David Zapatka Entering the 2020s, which seemed so far into the future, caused me to pause and focus on the plethora of words that come into our language every year. Entering the year 1920, some of the world’s great minds were inventing the rotary dial telephone, the pop-up toaster, and forming the League of Nations,…
Tag: word of the month
Features, September 2019
Word of the Month: Extirpate
David Zapatka While traveling this summer on the Goldwing, I chose to visit the granddaddy of all outdoor sporting goods stores, Bass Pro Shops in Springfield, Missouri. If you’ve never been there, it’s spectacular and certainly worth a visit. More than 4,000,000 tourists visit this store every year, more than double the tourists to the…
Features, August 2019
Word of the Month: Demotic
David Zapatka I attend a five-day conference every summer where experts are brought in to speak about a wide variety of topics. This year’s annual gathering had 218 speakers lecturing, hosting interactive gatherings and running tournaments on 308 interesting and entertaining topics. Being a lifelong student, I’m in my element when I can learn…
Features, July 2019
Word of the Month: Sarcophagus
David Zapatka Just having toured the Valley of the Kings and Queens in Luxor, Egypt, my mind is filled with hieroglyphic and sarcophagus images. Touring the tombs of Tutankhamun, Seti 1, Seti 2, Ramses 2 and Nefertari, I was astounded by the beauty, artistry, vibrant colors, carvings and intricate work done by these ancient people.…
Features, June 2019
Word of the month: Curry
David Zapatka Having spent the past week in Myanmar and India eating fabulous cuisine off the cruise ship, curry dishes are fresh on my mind. I’ve long loved Indian cuisine and all those many curry flavors. I’m impressed by how many different types of curry and varying spices there are. What I’ve learned is curry…
Features, April 2019
Word of the Month: Bowdlerization
David Zapatka Reading one of my favorite magazines recently, I came across an article titled “The Real Frankenstein and Its Author” by John Lauritsen. 2018 was the bicentennial of Frankenstein, the most famous work of English Romanticism. It was published anonymously on January 1, 1818. To commemorate the anniversary of its first publication, events and…
Features, March 2019
Word of the Month: Deuce
David Zapatka Watching the Australian Open Tennis Championships reminded me of the strange way tennis is scored. Zero is announced as love. Theory is that love arose from the French word for “egg,” l’oeuf, because a zero on a scoreboard resembles an egg; a clever but unsubstantiated claim. One point is called 15, two is…
Features, February 2019
Word of the Month: Skedaddle
David Zapatka Reader Kim Park read about “smithereens” in a previous column and had this comment and suggestion for this month’s issue. “I loved your WOTM column on smithereens! It threw me back to my youth and reminded me of what my mother used to say when she thought I wasn’t getting ready quickly enough.…