noun)
The act or sound of sneezing
"Tabby, the omnipresent housecat, seemed to delight in Natalie's constant sternutation." (TWITO, page 149)
May 23, 2021
Feeling OIKOFUGIC now that you're vaccinated?
What's the word I'm thinking of? Today, it's....
OIKOFUGIC [oy-ko-FU-jik] (adjective)
Marked by the urge to wander or travel away from home
"Genevieve's employment as an air hostess for Oceanic Airlines enabled her to indulge her most oikofugic fantasies, but an emergency landing in Uzbekistan was not one of them." (TWITO, page 101)
May 16, 2021
A ZEPHYR might be more effective than a mask
What's the word I'm thinking of? Today, it's...
ZEPHYR (noun)
A gentle, refreshing wind; also the Greek god of the west wind.
"He saw attempted murder in the pains of green-apple colic, cyclones in the summer zephyr, lost children in every top-spinning urchin, an uprising of the down-trodden masses in every hurling of a derelict potato at a passing automobile."
--O. Henry, "Whirligigs" (1923)
