Throwback Thursday Wordplay™ October 06, 2016 – Estival/Cotidal

Two-Fer Thursday Wordplay--in a Throwback Mood

I lost Wednesday … missed it completely. I’m wondering if it quaked and was swept away with the news of Hurricane Matthew looming over our East Coast shorelines. A sure sign summer (and my Wednesday) have left the building!

To make up for the “day late and dollar short” belated Wordplay Wednesday, we have a Two-Fer Thursday Wordplay with a throwback twist … and thoughts of my friends watching the tides and times of Matthew.

 

COTIDAL (kō tidʹl) adj. – indicating the coincidence in time or extent of tides (cotidal lines on a map). [TFT 1 of 2 / WW #80]

ESTIVAL (esʹtɘ vɘl, estiʹvɘl) adj. – of or pertaining to summer. [TFT 2 of 2 / WW #80]

At times the dictionary is less than helpful in defining a word or phrase, as in cotidal. Back to school I went—and after much scientific gobbledygook, I settled on Wiki’s relatively clear explanation of its meaning.

In part, cotidal Wiki explains, “Lines of constant tidal phase are called cotidal lines, which are analogous to contour lines of constant altitude on topographical maps. High water is reached simultaneously along the cotidal lines extending from the coast out into the ocean, and cotidal lines (and hence tidal phases) advance along the coast.” Kind of the “eye of the storm” in cotidal-speak.

There is SO much more to read there, but study time is up for me! How's-about something for you to do if you’re hunkering down, hoping to stay connected while you weather the storm?

If you’re not quite ready to let estival days of idyllic beaches fade into the annals of time, I’ve dredged up three movie titles that bring back estival fun personified. (With a fond nod to a classic Elvis film):

Blue Hawaii / Elvis Presley (1961; even this 3-minute trailer is a warm boost of estival energy)

Beach Blanket Bingo / Frankie Avalon & Annette Funicello (1965)

Back to the Beach / Frankie & Annette are back! (1987)

Cowabunga, dude! Let’s go surfin’ now, everybody’s learnin’ how, come on a “Safari” with me! ♪ Oh, sorry—this is October. He did the mash, he did the “Monster Mash”! ♪ (Coming soon to a radio near you …)

Word Challenge: COTIDAL / ESTIVAL.  The summer reference is easy—writing about a complicated currents and tides reference, not so much. Can you fit them both into your week of writings?

'Til next time ... cheers to a wonderful "wordful" week …

                       

@PenchantForPen

@Irishwriter

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Wordplay Wednesday™ May 25, 2016 – Knur(ly)

Surf’s Up! on Triplet Wordplay Wednesday

Being a “California Girl” I spent a fair amount of time in the surfing community, raising my sun-bleached blonde surfer boys, when cowabunga, super swells, and hang ten,* peppered their chatter.

Of course, for most colloquial terms we can’t point to any one person, day, or event that gave it birth, so as a writer, I like to dream up a scenario … gnarly.

What, in the name of gnarly waves, could have instigated that surf exclamation? Welllllll, what about … close your eyes … and first envision a green flag of tree leaves waving in the wind, the tree’s limbs gently caressing puffy clouds in a soft blue sky …

Run your hand down its grainy brown trunk, feeling every chunk of bark that lay smoothly against its ringed inner core … bump! Oh … we hit a knur.

KNUR (nʉr) n. – a knot, as on the trunk or branch of a tree. [WW #61; 1 of 3]

KNURL (nʉrl) n. 1) a knot, knob, nodule, etc.; 2) any of a series of small beads or ridges, along the edge of a coin or on a dial; 3) (SCOT) a short, thickset person. [WW #61; 2 of 3]

KNURLY (- ē) adj. – full of knurls, as wood; gnarled. [WW #61; 3 of 3]

Aha! We stumbled on the word, gnarl. An apparent synonym for knurl. And what in heaven’s name were the Scots thinking when they slipped a woodland term over a body? I bolded the meanings in my mind … and then …