David Zapatka I take our grandsons to a special conference every year the day after Thanksgiving. It’s a regional gathering of people from Arizona and neighboring states who attend outstanding lectures on a wide variety of topics, play games, do puzzles, eat meals, enjoy entertainers and generally just have a good time with each other.…
Tag: Word of the Month
Features, January 2019
Word of the Month: Smithereens
David Zapatka While watching an action movie recently, I heard a character say, “We’ll blow them to smithereens!” I immediately thought I hadn’t heard that word in a long time. Seems like it was popular when I was a kid but who still uses that word? My next thought was, “Where is ‘Smithereens’ anyway…
Features, December 2017
Word of the Month: Areal
David Zapatka Friend and bridge player Roman Martin brought this month’s word of the month to me at a recent bridge game; areal. He noticed it used in reporting and thought it was interesting, as it was being used differently than the word “aerial.” Like last month’s word, this word has only come into prevalent…
Features, November 2017
Word of The Month: Humblebrag
David Zapatka While listening to someone speak self-deprecatingly interspersed with self-directed, attention-grabbing, patting-on-the-back comments recently, a friend leaned over to me and said, “You know, there’s a word for this type of self-indulgent talk.” At first, I wasn’t sure what was being implied but on second thought, I realized there was purpose in the self-deprecating…
Features, October 2017
Word of the Month: Fluorescence
David Zapatka Ever wonder what makes your freshly-washed clothes glow in the sunlight? Have you ever been intrigued by the unnaturally-bright colors in the highlighters we use to highlight text? Have you ever looked at the light traveling through a tube in a light fixture and wonder how that works? Think fluorescence, this month’s word…
Features, September 2017
Word of the Month: Obdurate
David Zapatka Do you have any stubborn people in your life, possibly a relative, friend, co-worker or someone you have interaction with for various other reasons? Thanks to reader Kim Park, if you don’t already use this month’s word, you will have a new way to describe that behavior. Obdurate – adjective ob·du·rate ˈäb-də-rət, -dyə-; äb-ˈdu̇r-ət,…
Features, August 2017
Word of the Month: Neologism
David Zapatka Have you ever wondered how words are added to the dictionary? New words, phrases and definitions are added to the Oxford English Dictionary four times a year. A recent revision included over 1,200 changes and updates from a new sense of the word “thing” to the well-established, but newly-prominent usage of the word “woke.”…
Features, July 2017
Word of the Month: Kitty-corner
David Zapatka Reader and friend Jim Nulty writes, “I saw the term ‘kitty-corner’ used in a book I’m reading, looked it up and thought you may want to use it in your column.” Kitty-corner – adverb or adjective ki-tē-ˌkȯr-nər, or less commonly ka-tē-,kȯr-nər 1. Adverb – diagonally or obliquely 2. Adjective – in a diagonal…
Features, June 2017
Word of the Month: Obstreperous
David Zapatka Reader and friend Karen Jorgensen writes, “Dave, I came across a word in a novel that had me pause and reread. The word is ‘obstreperous.’ It was describing the ‘attributes’ of the villain.” Obstreperous – adjective ob·strep·er·ous əb-ˈstre-p(ə-)rəs, äb- Obstreperously – adverb; obstreperousness – noun. 1. marked by unruly or aggressive noisiness: clamorous…
Features, May 2017
Word of the Month: Concerti
David Zapatka The Fountain Hills Chamber Players, a chamber music ensemble consisting normally of 10 or fewer musicians, is celebrating its 20th anniversary this year. Having begun as a community ensemble performing for friends in living rooms, they transitioned to a volunteer group of musicians performing a series of concerts for public consumption. They are…