Today’s word comes from the Urban Dictionary. I picked it because I thought it was pretty funny.
Child supervision, my fellow wordphiliacs is when an older person, especially a parent, needs a tech-savvy kid to help him/her with computers or other electronic devices. Let’s see child supervision in a sentence:
“Jimmy, could you send your kid over to help me with my facebook? I’m afraid I might get a virus without some child supervision.”
I’ve heard the phrase ‘making money hand over fist’ many times. Unfortunately, it was not being used to describe me. If I had to guess where the phrase came from without doing any research, I would have probably said the phrase originated with games shows. I imagine a person in one of those money filled booths with money swirling all around them, quickly grabbing at it ‘hand over fist’ in a desperate effort to get all the money before the buzzer sounds and the off limit money floats slowly to the ground.
But I would have been wrong. The phrase ‘hand over fist’ originates from seaman who had to reach the rigging of sailboats by climbing ‘hand over hand’ up a thick rope. This same ‘hand over hand’ action was needed to haul in big catches. Being able to do this efficiently was a source of pride for many sailors. Around the beginning of the 19th century, the phrase morphed into ‘hand over fist’. ‘Hand over fist’ soon began to describe a person rising up the ropes in business rapidly and hauling in big catches (lotsa moolah).
Are you a spelunker? Yes? No? Maybe, if you knew what one was? Don’t worry being a spelunker is all that bad. Although it does sound like the nickname the kid in third grade, who nobody wants to sit by, would have. In fact, some people think it’s the only way to be. Me, myself, I’ll pass. A spelunker, my fellow wordphiliacs is a person who explores caves, especially as a hobby.
I love Starbucks’ coffee fraps. And when I say love, that is not an exaggeration. You could probably inveigle me into almost anything if you had one of those cool, sweet, coffee treats. Helping you move, babysitting your eight kids, or driving the get away car just doesn’t seem like a bad idea when a coffee frappucino is involved.
Inveigle, if you don’t know,means to entice or persuade by guile.
I’ve been a wordphiliac for a very long time. I remember tearing open my birthday gifts on my 9th birthday to find a copy of “Where the Sidewalk Ends” by Shel Silverstein. I couldn’t have been happier to receive that collection of poems even as my cousins taunted me for being such a nerd. In their world, a little kid who got a book as a gift was not happy about it.
I’m remembering that day, because April is National Poetry Month. And I remembering the poem the book was titled after.
Where the Sidewalk Ends
And before the street begins,
And there the grass grows soft and white,
And there the sun burns crimson bright,
And there the moon-bird rests from his flight
To cool in the peppermint wind.
Let us leave this place where the smoke blows black
And the dark street winds and bends.
Past the pits where the asphalt flowers grow
We shall walk with a walk that is measured and slow,
And watch where the chalk-white arrows go
To the place where the sidewalk ends.
Yes we’ll walk with a walk that is measured and slow,
And we’ll go where the chalk-white arrows go,
For the children, they mark, and the children, they know
The place where the sidewalk ends.
And I’m remembering searching for that place where the sidewalk ends where the world was different, better than the one I lived in. Where I could do anything and everything I wanted. Where kids ruled and there were no rules.
Needless to say, I never found the place where white grass grows but my search for the place where the sidewalk ends has not stopped, although my vision of it is a little different now. When you grow up believing in a place where the sidewalk ends it’s not so hard to imagine a place where every human is free and has access to clean water, education, and health care. A place where you can trust the food you eat and the air you breathe. A place where nature is respected and protected. A place where the dollar bill isn’t God and what’s on the inside matters more than the outside. Yeh, like a said, my vision of the place where the sidewalk ends is a little different now.
Words can change the world.
I believe in the power of positive thoughts and words. I respect words and I choose them very carefully because unlike some believe, I know that they are more than just words.
The above video is an interview with Japanese author, Masaru Emoto who claims to have concrete evidence of just how powerful words are. I hope you find this as thought provoking as I did. Enjoy the video. I’m off to buy some jars.
I do a bit of woolgathering. Ok, a lot a bit of woolgathering. Hey, I’m an only child. And sometimes all I had was my woolgathering to keep me entertained. My woolgathering could take me anywhere, even out of this galaxy or back in time. My woolgathering made me princess, ninja, and a pony.
Woolgathering my fellow wordphiliacs is indulgence in idle imagination or a foolish pursuit. You should try it sometimes.
I am reading “The Great Train Robbery” by Michael Chrichton. Normally I would not read this kind of book. It just didn’t appeal to me on any level. But I’ve joined a book club and this is this month’s selection and so I unenthusiastically started this book. And you know what? It’s a pretty good book so far. I have a hard time putting it down actually.
Not only can Mr. Chrichton weave a story like nobody’s business but he peppers it with rich words. I’ve had to reach for my dictionary a few times with this one and I loved every minute of it.
I came across the word gammon several times and not wanting to break the flow of my reading (I was at a really, really, really good part) I took my best guess and kept on reading.
Turns out gammon is meat cut from the thigh of a hog and it is usually smoked. Needless to say I was way off.
Naturally the wordphiliac in me began to make a connection between the word gammon and another word (the hint is in the picture posted above). Can guess what it is?
Oh, and one more question, did anybody miss me?
Dr. Suess was born on this day in 1904. And I don’t have to mention how he revolutionized children’s books along with their imagination. The very first memory I have is of reading a Dr. Suess book with my mother. My very first recollection of my life starts with thee wordphiliac himself.
Some wordphiliacs, or word nerds, as we are sometimes called might be interested in knowing that Dr. Suess is credited with inventing the word nerd. The word nerd first appeared in Dr. Suess’ “If I Ran the Zoo” in 1950.
Even more interesting, is behind the simple rhymes and wild characters, it is said that Dr. Suess not only hid his morals to his stories (he said a kid could smell a moral a mile away) but he has been accused of sliding in his world views. It is suggested that “Marvin K. Mooney Please go Now” is about president Nixon. His character Yertle the turtle was said to represent Hitler. “The Butter Battle Book” was pulled from the shelves of libraries because of the war messages and reference of the cold war.
Think it’s hype? Think it’s people just looking to far into things? Think people are always looking for a good conspiracy? Well why don’t you pick up some of your favorite Dr. Suess books and read them to child and see if things sound a little differently to you now.
After all, it is Read Across Amercia Day. A day that generates enthusiasm for reading and all of its benefits, celebrated on the birthday of the most befitting man.
Happy Birthday Dr. Suess. You made my imagination run loose. And helped to create in every way the wordphiliac that you see to day.
lol- Hey, there is only one Dr. Suess
The New Orleans Saints pulled off their very first Super Bowl win yesterday. I am not a football fan but I can appreciate wanting something so bad and finally getting it. Go Saints!
The game itself has a very interesting beginning. Football can be traced back to A.D 43, to a game called harpastum. Harpastum was a very violent and bloody game. Players (sometimes hundreds) in a free-for-all would attempted to kick, butt, or throw an air filled bladder into their opponents goal. The goal was sometimes more than a mile away. Eventually, boundaries and rules were added and the game became known as fut balle. There were many attempts to ban the game. Needless to say that never happened and fut ball developed into rugby which then became the American football we know today.
