#WordCatcherWednesday: Zhuzh

 

Getting Lit at the SCBWI Midsouth Conference

 I attended the annual SCBWI Midsouth Conference this weekend!  After a 2 1/2 year Covid hiatus, it was wonderful to bond with my author children's book author and illustrator friends.  

Words, Wordle, and #WordCatcherWednesday

 Has your morning routine changed?  Are you dreaming about the yellow and green boxes, jumping out of bed to get a dose of dopamine with the daily Wordle Hurdle?  Clearly, we’re in the era of the word lover.  Gas prices might be out of control and the stock market sounds super scary (honestly, I wouldn’t know but I hear things), but by adding a five-letter word game to my morning routine, I’ve found my people.    

I think it’s the once-a-day thing that’s the draw.  Wordle is binge-proof which means you absolutely have to make it count.  The scarcity of the “aha moment” keeps it interesting.  And yes, I love words.  So now I have a shared community that makes it, well...more socially acceptable.  My ultimate fantasy would be a polysyllabic Wordle game with maybe eight guesses - like hypercathexis, which is what would be involved.  One can dream…

As a hopeless linguaphile, I think about the power of words.  They begin and end relationships; start and stop wars; they make us laugh and cry.  I’ve literally fallen in love because my date once suggested postprandial cognacs.  Seriously - postprandial?  I was putty.  I don’t recommend dating someone solely for their vocabulary, but it can happen.  Knowing réchauffé means a warmed-up dish of food just makes me happy.  I told you…I’m a linguaphile.   

My favorite words are the linguistic gifts from other countries.  To wit, anonymous (Greek); safari (Arabic); karaoke (Japanese); entrepreneur (French); and, my personal favorite to be used whenever possible - schadenfreude from the Germans.    

With Wordle in my corner, word catching is a hobby I’m ready to share.  Every Wednesday I’ll post a word I love – perhaps because of its meaning, pronunciation, origin, or a combination therein but I can no longer keep my word nerd fervor to myself.  Wordlers and linguaphiles unite as today marks the debut of #WordCatcherWednesday!  

 

With linguistic love! 

Kimberly 

#WordCatcherWednesday: Linguaphile