Cachinnate – Wordplay Wednesday™ 07/24/2019

Writing Laughter with a Loud Voice

From kindergarten on, it was not so much her talking, but the loudness of her laughter and voice that often resulted in a reprimand. Some are plagued naturally with “big voices,” while others cultivate them to command or irritate, like …

CACHINNATE (kakʹɘ nātʹ) vi. – to laugh loudly or too much (n. – cachinnation) [WW #226]

Have you been accused of disrupting the quiet of many a room … classroom … boardroom … even the bathroom (where sound reverberates) … with laughter? Stop apologizing!

Tom Hanks chilled his boisterous charm to play Mr. Rogers.

Happy laughter is good for the soul, and often contagious to engage everyone in your sincere hilarity.

If you genuinely cachinnate with glee, there is nothing to apologize for if you’re a little loud; unless of course, you’re attending a funeral or other truly inappropriate setting. (Which doesn’t mean you can’t turn away and giggle without sound, uncontrollably.)

It’s those whose cachinnation is obviously done for show or purposeful disruption that grate on our nerves. We can tell the difference. There is a derisive quality to the sound that rings hollow from its raucous beginning to painful end. It is not joyful, nor funny.

However, attaching a cachinnate aspect to a character in your novel, or describing a true scene in your memoir or other non-fiction book, adds instant insight to your subject.

Word Challenge: CACHINNATE. Ruminate and recall your reaction to a person of such ilk, as you slip cachinnate into your week of humorous 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. 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!]

Note: Dictionary definitions are quoted from Webster’s New World College Dictionary.

Endnote: FYI – All links in the PFP site are personally visited, verified, and vetted. Most are linked to commonly accessed sites of reputable note. However, as with everything cyber-security, use at your own discretion.

E-N-Dzzzzzzzz  

Syzygy – Wordplay Wednesday™ 07/17/2019

Spacey Word for a Spacey Week 

This week’s word is chosen solely for its spacey connection. After all, Saturday, July 20^th is the 50^th anniversary of the US Moon Walk! What a glorious day … then and now … not only for America, but the world.

Do you recall exactly where you were at the time (don’t we all?). I was sweltering through the summer in a Podunk California desert town, with a black-and-white television set blaring throughout the large laundromat.

Some things simply cannot be glorified. Like my life. But still … it was history in the making …

SYZYGY (sizʹɘ jē) n. – 1) a pair of things, esp. a pair of opposites; 2) Astron. a configuration of three celestial bodies, as of the sun, earth, and moon during an eclipse, in an approximately straight line; 3) Gr. & Latin Prosody a measure of two feet, as a dipody / syzygial adj. [WW #225]

With its tongue-twisting spelling, syzygy is unique and not only a divinely odd word with its lack of standard vowels, but each meaning is cleverly unrelated to the others. From a pair, to celestial configuration of three, to a two-foot measurement … syzygy is certainly versatile.

And that’s great news for writers! I glommed on to the sun-earth-moon designation, but the other two have merit, as well; distinctive when applied to both fiction and non-fiction.

Sharon mused, “You know, John and Emily’s rapport personifies syzygy with their opposites-attract relationship.” Or, “The syzygial space between airplane seats is rudely unforgiving.” Let your readers mull over that peculiar sound on their tongue; and venerate you for introducing it to them.

Word Challenge: SYZYGY. Think about its marvelous flexibility as you slip syzygy into your week of triple-threat writing. (Multi-talented: fiction, non-fiction, and poetry.)

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. 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!]

Note: Dictionary definitions are quoted from Webster’s New World College Dictionary.

Endnote: FYI – All links in the PFP site are personally visited, verified, and vetted. Most are linked to commonly accessed sites of reputable note. However, as with everything cyber-security, use at your own discretion.

E-N-Dzzzzzzzz