Someone sent me a subscription to Reader's Digest a few years ago. The first page I turned to was Word Power; I always scored high but never aced the quiz. Recently, I picked up a book at a yard sale for a quarter. Best twenty-five cents I've spent. Verbal Advantage, by Charles Harrington Elster teaches 3,500 words.
When I was a little girl, I used to love to figure out words. When I realized the word 'suitcase' meant a case in which to pack suits, I could feel my neural pathways hooking up; it was like a brain spark. To this day when I make that "connection" I feel a spark of excitement at learning. In college when I learned about the amelioration and pejoration of words, it was like a booster shot in the brain. I love words, although my written vocabulary is stronger than my oral expression.
I've heard that a lot of writers feel that way. Do you?
Here are a couple of words. Do you know the definitions?
This time of year I would be more peripatetic if it weren't for the crepitation of my shoulders and knees.
I like to stroll through the residential neighborhood near my school during my lunch hour and look at fall decorations. I am invigorated at this time of year.
Peripatetic (PER-i-puh-TET-ik): walking about, going places on foot.
Crepitate (KREP-i-TAYT): to make a crackling, snapping, or popping noise.