David Zapatka While cruising around Australia on the way to Thursday Island, I read this description about the port city. “The mixed population of Malays, Chinese, Japanese, and Melanesians are engaged mainly in pearling and trochus and sea cucumber fishing.” Trochus—tro·chus noun: 1.a. Capitalized. a genus of chiefly Old World tropical marine gastropods (family Trochidae)…
Tag: word of the month
March 2024, Community News
Word of the Month: Apricity
David Zapatka Friend and fellow pickleball player, Natasha Thompson, writes, “‘Apricity’ means warmth of the sun in winter. Did I expand your vocabulary?” Yes, you have, Tash, and I expect you will be expanding our readers’ vocabulary with this word as well. Maybe you will even bring it back into use as it has fallen…
December 2023, Community News
Word of the Month: Bildungsroman
David Zapatka Reader, friend, and fellow bridge player, Gayle Covey, writes, “This is a really favorite word; bildungsroman. My friend Judy taught me this word several years ago … and now it comes up all the time! All those YA (Young Adult) fiction writers, turning books into films … and, of course, it is the word describing…
Clubs & Classes, November 2023
Word of the Month: Resilience
David Zapatka Reader, friend, and fellow bridge player, Pat Schlect, writes, “I was very happy to see your article in the Sun Lakes Splash.I loved the subject. The word I would choose for research is ‘resilience.’ Why? If you had to pick one characteristic or quality you’d most like to have, what would it be?…
October 2023, Community News
Word of the Month: Verso and Recto
David Zapatka Reader, friend, and fellow bridge player, Gayle Covey, writes, “As always, enjoyed your SaddleBrooke word column. I’ve been saying I’d send a word or two. Finally … I’m an English major and a words person. How did I not know this? It just came up in Wordle (and I thought of you!) … verso. And…
September 2023, Community News
Word of the Month: Emotion
David Zapatka Do emotions happen consciously or unconsciously? Can emotions be chosen or do they just happen? While reading “I Am: The Power of Discovering Who You Really Are” by Howard Falco, I read, “Emotions are the clues that lead you to the treasure of everlasting peace.” Ponder this for a while. Are our emotions…
Community News, August 2023
Word of the Month: Piastre
David Zapatka Reader Chuck Hakkarinen, commenting on the May WOTM column, writes, “In the 20th century, Paladin was the name of the character played by actor Richard Boone in the TV western “Have Gun, Will Travel.” He was quite the dandy, living in San Francisco, quoting the Classics, fast on the draw. I think he typically…
Community News, January 2023
Word of the Month: Gaslighting
David Zapatka Reader Greg West writes, “Merriam-Webster has announced its word of the year for 2022. Over the past year, this word has increased in the number of lookups it has received at a rate of 1,740% in 2022 compared to its lookup rate in 2021. Oddly enough though, unlike the typical word of the…
Community News, August 2022
Word of the Month: Sniglet
David Zapatka Thirteen months ago, we went off the beaten path of dictionary words when reader Debbie M. wrote, “Hello, I enjoy your column and want to offer a suggestion. ‘Orbisculate’ is a word not yet in the dictionary. I think we should help the young people who are trying to get this word into…
Community News, July 2022
Word of the Month: Eggcorn
David Zapatka Is it just me or are you hearing this too? It seems more people are using words or phrases that sound like but are mistakenly used in a semi-logical or seemingly plausible way for the correct word or phrase either on its own or as part of an expression. While at Rudy’s BBQ,…