Wordplay Wednesday™ January 04, 2017 – Mew

Life is so big … don’t limit yourself.

 

Fly like a bird every chance you get … even if it’s only in your mind. 

Inspirational writings go hand-in-hand with 2017’s cheery baby New Year, as 2016’s battered Father Time hobbles into his role of the past year’s troubled memory. 

Most of us think of life and time as steps backward or forward. This year, I am adopting the Ladder Attitude. I’m taking a step UP for a lofty view to analyze what was … and with insight, looking UP with hope, stepping on the next rung, to spring into flight. It’s a good year to fly … 

MEW [dictionary entry #3] (myōō) n. – a gull; esp., the common gull (Larus canus) of Eurasia and NW North America. [WW #93]   

This word is oddly contrary to the soft whimper of a kitten we generally envision with it (dictionary entry #2), don’t you think? And mew as a place of confinement (dictionary entry #1) simply never comes to mind. However, its vision of Jonathan Livingston Seagull, it excites the mind.  

With the metaphor in place, 2017’s world society is, without doubt, more like a mew rising shakily into a loud storm of transformation. In a kaleidoscope of emotions, we’ll watch the mix of challenges and changes swirl around it, and can only hope for a smooth landing by 2018.

 

When it comes to your year, however, YOU are in control. With faith in yourself, guide 2017 gently but firmly into the New Year’s Golden Horizon, on the wings of your inner mew! 

 

A few practical tips for your bright New Year:

* Begin your flight with a plan or list, or better yet, a dream.

* Keep looking ahead to the next sunny horizon.

* Adjust your wingspan with the quarter (every three months), for optimum navigation.

* Don’t hesitate to change direction altogether; it isn’t failure, only intelligent course conversion.

* Know when to stop for a short rest, with time to play.

* Fly with a flock for frequent altitude refreshment.

* When you know it’s right, stay your course.

* Never say you can’t do it—you absolutely can. 

Word Challenge: MEW. Though a mew is a gull, thinking metaphorically in terms of your New Year, any bird of flight will do. Perhaps you’ll “… Fly Like an Eagle …*” ♪ as you fit mew into your week of flying high writings.  

'Til next time ... cheers to a wonderful "wordful" week …

                       

@PenchantForPen

@Irishwriter

Facebook

* This is a true Flower Power rendition of Steve Miller Band’s “Fly Like an Eagle” on the Midnight Special show, circa 1977. “Time keeps on slippin’, slippin’, slippin’ | Into the future …” Enjoy!

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Wordplay Wednesday™ December 28, 2016 – Chesterfield

Gettin’ Comfy and Looking Back 

Since nearly everything this week is a retro look at the year that was, let’s take a backward glance at life when it actually revolved around family—not just once a year, but year-round. Sit back and relax with us … remember when you said, let’s all go sit on the …

CHESTERFIELD (chesʹtɘr fēld’) n. – 1) a single-breasted topcoat, usually with a fly front and a velvet collar; 2) a kind of sofa, heavily stuffed and with upright ends (any sofa) [WW #92]

Growing up in rural California, life was lived on a chesterfield. Now, Wiki says it’s a “Canadian English term for a sofa.” But our little gold rush town was pure Old West and our family is Irish, so …

The Wiki definition for the chesterfield sofa also generalized and did not differentiate, as the dictionary meaning does. In my book, it’s the overstuffed, super comfy, made-for-TV-movies kind of sofa.

And for many of us, a topcoat was/is a topcoat. In 1960s middle-class America, only those studying fashion knew the difference between a pea coat and a chesterfield (tribute to the Earl of Chesterfield).

Not so common today, it fits the mood of looking back. Think I’ll grab my chesterfield and go sit on the chesterfield with a steamin’ hot toddy, and reminisce about the year that was. Cheers!

Word Challenge: CHESTERFIELD. Whether you’re slipping into a chesterfield, or onto one, get comfy and enjoy a look back at 2016, and wonder … how can you fit chesterfield into your golden New Year’s week of meaningful writings?

