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The thing with reading quite a bit is that you pick up a number of new words for your vocabulary. What I find even more interesting is that once you come across a new word, then you see it everywhere. In the last four or five books I’ve read, the following words have appeared several times.
meme (n) – an idea, behavior, or style that spreads from person to person within a culture.
As a matter of fact, I saw this word again today while reading an article about the “Sh*t Girls say. . .” phenomenon that has exploded all over YouTube. Weirdly enough, every time I see the word meme, in my head I always say meem. Now I have doomed myself to say it incorrectly, especially when I’m trying to impress someone with my wordiness.
peripatetic (n) – pedestrian, traveller
Really? This seems like a gratuitous use of an inflated synonym. Just say pedestrian, or someone having a walk-about. Especially when you use the word in such a way that there aren’t any context clues to help me figure out and then I get all douchey by whipping out my iPhone to look it up on my dictionary app. Yes, use of the iPhone that is unrelated to making phone calls, sending emails, checking your position on the GPS, or entertaining your child while you get the grocery shopping done leans towards douche-baggery. Sorry, I don’t make the rules.
scrofulous (adj) – having a diseased, run-down appearance; morally contaminated; affected with scrofula.
*head slap* Of course that’s what it means! I think I read this word first in “The Witch’s Daughter” by Paula Brackston. The story takes place in England, so I figured scrofulous was a British word that had an American counterpart. You know like the way the Brits say “boot” instead of “trunk” or “crisps instead of “chips” or “Kate Middleton” instead of “Girl, eat a damn sandwich and step away from the eyeliner”.
I’ve gone 33 years and not once ever heard or seen the word scrofulous before. Then *poof* at least twice in two different books over the course of a week. Say it out loud, just once. “Scrofulous”. The prefix (if it can be called that) scrof- reminds me of how people describe how voraciously they’ve been eating. You know, “Oh man, I was so hungry. When I finally ate, I was like scrof, scrof, scrof. . .”
And yes, I’m laughing at myself, by myself, for typing that sentence.
Scrof, scrof, scrof is like Om, nom, nom but only if you are so hungry you’re about to gnaw on your own forearm. I’ve been that hungry before. All decorum goes out the window.
So, I’m wondering what word or words I’ll come across next. I’m about a quarter of the way through “A Clash of Kings” and haven’t seen any of the aforementioned words. Of course, this book is teetering on 900 pages, so there’s still time. I did read a post at PIWTPITT where the author describes Donald Trump as a megalomaniac. Not my first time at the rodeo with that word, but haven’t seen it in a while. Such an awesome word. “Megalo-” is kind of melodious when taken on it’s own. Megalo, megalo, megalo. . .like some word an old curmudgeon (ooh, curmudgeon!) would say to himself repeatedly as he contemplated a chess move while worrying a pawn in his scrofulous fingers.
See what I did there? Now, how to work all three into one sentence. . .
