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AUSTERIAN: one who embraces austerity

May 14, 2013

The great global  economic debate has to do with the way in which countries gather and spend money.   That may sound redundant, but it is a way of saying it as simplistically as possible.  We are in the midst of a great economic shift globally so there are lots of people and agencies trying to [...]

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ALUM: non-gender-specific term for a graduate of an institution

May 4, 2013

It’s only a matter of days ago that I lamented the propriety of inventing words that are shortened versions of an already-existing word.  I pointed out at that time that there were probably good words already out there without needing to invent limited-meaning words.  (Surveilled) But it occurred to me that there are probably a [...]

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BOONDOGGLE: a lanyard, a piece of foolish legislation, an intentional confusion

April 26, 2013

It was not my favorite camp activity.  Never having been very good at manual arts, the idea of weaving long, unruly pieces of plastic string into a colorful lanyard to hold my keys (of which I had none) seemed like a complete waste of time.   But my friends were ecstatic.   It was boondoggle time! I [...]

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STUMP CHAIRS: a project in Providence to turn tree stumps into resting places

April 7, 2013

You go to bed at night, perhaps looking out your front window at the place where that wonderful old tree had been removed a couple of years ago.  It used to provide shade for the front yard, and there was at one time a swing on one of its larger branches. But it became diseased, [...]

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GRAHAM CRACKER: a semi-sweet, whole grain biscuit

April 2, 2013

I could well have gone my whole life without checking out the meaning of graham cracker. It’s a term that describes one of the items in my life that has existed since early childhood and needs no explanation.  It is among my earliest memories.   Long before I had ever heard of s’mores or cheesecake with [...]

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RAMSHACKLE: loosely made or held together; rickety

March 24, 2013

Ramshackle is a fascinating word.  It isn’t uncommon; in fact, it is quite commonly used in discussions, writings, and other forms of communication.  But, again, it occurred to me that I didn’t know where the word came from, and I suspected that many of us who use this word regularly are in the same boat.   [...]

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PHOTOLANTHROPY [foto-LAN-thro-pee]: photography for the purpose of outreach to those in need

March 19, 2013

A couple of months ago I was introduced to one of the best sites on Facebook.  It is called Humans of New York, which is abbreviated to HONY.  The author of the site, Brandon Stanton, is a former player in the financial markets who chose instead to explore his love of photography by catching people [...]

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CRUMMY [KRUM-ee]: lousy, miserable

January 31, 2013

It’s that time of the year when people are feeling really, really sick.  It may be a simple cold, or they may actually have the flu.    Their heads ache, their bodies ache, their eyes ache, their fingernails ache.   They are sneezing, coughing, hacking, and maybe even vomiting or suffering from diarrhea or worse.  If you [...]

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PERSPICUOUS [per-SPIK-yoo-uhs]: able to be seen through, clear, lucid

January 27, 2013

To be perspicuous is to be clear as a bell.   It is a word taken from its Latin origins which meant to be able to be seen through.   Over time it has become less practical and more of a metaphor.   I suppose you could say that a piece of glass is perspicuous, but it wouldn’t [...]

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CONTENTMENT: satisfaction

December 26, 2012

The day after  Christmas Day is made especially great when there is a feeling of contentment.  All holidays are not necessarily positive, and there can be such stress and anxiety that the feeling the day after is one of relief that it is over. But for the portion of our family that was able to [...]

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