David Zapatka Luz Stella Perotti, friend and science enthusiast, says this month’s word makes her laugh and have a lot of fun. She poses these questions to introduce us to her fun word. “What is the most resilient animal in the world? What living creature can withstand temperatures down to minus 458 degrees F (close…
Tag: Word of the Month
Features, October 2016
Word of the Month: Logorrhea
David Zapatka Are you enjoying our political cycle of nonstop commentary on the candidates, their platforms, their off-handed remarks and actions? How about the debates; fascinating? insightful? longwinded? boring? Does it sometimes seems like the words of the talking heads and the candidates go on 24/7? Lindsay Cantoni, friend and fellow bridge player, brings this…
Features, September 2016
Word of The Month: Proprioception
David Zapatka Have you ever fractured an ankle, leg or hip? Did you find it difficult regaining your balance and full control of your healed joint or limb, maybe instability or possibly even “knowing” exactly where it was? This can be very unsettling. On a dead run last year I stepped into a concrete rain…
Features, August 2016
Word of the Month – Doyen
David Zapatka Friend and fellow table tennis-playing enthusiast, Bill Lewis, exposed me to our word for this month, doyen, in a recent correspondence about long-term expertise in the sport of table tennis. When reading his email and coming across his use of the word “doyen” I had to look this one up. Doyen noun doy·en doi-ĕn′,…
Generals, Clubs & Classes, July 2016
Word of The Month: Wombat
David Zapatka This month’s word of the month is wombat; noun wom·bat ˈwäm-ˌbat any of several stocky burrowing Australian marsupials (genera Vombatus and Lasiorhinus of the family Vombatidae) resembling small bears. Origin of wombat – Dharuk (Australian aboriginal language of the Port Jackson area) wombad. Wombats are short-legged, muscular quadrupedal marsupials that are native to Australia. They are about 40 inches in length with…
Generals, June 2016
Word of the Month
Secede David Zapatka Our January, 2015 word of the month was malapropism, suggested by friend and bridge player Susan Hoffelt. We had a lot of fun learning about and playing with that word which ties in to this month’s word of the month, secede. The word secede is one of those common malapropic words. So…
Features, May 2016
Word of the Month
Visceral David Zapatka Do you occasionally find yourself having a gut reaction to a comment or situation you are exposed to? Do you notice yourself or others having immediate strong emotional reactions to stimuli with no basis in logic, reason or intellect? These reactions/emotions are described as visceral, this month’s word. Visceral – adjective vis·cer·al ˈvi-sə-rəl,…
Features, April 2016
Word of the Month
David Zapatka Are you one of those people who enjoy looking at the moon? What is your favorite phase of the moon? The romantics love the full moon while others prefer the crescent or gibbous moon. Some say the new moon. Grandson Trace loves to see the moon in the sky and read what the…
Features, March 2016
Word of the Month: Tenace
David Zapatka This month’s Word of the Month is tenace, a word commonly used in the world’s best card game, bridge. Unlike what many may think, this word has nothing to do with the words “ten” and “ace” being combined to mean something special. However, an ace frequently plays a role in the meaning of…
Features, February 2016
Word of the Month: Intoxicate
David Zapatka Reader and fellow Wisdom Seeker book club member, Sandy Goldschein, suggested our word for this month after reading about bliss in the December issue; intoxicating. Intoxicate /inˈtäksəkāt/ verb; of alcohol, a drug; to make (someone) unable to think and behave normally; to excite, please or elate (someone) to the point of enthusiasm or frenzy. Origin of…