Words for the Holiday Season

December 23, 2014December 23, 2014 / Erin May / Leave a comment

Welp, we made it. It’s the end of December, and all that’s left to do is wrap up a few loose ends for the year, then settle into some quality time with friends and family. I have a lot to look forward to in the next 11 days I have off—family in town, my birthday, a first Christmas as married people (and maybe more importantly, a certain puppy’s first Christmas north of the border), sleeping in and movies and cooking and reading.

Here are a couple new words I learned today (after falling into a Wikipedia rabbit hole) that I want to keep in mind:

Hygge:

A Danish word (pronounced “hYOOguh“?) often translates to “cozy” — though it connotes much more. From what I gather, it means something like “fireplace warmth with candles and family and friends and food, tucked under blankets on a snowy day, cup-of- coffee conversation, scarf-snuggle, squiggly, warm baby love.” Or something like that.
Read more at this NPR article, here.

Gemütlichkeit

A German word meaning “a space or situation that is warm and cozy, that induces a cheerful mood and peace of mind, without a need to hurry or worry, and with a connotation of belonging and social acceptance”

Read more about both Hygge and Gemütlichkeit here.

Here’s a picture I took up at Timberline Lodge this past weekend. It’s such a cozy, warm place to curl up by a fire and have some hot cocoa. I’m also glad this family wasn’t creeped out by my snapping this picture.

I managed to sneak in a trip to Peacock Lane before the holidays! I loved the fact that there were TWO houses featuring Star Wars memorabilia.

This little cuddle puddle took place right after we took our holiday card photos. I love these two ridiculous creatures!

Osa rocks her Christmas sweater! I can’t wait to see how much she loves watching people tear into giftwrap!

This is the photo we used for our first ever Pratuch Family Christmas Card. I’m lucky to have these two, and especially lucky to have such a patient husband, willing to dress up in silly sweaters and pose with our silly dog.

Here’s wishing all of you a safe and happy Holiday!

Word of the Day: Rigor

March 27, 2013March 26, 2013 / Erin May / 1 Comment

Today’s word of the day came from some conversations this weekend regarding different philosophies in teaching. Being a layperson I can’t exactly remember the context of it, but I do remember thinking, “huh. I like that word.” To me, it meant holding oneself up to a certain standard, not letting yourself off the hook, and pushing the limits of your own abilities, though it may be difficult. The definition might sound the opposite of that- it may even sound pretty negative! But I liken it to the type of workout that is brutal- your body aches, it hurts just to get through, but you enjoy it all the same.

That word is rigor. It’s most colloquially used in the adjective “rigorous.”

Rigor;

strictness, severity, or harshness, as in dealing with people.
the full or extreme severity of laws, rules, etc
severity of living conditions; hardship; austerity: the rigor of wartime existence.
a severe or harsh act, circumstance, etc.
scrupulous or inflexible accuracy or adherence: the logical rigor of mathematics.

The thesaurus likens this word to “inflexible,” “stringent” and “cruel,” which don’t exactly seem to align with the definition provided, so you can understand my confusion.

Definition via thefreedictionary.com. Illustration by me.

Word of the Day: Effluvium

January 8, 2013January 7, 2013 / Erin May / Leave a comment

I came across my word of the day last night in the book I’m currently reading for a little book club a few girls and I are starting. The book (which is wonderful so far) is Still Life with Woodpecker, by Tom Robbins. The word appeared in a pretty silly passage, as you will read below.

Effluvium;

A slight or invisible exhalation or vapor, especially one that is disagreeable or noxious.

The thesaurus likens this word to “London Fog,” “brume” and “emanation,” which don’t exactly seem to align with the definition provided, so you can understand my confusion.

Used in a sentence from Tom Robbin’s “Still Life with Woodpecker”: She had attended, in America, so m any second-rate society teas, charity fashion shows, and gala this and gala thats, that she’d begun to exude a kind of pate de fois gras gas, and the expulsion of this effluvium propelled her from party to ball as if she were a sausage skin inflated by Wagner. (pretty great sentence, huh?)

Definition via thefreedictionary.com. Illustration by me.

Word of the Day:

November 16, 2012 / Erin May / 1 Comment

I recently downloaded a new Dictionary app on my iPad (because I’m so cool) and I thought the following was interesting:

It’s the list of the “trending” words right now. I love the idea of multiple people across the country looking up some of these words. I imagine them all reading the same NY Times article, or watching the news and an interesting work piques their interest. It makes me glad that people are still out there learning and growing, I guess!

In that vein, here’s a new word I’ve recently added to my vocabulary that I’m pretty excited about: Beatitude. I’ve always related it to Beatniks for some reason, but here it is:

Beatitude;

Supreme blessedness; exalted happiness.
Any of the declarations of blessedness pronounced by Jesus in the Sermon on the Mount.

The thesaurus likens this word to “blessedness,” “euphoria” and “delirium”

Used in a sentence: With the holidays right around the corner, I have begun humming Christmas tunes and dreaming of a decked-out “deck the halls” with a beatific smile on my face.

Definition via thefreedictionary.com. Illustration by me.

Word of the Day: Anachronism

September 25, 2012September 25, 2012 / Erin May / Leave a comment

Today’s word of the day is one that I’ve had stuck in my head for months. I first heard it years and years ago during one of my favorite episodes of Gilmore Girls in which they put on a historically accurate Bracebridge Dinner- except Paris points out the various anachronisms throughout the night.

Anachronism;

The representation of someone as existing or something as happening in an other than chronological, proper, or historical order.
One that is out of its proper or chronological order, especially a person or practice that belongs to an earlier time.

The thesaurus likens this word to “metachronism,” “misdate” and “prolepsis or solecism,” as if those words are easier to use and understand.

Used in a sentence: Depicting William Shakespeare as wearing stunner shades and toting an iPhone, while hilarious, is entirely anachronistic.

Definition via thefreedictionary.com. Illustration by me.

Word of the Day

September 6, 2012September 6, 2012 / Erin May / 2 Comments

I’ve been thinking lately that I keep coming across these great words in my normal daily travels that I would like to share. So I will. This gem of a word was heard during my morning commute while listening to an OPB broadcast about the mating habits of mollusks. (Gotta love NPR!)

Bacchanalian;

Characterized by or involving drunken revelry.
(classical Myth & Legend) of or relating to the orgiastic rites associated with Bacchus.

The thesaurus likens this word to “riotously drunken merrymaking,” “helplessly inebriated” and interestingly, “a noisy crowd of intoxicated sailors.”

Used in a sentence: The Bacchanalian night preceding Kyle’s birthday this weekend will necessitate a healthy helping of Pine State Biscuits on Sunday morning.

Definition via thefreedictionary.com. Illustration by me.