'Til next time ... cheers to a wonderful NEW YEAR’S & "wordful" week …

@PenchantForPen

@Irishwriter

Facebook

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Wordplay Wednesday™ December 21, 2016 – Imperative

[I totally lost yesterday. Pretend this was posted Wednesday.  😏😉]

A Ringing Word-wise Wordplay 

In these hectic days leading into various religious Holidays and a promising New Year, we ask ourselves, what  is truly important in life? Or do we?

We are often so caught up in day-to-day survival and the hustle and bustle of the Holiday activities that we tend to overlook ourselves, and if we’re actually happy. Perhaps it’s time to take a quiet moment and ask yourself that question.

In the whole scheme of the Universe and your life, it is imperative that you know …

*IMPERATIVE (im perʹɘ tiv) adj. – 1 having the nature of, or indicating, power or authority; commanding [an imperative gesture]; 2 absolutely necessary, urgent, compelling [it is imperative that I go] …   [WW #91]

A few days before Christmas, what is important this week?

In my first thoughts of the day, as I recalled Christmases past, family and friends, I wrote that it was imperative to spend quality time with them; not just this week, but throughout the year. Life is short, unpredictable, and extremely fragile.

I looked at what I wrote and questioned the correct definition of imperative. Did it display the right emotion for what I sought to convey?

To be honest, I did not look first this time, to my trusty hardbound dictionary. Too lazy to pick it up, I right-clicked my mouse for Microsoft’s mostly-correct-but-sometimes-a little-off synonyms. The meaning I’d meant hit the bottom of the list—was this not a preferred definition? Hmmmm.

Although I could be wrong (don’t tell anyone I said that) I pursued confirmation that imperative carried the heavy weight of importance. Nope—Microsoft says:

-          authoritative

-          domineering

-          bossy

-          imperious

-          overbearing

-          commanding

-          vital

Really?! Vital, the synonym that came closest to what I had in mind, dragged at the bottom of the list.

Heading online to my go-to dictionary site I found:

“Definition of imperative

1. 1 a :  of, relating to, or constituting the grammatical mood that expresses the will to influence the behavior of another b :  expressive of a command, entreaty, or exhortation c :  having power to restrain, control, and direct
2. 2 :  not to be avoided or evaded :  necessary <an imperative duty>”

Again, the most applicable definition for this word, as the majority of us use it, brought up the rear. Yet, when seeking the synonym of important, we do find imperative in Microsoft’s robo-synonyms at the lofty third position (of eight). Go figure. 

*That’s when I belatedly picked up the three-pound, seventeen-hundred-page tome next to my desk. Finally the 21^st century printed dinosaur validated imperative’s elusive synonym for vitally important, as you see it above, albeit, relegated to second place.

The moral of this Christmas story, is don’t take the “word” of only your digital devices when it comes to writing—especially for publication. Know what you’re saying, mean what you say—especially when you speak to those who matter most to you.

And with that … back to my original morning thought … it is imperative during this busy season while giving to and doing for others, to ask yourself who and what makes you happy? Such a simple question, right? If it is, then you aren’t asking it in all sincerity.

Word Challenge: IMPERATIVE. “Write first for yourself. Only then can you write for others.” (1998, L. Rochelle). That applies to your happiness, as well. Go ahead … fit imperative into your week of meaningful Holiday writings.

'Til next time ... cheers to a wonderful "wordful" week …

                       

@PenchantForPen

@Irishwriter

Facebook

* Sometimes it’s in your best interest while writing, to “let your fingers do the walking,” and consult the good ol’ hardbound dictionary. (The archaic but still iconic promo has lost its relevance for the Yellow Pages, but works good here.)

Just a reminder: All of the official definitions presented in Wordplay Wednesday are accurately quoted from a current, printed edition of the Webster’s New World College Dictionary / The Official Dictionary of The Associated Press Stylebook.

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