Stuart's Daily Word Spot: Oasis

Image via Wikipedia
Oasis: noun - fertile place in a desert where water is found; place or period of calm in the middle of trouble or fuss; the proprietary name for a rigid foam used in flower arranging.
'It's pure coincidence that this word should come up for definition today, since I've just employed 2,500 words or so describing the adventures of one of my protagonists trapped in an oasis in a desert in the imagined land of my epic fantasy.'
'Mrs Woebegone, a stalwart of the Mothers' Union, refused point blank to use Oasis for her flower arrangements, referring to the device as a cheat and an unnatural aid. Of course, all her companions thought the foam blocks were brilliant for making their arrangements stay fresh and in place.'
'Pandora had trudged miles with a raging thirst through the desert and was overjoyed, indeed, delirious, when she saw the palm trees that surrounded the oasis ahead.'