A Gussie Fink-Nottle Moment

Do you ever understand the gist of a word without fully knowing the precise definition? A short time ago, I understood the word "newt" to refer to some sort of small lizard, but I was a little vague about just exactly what sort it was.

Ever since reading several of the Jeeves & Wooster stories and books by P.G. Wodehouse, the first thing that pops into my mind after reading the word "newt" is the character of Gussie Fink-Nottle. Gussie is a nice but nerdy character of somewhat limited interests ... newts.

I came across the word again recently while doing a word puzzle on a trivia game site. The puzzle defined "newt" as a "brightly-colored salamander." That definition, in particular the "brightly-colored" part, triggered a memory of when I was fourteen years old and vacationing in the Poconos. Taking a little stroll through the woods, I noticed a bright orange salamander on the side of a tree. I was so impressed by him and his bright orange color that I gently plucked him off the tree and held him in my hand for a few minutes before returning him to his tree. (You will see from an earlier post that I don't necessarily shy away from amphibians.)

I then did a Google image search for newt and found several photographs that looked like replicas of my little orange friend from the Poconos. A couple of sites identified it as a red-spotted newt.

I am still pretty certain that I don't want to obsess about newts to the exclusion of all else, but I think I can agree with Gussie Fink-Nottle that they have their charms.

I have posted the photo, so you can all have a Gussie Fink-Nottle moment and behold the newt in all his beauteousness.