Tuesday, April 28, 2020

Esculent – Wordplay Wednesday™ 04/29/2020


Food Fit for a Queen 

Apparently, having just cut up a chicken for parceling to freezer for the week’s quickie meals, food was still on my mind when I stumbled on this week’s word.

We humans are a discriminatory culinary society, with differing tastes as to what is …

ESCULENT (esʹkyōō lɘnt) adj. – fit for food; edible (n. – something fit for food, esp. a vegetable). [WW #266]

You might think its sound, and simply for its epicurean definition, esculent is derived from the French, but it is Latin from esculentus with essentially the same meaning. No matter its origin, it’s all about food.

During our imposed stay-at-home orders, we’ve naturally turned to the kitchen for entertainment. Since many basic cooking and baking ingredients are AWOL from store shelves, freezers and refrigerators, to say we’ve become even more creative with recipes is an understatement.

Time to get artistic and think back-in-the-box for esculent substitutes not just in veggies, but everything from baking to meat dishes. And, not just for yourself, but you writers can add a cooking scene to your fiction works in any genre with esculent results!

No flour? Bisquick may be more readily available and a darned good alternative in a ton of alternative recipes. Don’t want to touch the open-air veggies? Give some thought to obtaining necessary vitamins alternatively in other esculent items. Think salmon, yogurt, and kidney beans.

Meat eaters have their own challenges … with the threat of empty meat counters, if you aren’t already a vegan, perhaps it’s time to at least give one dish a try. It might give you an esculent surprise!

Word Challenge: ESCULENT. Many creative people tend to make lemonade out of lemons in every walk of life. Look around you for edible inventiveness, as you fit esculent into your week of delicious writings.

Learning knows no prejudices or boundaries, and it isn’t fattening! Expanding your mind is a no-cost, simple joy. Do you feel that way too? What’s your inspiration? Share your creative genius and Wordplay Wednesday comments below.

Write first for yourself … only then can you write for others. (L.Rochelle) 



[LinDee Rochelle is a writer and editor by trade, and an author by way of Rock & Roll. She has published two books in her Blast from Your Past series (of three) about pioneering R&R Radio DJs. True behind-the-mic tales make GREAT Holiday and anytime Gifts available on Amazon (eBook and print): Book 1Rock & Roll Radio DJs: The First Five Years 1954-1959; and Book 2Rock & Roll Radio DJs: The Swinging Sixties. Coming soon … The Psychedelic Seventies!]

*Note: 1) Dictionary definitions are quoted from Webster’s New World College Dictionary. Yes, we sometimes present them out of “official” context—but that’s half the fun! Think of it as “creative context.” 2) Neither I (LinDee Rochelle) nor Penchant for Penning are responsible for how you use information found here, that may result in legal action.

E-N-Dzzzzzzzz  

Wednesday, April 22, 2020

Rhapsodist – Wordplay Wednesday™ 04/22/2020


Time to Wax Poetically and Dramatically 

Working at home takes discipline and self-motivation. It’s the latter that’s tough for me to get excited about … and I’ve been working at home (freelance) for nearly two decades. I have no excuse.
 
Rather than work in their homemade office, many others are grabbing their modern-day soapboxes and microphones, and taking to social media with their monologues on everything from soup to nuts … literally!

So I consulted with my muse and we found a word to generate a little excitement of our own. Shake your head to fling the cobwebs aside; then throw your arms wide to refresh your vocabulary and embrace speechifying with style …

RHAPSODIST (rapʹsɘ dist) n. – 1) rhapsode*; 2) a person who rhapsodizes. [WW #265]

If you know what rhapsody is—and by the way, it is not primarily an energetic, freeform musical composition—then you’re halfway to knowing that a rhapsodist is one who waxes “ecstatic or extravagantly … in speech or writing.” (According to the dictionary.)

The first definition above, “rhapsode,” takes rhapsodist a step further, or more to the point, a giant step back, “in ancient Greece, a person who recited rhapsodies, esp. one who recited epic poems as a profession.” (Link is not from dictionary definition.)

Think, the adventures of Beowulf, the longest epic poem in Old English, and imagine a rhapsodist reciting its length (3,182 lines) in grand gestures before an amused audience. They were much easier entertained than we … and of course, we would need a translator.

Rhapsodist is a terrific word to insert as a description of a novel character or nonfiction personality, regardless of the era your story is set in!

“Sherry watched with growing admiration as the rhapsodist became more animated with each impassioned word of his soliloquy.”

Word Challenge: RHAPSODIST. Consider that when it comes to writing, the more active you make it, the better vision it invokes for your readers, as you fit rhapsodist into your week of lively writings.

Learning knows no prejudices or boundaries, and it isn’t fattening! Expanding your mind is a no-cost, simple joy. Do you feel that way too? What’s your inspiration? Share your creative genius and Wordplay Wednesday comments below.

Write first for yourself … only then can you write for others. (L.Rochelle) 



[LinDee Rochelle is a writer and editor by trade, and an author by way of Rock & Roll. She has published two books in her Blast from Your Past series (of three) about pioneering R&R Radio DJs. True behind-the-mic tales make GREAT Holiday and anytime Gifts available on Amazon (eBook and print): Book 1Rock & Roll Radio DJs: The First Five Years 1954-1959; and Book 2Rock & Roll Radio DJs: The Swinging Sixties. Coming soon … The Psychedelic Seventies!]

*Note: 1) Dictionary definitions are quoted from Webster’s New World College Dictionary. Yes, we sometimes present them out of “official” context—but that’s half the fun! Think of it as “creative context.” 2) Neither I (LinDee Rochelle) nor Penchant for Penning are responsible for how you use information found here, that may result in legal action.

E-N-Dzzzzzzzz