Wordsmith.org: the magic of words

Wordsmith Talk

About Us | What's New | Search | Site Map | Contact Us  

Previous Thread
Next Thread
Print Thread
Joined: Mar 2000
Posts: 11,613
Jackie Offline OP
Carpal Tunnel
OP Offline
Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Mar 2000
Posts: 11,613
A while back, DubDub said she wished we would post some more good uses of language from what we're reading. I grabbed this up again last night and found an image that makes me feel better, just now. It's from Lucy Maude Montgomery's Rainbow Valley.
... they sat on the big veranda at Ingleside, enjoying the charm of the cat's light, the sweetness of sleepy robins whistling among the twilit maples, and the dance of a gusty group of daffodils blowing against the old, mellow, red brick wall of the lawn.



Joined: Mar 2001
Posts: 4,189
Carpal Tunnel
Offline
Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Mar 2001
Posts: 4,189
from Kurt Vonnegut, Jr.'s Breakfast of Champions:

And so it goes.

[while-perusing-my-mind-for-a-favorite-Joseph-Conrad- passage e]


Joined: Jan 2001
Posts: 13,858
W
wwh Offline
Carpal Tunnel
Offline
Carpal Tunnel
W
Joined: Jan 2001
Posts: 13,858
"Veranda" is a word that brings back memories. Of old houses with wide shaded porches
located to get the least sun and most breeze on hot days, before electricity became
available. The whole family and guests could sit and chat in a civilized comfortable way.


Joined: Mar 2001
Posts: 4,189
Carpal Tunnel
Offline
Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Mar 2001
Posts: 4,189
And your "veranda" (verandah?...alt.sp.?) post coupled with literature, Dr. Bill, brings to mind Tennessee Williams (steady, Dub-Dub ). Summer and Smoke, The Night of the Iguana, and Cat on a Hot Tin Roof all bear images of wide shaded porches...Southern style.

from Cat on a Hot Tin Roof:

Mendacity! It is all mendacity! Mendacity is the system we live in! --Brick

I picked up the word mendacity and mendacious from that play when I was about 12 years old.


Joined: Jul 2002
Posts: 742
S
sjm Offline
old hand
Offline
old hand
S
Joined: Jul 2002
Posts: 742
> Mendacity! It is all mendacity! Mendacity is the system we live in! --Brick

I picked up the word mendacity and mendacious from that play when I was about 12 years old.



Disgusting words, both of them. They are even worse in their blatant sex/gender stereotyping than is history.


#100448 04/10/03 03:49 AM
Joined: Apr 2000
Posts: 10,542
Carpal Tunnel
Offline
Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Apr 2000
Posts: 10,542
[private aside to sjm]
hey max, was that, like, irony?
-a bemused USn


#100449 04/10/03 04:28 AM
Joined: Mar 2001
Posts: 4,189
Carpal Tunnel
Offline
Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Mar 2001
Posts: 4,189
[private aside to sjm]

Hey, tsuwm, is that, like, irony?





#100450 04/10/03 04:56 AM
Joined: Jul 2002
Posts: 742
S
sjm Offline
old hand
Offline
old hand
S
Joined: Jul 2002
Posts: 742
>[private aside to sjm]
hey max, was that, like, irony?
-a bemused USn


I dunno, but it wasn't, like, for real.


#100451 04/11/03 11:30 AM
Joined: Jun 2002
Posts: 1,624
Pooh-Bah
Offline
Pooh-Bah
Joined: Jun 2002
Posts: 1,624
You mean, like, you were being mendacious? Tsk, tsk.


#100452 04/11/03 11:54 AM
Joined: Jul 2002
Posts: 742
S
sjm Offline
old hand
Offline
old hand
S
Joined: Jul 2002
Posts: 742
You mean, like, you were being mendacious? Tsk, tsk.

I was being perbeingdacious, puh-lease!







Moderated by  Jackie 

Link Copied to Clipboard
Forum Statistics
Forums16
Topics13,913
Posts229,333
Members9,182
Most Online3,341
Dec 9th, 2011
Newest Members
Ineffable, ddrinnan, TRIALNERRA, befuddledmind, KILL_YOUR_SUV
9,182 Registered Users
Who's Online Now
0 members (), 747 guests, and 1 robot.
Key: Admin, Global Mod, Mod
Top Posters(30 Days)
Top Posters
wwh 13,858
Faldage 13,803
Jackie 11,613
wofahulicodoc 10,542
tsuwm 10,542
LukeJavan8 9,916
AnnaStrophic 6,511
Wordwind 6,296
of troy 5,400
Disclaimer: Wordsmith.org is not responsible for views expressed on this site. Use of this forum is at your own risk and liability - you agree to hold Wordsmith.org and its associates harmless as a condition of using it.

Home | Today's Word | Yesterday's Word | Subscribe | FAQ | Archives | Search | Feedback
Wordsmith Talk | Wordsmith Chat

© 1994-2024 Wordsmith

Powered by UBB.threads™ PHP Forum Software 7.7.5