Quincentenary – Wordplay Wednesday™ 05/15/2019

Remembering a Renaissance with a Smile

Rebirth. Revival. Resurgence. Revitalization. All great words. But none with such meaning as a renaissance or two …

QUINCENTENARY [kwin senʹtɘ ner ē; kwinʹsen tenʹɘr ē) adj. – of a 500^th anniversary (also quincentennial). [WW #216]  

For many, quincentenary is self-explanatory; but for those who don’t wallow in numbers and/or history every day, it’s a bulky word for recognizing a 500^th anniversary.

Just for fun, what quincentennial celebrations make 2019 a banner year? Parlez-vous Français?

France, infinitely older than America, is celebrating more than one quincentenary of note. The most venerable is

the Louvre Museum’s commemoration of Leonardo da Vinci’s death (April15, 1452– May 2, 1519), opening in October. Always wanted to meet Mona Lisa in person? Plenty of time to plan your trip to France!

Continuing in the name of art and all things creative and inventive, pick your French Renaissance 500^th anniversary party!

From the rebirth of art to new developments in science, technology, literature, and society’s finer etiquette. During this period (roughly 1494-1610), France exploded with exploration in all forms of the imagination.

If we’re still around in 2350, will we be celebrating or damning the quincentenary “renaissance” of the world that largely began in the 1850s? If not considered a revival, we certainly capitalized on French Renaissance advances.

Not to be outdone, in other elder countries:

Ø  March 2019: England’s oldest horse race  , the Kiplingcotes Derby in Market Weighton, nearly faltered in its efforts in 2018 to retain its quincentenary status. Because its course was too rain-soaked for horses to race safely, a “solitary volunteer had to walk a horse along the route to keep alive the ancient tradition, dating back to 1519.”

Ø  November 2019: Havana, Cuba gets its mojo on to celebrate its 500^th anniversary with tons of touristy stuff to entice visitors. After a couple of years of restorations, luxury hotel launches and festival preparations, they’re ready for you!

Word Challenge: QUINCENTENARY. Relish America’s youth, but revere what came before us, as you slip quincentenary into your week of historical writing.

Learning knows no prejudices or boundaries, and it isn’t fattening! Expanding your mind is a no-cost, simple joy. Do you feel that way too? What’s your inspiration? Share your creative genius and Wordplay Wednesday comments below.

Write first for yourself … only then can you write for others. (L.Rochelle) 

Cheers to learning a new word on Wordplay Wednesday!

           

@PenchantForPen

@Irishwriter

[LinDee Rochelle is a writer and editor by trade, and an author by way of Rock & Roll. She has published two books (of three) in her Blast from Your Past series about pioneering R&R Radio DJs. The true behind-the-mic tales make GREAT Holiday Gifts available on Amazon (eBook and print): Book 1 – Rock & Roll Radio DJs: The First Five Years 1954-1959; and Book 2 – Rock & Roll Radio DJs: The Swinging Sixties. Coming soon … The Psychedelic Seventies!]

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Pettifogger – Wordplay Wednesday™ 05/08/2019

We’ve All Met the Petty Type 

Some words are just fun to say, even if they are not fun to know. It isn’t a compliment when you’re called a …

PETTIFOGGER (petʹI fägʹɘr) n. – 1) a lawyer who handles petty cases, esp. one who uses unethical methods in conducting trumped up cases; 2) a trickster, cheater; 3) a quibbler, caviler. [WW #215]

Breaking down pettifogger we have “petti” derived obviously from “petty”—irrelevant, inconsequential; and “fogger”—something that acts to obscure reality. That fairly well sums it up!

But we don’t need to limit the word as defining certain lawyers—pettifogger makes a dandy description for any ne’er-do-well or as we used to say in the “good ol’ days,” one who “nickels and dimes you to death.”

Sometimes there is a fine line between a pettifogger and those who insist on haggling for the best price, product, or service, until exhaustion lowers the resistance of their target, to the point of obfuscating the original offer. A pettifogger may simply want the best deal, but it turns them into an unwitting charlatan.

If you’re writing fiction, you may have a character in mind to which pettifogger could be aptly applied. Writing nonfiction? It’s a great word to describe people in the real world, too.

Word Challenge: PETTIFOGGER. Find a way in your casual conversation to slip this fun but not always funny word into your discourse, as you give pettifogger a standout part in your writing.

Learning knows no prejudices or boundaries, and it isn’t fattening! Expanding your mind is a no-cost, simple joy. Do you feel that way too? What’s your inspiration? Share your creative genius and Wordplay Wednesday comments below.

Write first for yourself … only then can you write for others. (L.Rochelle) 

Cheers to learning a new word on Wordplay Wednesday!

           

@PenchantForPen

@Irishwriter

[LinDee Rochelle is a writer and editor by trade, and an author by way of Rock & Roll. She has published two books (of three) in her Blast from Your Past series about pioneering R&R Radio DJs. The true behind-the-mic tales make GREAT Holiday Gifts available on Amazon (eBook and print): Book 1 – Rock & Roll Radio DJs: The First Five Years 1954-1959; and Book 2 – Rock & Roll Radio DJs: The Swinging Sixties. Coming soon … The Psychedelic Seventies!]

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