Griseous – Wordplay Wednesday™ 12/19/18

May Your Days be Merry and Bright … 

December is the brightest month of the year, with sprinkles of extra twinkle, red and green glitter, and gold toppers. And that’s just the cookies! There is no room for ...

 

GRISEOUS (grisʹē ɘs; grizʹ-) adj. – gray, esp. pearl-gray.  [WW #195]

Despite the ominous clouds of winter, there is nothing griseous about the Holiday Season. From rosy red cheeks to glittering gold stars atop brilliant green trees, we adorn the month with vibrant colors.

Although griseous skirts the edge of silver, which is certainly shiny and Holiday-ish, its pearl-gray luster doesn’t come close to the top of the brightness meter. It does lend itself well as a backdrop for more dazzling colors, or dreamy luxurious trim around or your home, or throughout your writing, any time of year.

It seems fitting that we shake off the griseous pall that often clings to the end of the year,

and look to a New Year with the shine of hope and a bright, determined attitude. Carry it with you into 2019 to call upon when a special sparkle or cheerful smile is needed ... for yourself or a friend.

 

Word Challenge: GRISEOUS. A rather long and literary word for gray, it certainly could add a sheen to your writing, as you fit griseous into your week of sparkly 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 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

Darkle – Wordplay Wednesday™ 12/12/18

‘Tis the Season to be … 

… Light, bright and merry! However, weather—inside and out—can hang like a pall over your thoughts and stall the brilliance of your creativity. Somewhat like …

DARKLE (därʹkɘl) vi. – 1) to appear dark or unclear; 2) to grow dark and gloomy.  [WW #194]

Winter harbors darkness even in the daylight, as ominous clouds teeming with rain and snow hover low over our heads, threatening with a darkle day. (Well, I’m in Southern California, so not so much—but certainly everywhere else!)

Isn’t it perfect synergy that the Holiday Season’s sparkle and twinkles help light our way through a darkle moment before the sun wriggles through, or the dusk of early night gives way to twilight.

Are you an early riser to take advantage of the quiet to write? Perhaps your thoughts will sparkle, in spite of the darkle before the dawn of the sun, or the bright light of your literary genius rises.

Yes, darkle is a marvelous word with compound uses.  

Word Challenge: DARKLE. How can you sprinkle some twinkles into the shadows of your mind’s corners, as you fit darkle into your week of enlightening 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 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

Lachrymose – Wordplay Wednesday™ 12/05/18

Yes, my one New Year's resolution is to post all of my articles on time in 2019 ... in the meantime, enjoy this week's Wordplay Wednesday, day late, and $$ short!
 
Grab Popcorn & Tissues for Holiday Tearjerkers 

During the Holiday Season, between charity fundraisers and classic seasonal TV movies, the tissue companies make a LOT of dough, and we’re not talkin’ cookies. 

This season, the television cable channels must have bought stock in the tissue companies. They appear to have launched a slew of new tearjerkers hoping to challenge the likes of It’s a Wonderful Life (1946) and A Christmas Story (1983; never lick a frozen pole!). Will this spawn a new awards show for …

 

LACHRYMOSE (lakʹri mōs’) adj. 1) inclined to shed many tears, tearful; 2) causing tears, sad. [WW #193]

The Hallmark Channel even has an app to track your list of watched vs. not watched lachrymose movie titles in their Countdown to Christmas presentation of premiered movies. Of course … there’s an app for everything.

While generally embodying the Christmas spirit, often combined with romance and a healthy dose of sentimentality, I haven’t yet seen a new lachrymose film that matches the staying power of the classics. Has anyone portrayed a more convincing Kris Kringle than Edmund Gwenn in 1947’s A Miracle on 34th Street?

And there isn’t a classier lachrymose Holiday classic than White Christmas, starring Bing Crosby, Danny Kaye, Vera-Ellen, and Rosemary Clooney (1954). It sends us reeling through the gamut from sweet to touchingly amusing to playful … and of course back to love found, love lost, and love rekindled. Sniffle, sniffle.

What is it about the lachrymose Holiday movies that we can’t seem to get enough of? Perhaps we’re so wrapped up in our own emotional lives the rest of the year that we don’t see others’ depth of emotional experiences. Until the Holidays. When giving, sharing, and loving are daily buzzwords, sprinkled with a little Christmas Magic. 

Grab a yummy eggnog and a fresh box of tissues. Enjoy.

 

Word Challenge: LACHRYMOSE. Count the times a movie, charity story or news event causes you to reach for a tissue, as you fit lachrymose into your week of sensitive 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 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