Word Power!

Appropriately, The Boy and his buddies are off to take the ACT this morning. The Boy scored quite well on it the first time he took it, but apparently it wasn't good enough for him, so he's taking it again with a loftier goal in mind. This is not Mom bragging, this is Mom impressed. The Boy has high expectations, high standards, and won't accept anything less. Sigh. Sorry, had to have a proud Mom moment.

And now back to our regularly scheduled programming ...

A good collection of words this week, some of which us writers have probably utilized once or twice in a manuscript. Enjoy!

misnomer \mis-NO-muhr\ (noun) - 1 : The misnaming of a person in a legal instrument, as in a complaint or indictment. 2 : Any misnaming of a person or thing; also, a wrong or inapplicable name or designation.

"Deep Canyon was a misnomer. It wasn't deep and it wasn't a canyon. It was a golf course and development of expensive homes that sat in a shallow trough ..." -- Arthur Lyons, 'At the Hands of Another'
Misnomer is from Medieval French mesnommer, "to misname," from mes-, "wrongly" + nommer, "to name," from Latin nominare, "to name," from nomen, "a name."

conspectus \kuhn-SPEK-tuhs\ (noun) - 1 : A general sketch or survey of a subject. 2 : A synopsis; an outline.

"Shortly after returning from London eighteen years earlier, she had stolen a conspectus of the medical sciences from her parents' physician in Dover." -- Robin Schone, 'The Lover'
Conspectus comes from the Latin, from the past participle of conspicere, "to catch sight of, to perceive," from com-, intensive prefix + specere, "to look at."

distrait \dis-TRAY\ (adjective) - Divided or withdrawn in attention, especially because of anxiety.

"I noticed that after my host had read it he seemed even more distrait and strange than before." -- Arthur Conan Doyle, 'The Adventure of Wisteria Lodge'
Distrait is from Old French, from distraire, "to distract," from Latin distrahere, "to pull apart; to draw away; to distract," from dis- + trahere, "to draw, to pull." It is related to distraught and distracted, which have the same Latin source.

furtive \FUR-tiv\ (adjective) - 1 : Done by stealth; surreptitious; secret; as, a furtive look. 2 : Expressive of stealth; sly; shifty; sneaky. 3 : Stolen; obtained by stealth. 4 : Given to stealing; thievish; pilfering.

"But that was merely a piece of furtive knowledge which he happened to possess because his memory was not satisfactorily under control." -- George Orwell, 'Nineteen Eighty-Four'
Furtive is from Latin furtivus, which dervies from furtum, "theft," from fur, "thief."

politic \POL-ih-tik\ (adjective) - 1 : Of or pertaining to polity, or civil government; political (as in the phrase "the body politic"). 2 : (Of persons): Sagacious in promoting a policy; ingenious in devising and advancing a system of management; characterized by political skill and ingenuity; hence, shrewdly tactful, cunning. 3 : (Of actions or things): Pertaining to or promoting a policy; hence, judicious; expedient; as, "a politic decision."

"Berenike swallowed her fury and gave the governor her most politic smile." -- Randall Scott, 'Retribution'
Politic derives from Greek politikos, and from polites, "citizen," from polis, "city."

It's another day devoted to B.I.C. (butt in chair) in the ol' JBTAuthor study. I made good progress on the edits last night, so I should be able to finish those up this morning, get the goal number of reviews cranked out and then get started on the synopsis. Yeah, it'll be a long day. But if it's productive, it will be worth it. The WGH is off to a quick sectional rehearsal and then working the late shift at the store, and The Boy is working tonight after the ACT, so Little Bit and I will be on our own. Some of you might think "lonely" or "boring" - I think "bliss". I love spending time with my family, but some days I just need the peace and quiet and the satisfaction of getting things done.

It's going to be mostly sunny in the mid-South today, albeit cooler after the front came through spawning some nasty weather yesterday - McCartney and I spent a good hour in the basement watching the line of storms blast across the state, but even with a tornado warning we were very fortunate not to have any damage in our area ... others weren't so lucky, so please say a prayer for them.

We had a lovely and promising visit with a landscaper yesterday, and the WGH and I are very excited about what he's going to put together for us. The front of my house may actually look pretty here very soon. Maybe even in time for prom. Yay.

So enjoy your Saturday. Read a book. Do something.

=) JB

"Writers and travelers are mesmerized alike by knowing of their destinations."
-- Eudora Welty (1909-2001) American author