How are you all doing out there in IsolationLand? Have you managed the physical distancing part of this pandemic? We’re coping in our house, sort of. I am by far the one who is taking it most seriously. The rest roll their eyes at my efforts. There is some scoffing. One leaves the house regularly to meet up with friends. I heard a new word today: coronusional (Benji Lovitt) – Holding beliefs that you will actually accomplish in quarantine all the tasks you have put off your e

noun : /ɪnˈteɡ.rə.ti/ (HONESTY) - the quality of being honest and having strong moral principles that you refuse to change Selling and buying things through the online marketplace can be a bit of a crap shoot. More often than I’d like to count, someone tries to rip you off. But once in awhile, you find a gem of a buyer. I once sold two event tents on a Facebook buy-and-sell, and a woman drove more than 100 miles with two small children in tow to pick them up. I had written he

run/go amuck (also amok) 1. to rush about in a murderous frenzy: The fanatic ran amuck in the crowd, shooting at random. 2. to rush about wildly; lose self-control: When the nightclub caught fire, the patrons ran amuck, blocking the exits. The playdate Get that kid in a room full of other kids his age, and you can guarantee a quick descent into chaos. Gregarious and charming is a dangerous combination, and this kid has both in generous amounts. It starts with a twinkle in the

noun mo·​dus ope·​ran·​di | \ ˌmō-dəs-ˌä-pə-ˈran-dē , -ˌdī\ plural modi operandi\ ˈmō-​ˌdē-​ , ˈmō-​ˌdī-​ \ Definition of modus operandi : a method of procedure, especially a distinct pattern or method of operation that indicates or suggests the work of a single criminal in more than one crime. When you live in an old house, you love the character, the history, the heritage of the place. But old houses and everything in them seem to have a way of colluding, so everything ap

noun cu·​ri·​os·​i·​ty | \ ˌkyu̇r-ē-ˈä-s(ə-)tē , ˌkyər-\ plural curiosities Definition of curiosity 1: desire to know: a: inquisitive interest in others' concerns: NOSINESS The construction inside their house aroused the curiosity of their neighbors. b: interest leading to inquiry; intellectual curiosity: Her natural curiosity led her to ask more questions. 2 archaic: undue nicety or fastidiousness They say curiosity killed the cat and satisfaction brought him back. Was I ev

I'd never heard of the word "mondo" until this interview with Irish author Patrick McCabe 20 years ago. Does anyone remember the mondo movies in the '60s? I'm too young for those, but apparently they were a thing. So, today, I've cross-purposed this interview with Wordie Wednesday. I hope you don't mind. It is an entertaining read! mondo mon·​do | \ ˈmän-(ˌ)dō \ adverb slang: EXTREMELY adjective slang: very large or great in amount or number See! The written imagination of

tha·las·so·pho·bia: Fear of the ocean. Thalassophobia doesn't necessarily restrict itself to oceans; Thalassa actually means "sea" in Greek, while the word for "ocean" is okeanós. Thalassophobia can include the notion of the expansive abyss below or the thought of creatures lurking within it. I’m a Pisces. Apparently, that means I love water. And I do. I just can’t swim. Never learned. Unless you count a one-week stint of swimming lessons in a wide municipal swimming hole wit

noun pet·​ro·​glyph | \ ˈpe-trə-ˌglif \ Definition of petroglyph : a carving or inscription on a rock It’s strange to think I would never have known about the petroglyphs if I hadn’t taken that left turn. As I stood at the trail fork, trying to decide which way to go, “The Road Not Taken,” the Robert Frost poem, popped into my head: Two roads diverged in a wood, and I— I took the one less traveled by, And that has made all the difference. I know I’m supposed to stick to the m

/ˌserənˈdipədē/ noun 1. the occurrence and development of events by chance in a happy or beneficial way. "a fortunate stroke of serendipity" If by chance My favourite word is “serendipity.” It’s one of those words that sounds like it means. It’s happy sounding. It trips off the tongue and begs me to bask in a set of favourable unexpected circumstances that essentially make my day. Sometimes, I turn the word into an adjective – “serendipitous,” which I think sounds even cooler

Antiquing [an-teek-ing] verb (used with object), an·tiqued, an·ti·quing. to make or finish (something, especially furniture) in imitation of antiques. to emboss (an image, design, letters, or the like) on paper or fabric. verb (used without object), an·tiqued, an·ti·quing. to shop for or collect antiques: She spent her vacation antiquing in Boston. The Atlas The heavy wooden door with the distorted glass beckoned Lucretia. It was unlike any other shop-front door on the street

interjection gar·​dy·​loo | \ ˌgär-dē-ˈlü \ Definition of gardyloo n Used by people in medieval Scotland to warn passers-by of waste about to be thrown from a window into the street below. The term was still in use as late as the 1930s and 1940s, when many people had no indoor toilets. According to this thorough article, legend has it that the 12th century French King Phillipe Auguste was covered in the contents of a chamber pot, and decreed that all upstairs residents were

NOUN mass noun Pleasure derived by someone from another person's misfortune. Origin German Schadenfreude, from Schaden ‘harm’ + Freude ‘joy’. It was the finest, most exquisite rose. Its flawless petals were the palest pink with blushes of magenta, turned quizzically towards the late afternoon sun. The rose was Eugenia Penelope Stanford’s pride and joy, and she was sure it would win the regional award this year. Eugenia had been a member of the Pattonville Horticultural Societ

Verb \ˈmär \ [WITH OBJECT] Definition: Impair the quality or appearance of; spoil. Origin: Old English merran ‘hinder, damage’, of Germanic origin; probably related to Dutch marren ‘loiter’. It’s early morning and the sound greets me as I open my eyes. The scraping sound grows louder. It’s dark. It’s winter, after all, and the sun sleeps in, although I cannot. Scrape, scrape. The sound, strangely welcome, makes my day. I rise and peek out the window. The streetlight casts a g

From the Oxford English dictionary Bad-tempered, argumentative, and uncooperative. Mid 18th century: of unknown origin; perhaps a blend of Anglo-Irish cant ‘auction’ and rancorous (see rancour). My first car was an ‘82 Datsun 210, already 10 years old by the time I owned it. You can’t find Datsuns anymore. They’re extinct. This car was spunky. Baby blue, spotless body, thanks to spending most of its life in salt-free BC. It even had a car alarm, which made people laugh when I

Awry (from Merriam Webster dictionary) off the correct or expected course, as in "Their plans went awry." in a turned or twisted position or direction. The windshield wipers on high speed swiped at the rain as effectively as using a q-tip to wipe sweat on a hot day. The rainstorm had come on suddenly, and we happened to be on one of the busiest highways in southwestern Ontario. It was late night, and as the thunder cracked, the hard, pelting rain made it difficult to see the