Sometimes words are like lost pennies. You see one, look around, pick it up and put it in your pocket. I say look around because I can remember a lot of places where I learned words. (Impasse--The Princess Bride, scene with Wesley and Vicini. Eschew--English course with Dr. Grissom). Sometimes, I see the penny, but don't pick it up. I am overwhelmed with place names here. Warrington, Wokingham, Watlington all within 20 miles of here. Without context the words float in, flutter around my brain a bit, and float back out. For a while, people's names were the same, there was only so much my brain could make sense of while learning to make my way in a foreign country.
I'm determined now to pick the pennies up. So here goes,... Chatelaine--the female owner, or wife of the owner, of a castle or large country house (used to describe Nancy Astor in a National Trust blurb about Cliveden her house about 7 miles from here). Poncy--an offensive word used to describe something effeminate or over-styled (had no idea this could be offensive--think I need a slang dictionary to hand at all times, for words like slag...)
I remember when I learned how to pronounce "subtle," because it was right after I mispronounced it in 5th grade English and got made fun of! Ha!
ReplyDelete(P.S. I, too, learned impasse from the Princess Bride).
I learned bifurcate about amillion years ago from an ex-boyfriend. I've only used it twice, but I know what it means!
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