So who here belongs to "word of the day" with dictionary.com and am I the only one so bothered and deflated? I've been made out to feel nothing but worthless in my attempt to be an average American citizen by joining the word of the day e-mail list. It was a simple effort to perk up my vocabulary gone wrong. Not just today, but day after day after day. It's just that today I finally decided to let it start bothering me enough to waste time writing about it. One would think this website would cater to the average citizen as I'm sure Harvard Law grads are not the only ones clicking on this site and yet these were today's examples to explain the meaning of perfervid?
"Good movies evaporate, while the market is flooded with inanity. Critics can't do much to stop this, but when you read perfervid reviews of the latest commercial offerings it's plain that they do little to cool things down." (mmmmm.....inanity........it'll get'cha every time)
"Years ago Philip Roth published a perspicacious essay on the pitfalls of writing satire, the gist of which was that the daily absurdities in our morning newspapers too often outdid even a novelist's most perfervid imaginings." (ooooooooh, I hate reading perspicacious essays)
Seriously. I just don't believe that using other vocabulary words that I have never heard of is really going to help me remember the initial vocab word. It does nothing but clutter my brain and aggravate me. And this isn't to suggest that today's examples were especially awful, oftentimes there will be 3 or 4 new words in a sentence and I won't even comprehend the gist of the sentence. Okay, so I just looked up inanity and perspicacious and after reading their simple definitions, I am realizing maybe you all already knew those words. Maybe I'm just plain dumb. Freakin Utah State, dang it! Will someone please validate me so I'm not on this bus all alone? I think my next step is to google S.A.T. practice word lists. Maybe I can form an after school study group with some of the tweens in the neighborhood.
p.s. I usually win Balderdash, would that redeem me in any way???
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8 comments:
Denise, I really don't know what you're talking about. All of those words you mentioned I learned to spell in my 3rd grade spelling bee. Sorry I can't relate.
And was that a Utah State bash? Where's the aggie pride? ;) Loved the post....really funny. Anyway, great to see what you kids are up to. Your little guy is adorable! (Not your husband, your baby!) Take care!
Hey Denise! Erik gave me your blogsite last night and it's been a riot to check out. Feel free to visit our blog at johnnyandkara.blogspot.com
Dear don't fret. I checked the unsubscribed box to that website a couple years ago. I would read the word think, "if i actually tried using that in a sentence people who knew me(even some who didn't) would look at me like, what?
But most of the time I would just forget the word because I couldn't pronounce it half the time anyway.
Maybe we should all join the website, and then we could send out an email to each other everyday to see who can use it most creatively. I would lose!
So don't feel like your Aggie education was a waste of $$. I feel the same way you do, and always wondered if I was the dummy!
You are too funny. Don't blame the Aggies, our vocab lameness probably started in about 1st grade. Most people aren't taught very well in schools - we have to take it upon ourselves. Don't give up!
We're living in Springville now...crazy how fast our lives change these days! It definitely would be fun to get together with you guys soon. Give me a call sometime, Erik has my new number.
Denise, I find that the inanity of your comments is indeed perspicacious, and maybe if you were more familiar with our vernacular you would become less flummoxed. Ha!!
P.S.
Thank you fine folks at "thesaurus.com" ; )
Um.... at least you attempt to LEARN new vocab. I'm just impressed with your effort alone!
I subscribe to the word of the day... I've read my word of the day faithfully everyday and probably have learned about "0" words...
Today's word: malapropos...
My Reaction: "WHAT !?!?" as I tried to pronounce the word... (I do this everyday!)
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