Bugaboo – Wordplay Wednesday™ 10/24/18

Witches and Goblins, and Ghosts – Oh My!

As I was going up the stair, I met a man who wasn't there. He wasn't there again today. Oh, how I wish he'd go away (Anonymous) … Boo! 

What do we love about being artificially* scared? The adrenaline rush? A heartbeat that threatens to explode and lets us know we’re alive? The feeling of thankfulness when we know it’s the end of a horror movie or scary amusement park ride?

Probably all of the above. And Halloween is our annual culmination of fun fear. Of course, there are many reasons to celebrate Halloween, All Saints Day, and the fall harvest that have nothing to do with fear. However, from skinned grapes (slimy eyeballs) to fake hairy spiders, we revel in its celebration of …

BUGABOO (bugʹɘ bōō’) n. – a bugbear; 1) an imaginary hobgoblin or terror used to frighten children into good conduct; 2) anything causing seemingly needless or excessive fear or anxiety. [SPOOKY / WW #187

Though the dictionary prefaces its definition with “bugbear,” that just doesn’t have the same eerie sound to it, as bugaboo. A likely product of the 16^th century, its reputed to have two possible origins—both which can cause unease.

“Bucca-boo,” an early word for devil or specter thanks to the Cornish (Celtic), is bad enough, but “bugibu” which is closer in sound, defines an evil demon that made its way into “Aliscans,” a mid-1100s Medieval French poem.

Either way, bugaboo is a spooky dude to beware of … or turn on the light to realize it’s just a shadow on the wall.

* I say “artificially scared,” because there is nothing fun and exciting about real fear. Yet, we seek fake fear in scream-queen movies, monster flicks, and of course, Halloween. Go figure.

Word Challenge: BUGABOO. Reckon with your fears of the season as you fit bugaboo into your week of terrifying 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) 

Cheers to ROCKtober & Happy Wordplay Halloween!

                       

@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, 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

Abracadabra – Wordplay Wednesday™ 10/17/18

Mystics, Magic, and Mayhem – Halloween!

Halloween wouldn’t be our favorite scary and amazing Holiday of the year, without a little magic.

We’ve heard this spooky Wordplay Wednesday’s mystical expression since childhood, to naively open locked doors, conjure great magic, and create potent spells. None of which ever really worked.

However, there was a time, many centuries ago, when a wave of the hand with an ardent utterance invoked anticipation or hope, if not fear.

With cauldron boiling and dark night clouds roiling, three times I repeat loudly:

I write this spell

that all who read

shall join my mind

to plant a seed

That I may choose

with keen mind and most devout

big win lottery numbers

beyond a doubt

As I speak the final line for the third time, I raise my arms to the sky and shout … 

ABRACADABRA! (ab’rɘ kɘ dabʹrɘ) n. – 1) a word supposed to have magic powers, and hence used in incantations, on amulets, etc.; 2) a magic spell or formula; 3) foolish or meaningless talk, gibberish. (interj. used, as by a magician, to signify, or seemingly command, a sudden change or occurrence.) [SPOOKY / WW #186]  

From stage shows of unparalleled magic to campy witchy movies, we’ve exclaimed abracadabra in fun and frolic for at least the past two centuries. But Wiki gives us an interesting etymology, “The first known mention of the word was in the third century AD in a book called Liber Medicinalis (sometimes known as De Medicina Praecepta Saluberrima) by Serenus Sammonicus, physician to the Roman emperor Caracalla, who in chapter 51 prescribed that malaria sufferers wear an amulet containing the word written in the form of a triangle.”

Though of serious beginnings for a health “cure,” we know little about how abracadabra materialized into a word of generalized magical powers, able to pull a rabbit out of a hat.  

According to Phrases.org.uk, “Over time the belief in the power of 'abracadabra' receded and in the 19th century it came to mean 'fake magic'. Terms like 'legal abracadabra' were used to denote the flummoxing of juries by fast-talking lawyers. Stage conjurers then adopted it into their inventory of the 'magic' words they used to punctuate their acts and the first known usage of it in that context dates from 1819.”*

*But again, there is no concrete example that points to abracadabra’s stage performance origin. We can give it a strange twist, though, as it’s reported that abracadabra’s letters in Greek numerology, add up to 365—the number of days in a year. And while I haven’t confirmed this with my Greek friend, one must wonder what that has to do with anything, as the current span of a year didn’t pop up in history until creation of the Gregorian Calendar in OCTOBER 1582.

A coincidence? I think not. After all, it IS a magical word …

Word Challenge: ABRACADABRA. Ponder the mysteries of the season as you fit abracadabra into your week of magical 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) 

Cheers to ROCKtober & Happy Wordplay Halloween!

                       

@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, 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