Mephitis – Wordplay Wednesday™ 04/17/2019

Well That’s a Pile of Stinky Stuff  

When it comes to words, writers can earn the title of wordsmith with their creative, yet appropriate use of a word’s definition. Give it a shot …

MEPHITIS (mɘ fitʹis) n. – 1) a harmful, bad-smelling vapor from the earth, as the exhalation from decomposing organic matter or poisonous gas from a mine; 2) a bad smell, stench. (adj. mephitic)  [WW #212]

I know mephitis pertains to the earth and a natural emission, or biologic classification applied to living organisms (think skunk), but it also aptly describes my week. Frankly, it stinks.

This post is late due to a frustrating and angering episode with my cute little parked PT Cruiser hit by another vehicle in a freak accident. Ruined my day, likely my week-plus, and totaling the car has been suggested, which of course, means I’ll be short-changed in the whole mephitic deal.

So—I won’t go on and make your week a downer, too; just know that in your writing and conversation, you can pull mephitis out of your vocabulary and use it in terms of the second definition to define body odor, bad day, or other stinky situation!

Word Challenge: MEPHITIS. Hopefully, you will only have reason to apply this word to your writing and not your life, as you fit mephitis into your week of odorous prose.

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) 

Cheers to learning a new word on Wordplay Wednesday!

           

@PenchantForPen

@Irishwriter

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

E-N-Dzzzzzzzz  

Plenum – Wordplay Wednesday™ 03/27/2019

A Matter of Plenty …   

Being human, we may often feel life is lacking, so we seek ways to fill the void. Extreme sports, insane amounts of chocolate, and binge-watching a favorite show are admiral attempts.

However, perhaps we simply need be more pragmatic and look around our personal physical and mental space. Could be, our lives are already thriving with  …

PLENUM (plēʹnɘm, plenʹɘm) n. – 1) space filled with matter, as opposed to vacuum; 2) fullness; 3) a full or general assembly, as in all members of a legislative body; 4) an enclosed volume of gas under greater pressure than that surrounding the container. [WW #209]

Taken in different contexts, plenum could indicate so full, “about to blow”—if in a lab situation, perhaps cause for worry. Alternatively, a family plenum at your dinner table at least once a week creates positive, lifelong memories. Or the jar on your desk jammed with a plenum of M&Ms is a yummy, immediate satisfaction. Each “filled with matter” in a different way. 

Edward Grant in God and Reason in the Middle Ages (2001) said, "The key to understanding medieval interpretations of motion in hypothetically void space is to realize that medieval natural philosophers analyzed the same bodies in the void that they discussed in the plenum of their natural world."

Word Challenge: PLENUM. If you think your life is a void, look around and count your blessings. In life, “void” is relative … think plenum, as you fit this new word into your week of full writing.

FYI: A search of “plenum” finds a plethora of references to a plenum chamber of pressurized air, gas, or liquid. But it is much more versatile than that, as exhibited above and in Wiki’s definition page.

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) 

Cheers to learning a new word on Wordplay Wednesday!

           

@PenchantForPen

@Irishwriter

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

E-N-Dzzzzzzzz