Wordplay Wednesday™ August 12, 2015 – EXTANT is real

Raise your hands, kids – how many heard the word “extant” before the popular CBS show popped up on your TV screen?

Is it exciting? Is it probing? More to the point – do you know what it MEANS?

EXTANT – (eksʹtant) adj. to stand out or forth, 1) still existing; not extinct; not lost or destroyed; 2) (archaic) standing out; conspicuous. [And now, a thought-provoking Sci-Fi premise.]

There is extant literature for instance – as in the Beowulf epic poem mentioned in last week’s Wordplay about firedrakes (dragons). And, there are extant species …

Wordplay Wednesday™ August 5, 2015 – Firedrake

Definitely NOT “Puff the Magic Dragon”

Engrossed in news of the California wildfires, I mourned the loss of so much beauty in my childhood stomping grounds.

Memories flooded my mind and thinking about the fires, its causes, and its fierceness, my imagination slid into overdrive … and into the fire … firedrakes that is … dragons!

FIREDRAKE (-drākʹ; Mythology) n. fire-breathing dragon.

I drifted back to my youth, when reading books meant sitting outside, surrounded by timeworn trees. California Black Oak, fir trees, and dense Manzanita brush on the hills in front of me, concealed fairies and leprechauns, princes and princesses, castles, dungeons, mermaids, all sorts of strange creatures from active imaginations. Always with a happy ending.

Absorbed in the pages of Grimms’ Fairy Tales with the maiden-eating dragon (“The Two Brothers,” 1812), and Lewis Carroll’s nonsensical poem that gave us a fierce Jabberwock, with "jaws that bite," "claws that catch," and "eyes of flame" (Through the Looking-Glass, 1871), my heart raced as I envisioned dangerous denizens and dragons.

The epic poem of Beowulf, who defeated the fire breathing dragon, appeared in my mind as I watched a newsclip of streaming flames. Wildfires are our modern day dragons and firefighters are our brave warriors who slay them.

Wordplay Wednesday™ July 29, 2015 – BLET Yuck

Got the summer Blets? 

Do you feel a little overripe on a sweltering, muggy, summer afternoon? Kind of blet? So does your wilting watermelon …

BLET – n. decay in overripe fruit.* [Gross.]

Short and not-so-sweet definition for this Wordplay Wednesday. It even sounds yucky.

Since I’m about to decay in my upstairs office with the temperature firmly planted in the triple digits … I suggest we head down, get the watermelon on ice and move on out to the pool … last one in is a rotten egg! Blettttt …

* Admittedly, I took a little liberty with this Wordplay word, for the sake of colorful writing – and to take my mind off the heat. However, it’s still a yucky process … you can read about it here.

'Til next time ... have a "wordful" week!

@PenchantForPen

@Irishwriter

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Wordplay Wednesday™ July 22, 2015 – Coinkydink: Hand of Fate

Okay, we know COINKYDINK (co-inky-dink) is not a real word – but we also react to the cutesy coined term with a knowing chuckle.

Today’s Wordplay Wednesday #22 falls on the 22^nd day of July. Coinkydink? Do you believe in coincidences?

COINCIDENCE (kō inꞋ sɘ dɘns; aka COINKYDINK) n. accidental and remarkable occurrence of events or ideas at the same time, suggesting but lacking a causal relationship. [Causal, m’dears, not casual. Oooooh, so close.]

Deviating from our usual unusual words list, coincidence is an interesting expression to explore, and more controversial than you might think, for one so ingrained in the English language. Are we tempting the hand of fate? ...

Wordplay Wednesday™ July 15, 2015 – UNDINE: defines Ariel

Do you know that Hans Christian Andersen’s “The Little Mermaid” is about an UNDINE? It’s true! (Get your minds out of the gutter – not undies.) 

undine (un dēn) – n. coined by Paracelsus for a water spirit in his alchemical system; a wave; folklore: a female water spirit who can acquire a soul, by marrying and having a child by a mortal. [Human soul of course, as opposed to a fish-soul; do fish have souls?]

Mermaids, Nereids and *naiads, are all species of undines and enjoy the legends of nymphs *“… living in and giving life to springs, fountains, rivers, and lakes,” says Webster.

Apparently life underwater, swimming with Flipper isn’t all it’s cracked up to be, causing the undines to desire a human soul. But relinquishing those cool mermaid tails for legs – well, is that such a great idea? Consider ...