Debbie Harris
In eight prior issues of The Foolish Times , I have presented words given to me in the daily word-a-day vocabulary enrichments I receive, words I can’t see being used in present day. This month I continue this discussion and offer:
Akimbo-(uh-KIM-boh), having the hand on the hip and the elbow turned outward. The only poses I knew had names were the ones in yoga—and they all ended with “asana.” If this were a yoga pose, would it be “akimboasana”? I think there needs to be a name for the pose where you have thumbs in your ears, palms facing forward, fingers waving and tongue out. I think that one could be called the “neaner, neaner.”
Cottagecore-(KOT-ij-kawr), an aesthetic or imagery inspired by an old-fashioned, rural lifestyle, characterized by rustic décor and fashion, a revival of traditional handicrafts, etc. That’s a pretty specific definition, but to me this word sounds like it should mean—“when you get to the middle of the tub of cottage cheese.”
Mundify-(MUHN-duh-fy), to wash, cleanse, or purify. “I’m going to go to the restroom to mundify my hands.” Odd. “It’s your turn to mundify the dishes.” Strange. Maybe it comes from mundane and washing/cleaning things are definitely mundane chores.
Nibling-(NIB-ling), a child of one’s sibling. You mean my brother’s son isn’t my nephew, he’s my nibbling???? That sounds like I chew on him. I’ve never even chewed him out. I vote no on this one.
Perse-(purs), a very deep shade of blue or purple. Blue OR purple? If it’s both, it can be “blurple” Or maybe someone can use it as is. “Three days after I fell down the stairs, I looked perse.” If you have a deep blue or purple shoulder bag, do you have a perse purse?
Recurse-(ri-KUHRS), to describe, define, or perform something in terms of itself. It sounds more like it should mean to say a swear word more than once. “He cursed his flat tire and the recursed it the whole time he was changing it.”
Irredentist-(ir-i-DEN-tist), one advocating the restoration of territory that earlier belonged to one’s country. You mean this doesn’t have anything to do with teeth? It looked more like eerie dentist. “Does your dentist dress Goth, have creaky doors, and play heavy organ music in his/her office? Then you have an irredentist.”
Antepenultimate-(an-tee-pi-NULT-tuh-mit), third from the end. So “ultimate” means last; “penultimate” means next to last; and “antepenultimate” means third from the last. Do we keep going with this? Would “decinoveoctaseptehexiquinquadantepenultimate mean tenth from the last? There has to be an easier way.
Macadamize-(MUH-kad-uh-mahyz), to pave by laying and compacting successive layers of broken stone, often with asphalt or hot tar. Okaaaayyy. I think it should mean to add Macadamia nuts to something, as in, “The cookies were good, but then she decided to macadamize them and they were even better.”
Plutography-(ploo-TAH-gruh-fee), the genre that chronicles the lifestyles of the rich and famous. That doesn’t sound right. I think it should mean study of the dwarf planet Pluto—or maybe even the cartoon character Pluto. Either of those is more interesting to me than the lifestyles of the rich and famous, unless they are also caring and helpful. A word for interest in those folks should be something different, like ostentatography or extravagraphy, spoiledography?
Menology-(mi-NOL-uh-jee), a record or account arranged in the order of a calendar. Oh, I thought it might be the study of men and maybe there was a class for that. I’ve been studying them on my own and I’m still pretty puzzled.
Swain-(sweyn), a male admirer or lover. I’ve never heard of this one before. I’ve looked on several dating sites and in addition to seeing “women seeking women” and/or “men seeking men,” I’ve never seen “women seeking a swain.”
If your nibling or your swain asks you to help macadamize their property to make it cottagecore, stand akimbo and with a perse face recurse that mundifying would be first in the menology or perhaps the antepenultimate if you are an irredentist who shuns plutography. Or just have a lovely Spring!
