Tag: Word of the Month

Word of the Month: Equipoise

David Zapatka While attending the Theosophical Society Convention in Wheaton, Ill., this summer, I saw one of the presenters use the word “equipoise” in his presentation. The usage of the word described a relationship balance between two philosophical thoughts. Equipoise—equi·poise noun 1. A state of equilibrium 2. Counterbalance 3. Balance of forces or interests verb…

Word of the Month: Wanly

David Zapatka Reader Bob Mack, commenting on the June WOTM column wrote, “I enjoyed your Chimichurri article, Thanks. Quite the background for such a great tasting meat sauce. I like the old Spanish dictionary definition, confusion. LOL. I recently took some Trader Joe’s Chimichurri sauce, from their deli section, and blended it with some hard-boiled egg yolks,…

Word of the Month: Brook

David Zapatka While reading Esoteric Astrology by Alice A Bailey, I read, “He is instantly aware, once he is spiritually awakened, of his motivating impulses, and this leads him to an imposed self-discipline-the thing the Leo subject sorely needs and which must always be self-imposed and self-applied for he brooks no disciplinary measures which others…

Word of the Month: Chimichurri

David Zapatka One of my favorite dishes on cruise ships is fish al fresco, “fish cooked and eaten in the fresh air.” This means the executive chef purchases fresh-caught fish in the ports, displays them in the outdoor grill section of the ship, then cooks them to order. One of my favorites is chimichurri on…

Word of the Month: Batten

David Zapatka While cruising around Asia, we heard we were going to encounter rough seas. Soon enough, we saw ocean spray splashing the 10th floor windows. Then there was an order to batten down the hatches, meaning to close the dead lights on the third floor. Storm covers (porthole covers) are called deadlights in maritime…

Word of the Month: Trochus

David Zapatka While cruising around Australia on the way to Thursday Island, I read this description about the port city. “The mixed population of Malays, Chinese, Japanese, and Melanesians are engaged mainly in pearling and trochus and sea cucumber fishing.” Trochus—tro·​chus noun: 1.a. Capitalized. a genus of chiefly Old World tropical marine gastropods (family Trochidae)…

Word of the Month: Apricity

David Zapatka Friend and fellow pickleball player, Natasha Thompson, writes, “‘Apricity’ means warmth of the sun in winter. Did I expand your vocabulary?” Yes, you have, Tash, and I expect you will be expanding our readers’ vocabulary with this word as well. Maybe you will even bring it back into use as it has fallen…

Word of the Month: Redolent

David Zapatka While reading The Metaphysics of Ping-Pong: Table Tennis as a Journey of Self Discovery by Guido Mina di Sospiro, I ran across the word redolent. His use of the word while describing table tennis rubber was intriguing. Redolent—red·​o·​lent adjective 1. Exuding fragrance: aromatic 2. Full of a specified fragrance: a. scented (air redolent of seaweed)…

Word of the Month: Pulse

David Zapatka David Wittenberg, fellow member of the Grammar Police Special Interest Group, wrote this in a recent post. “For most Indians, meat is not a staple. The majority of the Indian diet consists of grains, pulses, and vegetables. As a result, Indians don’t talk about meat the way Americans do. The terms ‘veg’ and…

Word of the Month: Bildungsroman

  David Zapatka Reader, friend, and fellow bridge player, Gayle Covey, writes, “This is a really favorite word; bildungsroman. My friend Judy taught me this word several years ago … and now it comes up all the time! All those YA (Young Adult) fiction writers, turning books into films … and, of course, it is the word…