Word Rant

       

                Do certain words grate on you? When you hear them used, or misused, do you cringe? There’s a term in the writing world called “weasel words.”  A weasel sucks the guts out of an egg, leaving an unbroken shell – a useless look-alike egg. A weasel word, like an empty egg, is actually useless and needs to be deleted whenever it pops into one’s prose. Can you find the weasel word in the last sentence? Which word could be eliminated without changing the meaning of what I wrote? I’ll give you a hint: I actually hate that word and whenever I hear it I actually want to scream.
            I was listening to the evening news and the reporter was talking about a house fire. He mentioned the name of a person who “actually” lived in that that house. Hold the phone! Stop the presses!  He actually lived in that house!!!!!????? As opposed to what? Not living in the house? 
            I think “actually “ is a 99.9%  useless word.  “The cookie actually tasted good.” Change that to “The cookie tasted good.” I could go on forever (actually???) but you get my drift.
            Are there words or expressions that drive you up the wall? My husband hates “At this point in time.”  He maintains the “in time” is totally unnecessary – weasel words.
            There, I ranted and actually feel better.

 

It's All Relative

If asked, I would say that today is gorgeous.  Years ago I was shopping in the mall when the clerk asked me about the weather, since she was nowhere near a window or door. I grinned and assured her it was just lovely outside– then proceeded to describe how the sky was overcast, with brooding clouds that threatened rain. It was nippy too and the wind was picking up. As I spoke I watched her face fall. Apparently, we did not share the same idea of lovely weather.

I’ve come to realize that I am one of the few who prefer dark days to sunny ones, but trust me when I tell you, I am not alone. Every once in a while a few people will nod their heads and whisper that they feel the same way. There’s not many of us. In fact only one friend in my quilting group appreciates a sky with a darker personality. The rest of the ladies just laugh and say “only you two” and shake their heads. I told one friend who lives in Florida that not only did I like cool overcast days; I thought day after day of sunshine was like a darn fool who doesn’t know enough to stop grinning. This summer during the heat wave I send her one sentence through Facebook : “The darn fool won’t stop grinning!” She knew immediately and responded “LOL.”  Now there’s a friend who gets me.

Fall is especially prone to dark, nippy days. Maybe it’s because I’m descended from European peasant stock; around this time of year a primordial need to prepare for winter bubbles from deep inside. I suddenly have the urge to make homemade soup and bake pies. I want to make a cozy nest. The more clouds, the colder it gets, the more naked the trees become, the more I want “cozy.”

That domesticity, mostly dormant, awakens when the weather  has a little edge to it. The rest of time I can find a thousand things to do other than bake pies. As one friend replied in an email where I spoke of being a “domestic maven”, he only stopped laughing after he fell on the floor and hit his head.

How many of you share the secret pleasure of gloom? If you don’t and think I’m nuts, click below on the “blech!” choice. If you’re one of an apparently small secret society of dark day devotees, click on “agree.”  Who knows, maybe there are more out there like me.