David Zapatka Friends and readers Randi and Jim Nulty write, “We enjoyed your April WOTM column. Randi once scored a triple word in Scrabble using the word ‘pismire.’ I think it was 70+ points. We have never forgotten the word or its definition.” I suspect many of our readers are Scrabble players. I’ve always enjoyed…
Tag: Word of the month
Features, April 2020
Word of the Month: Pismire
David Zapatka Reader Diane DeCarlo writes, “I enjoyed your article in our January paper. I just wanted to share with you a favorite word of mine which is ‘pismere,’ another word for ‘ant.’ But I use the word for an annoying person.” Thank you for your suggestion, Diane. I discovered you’re not the only one…
Features, March 2020
Word of the Month: Existential is Dictionary.com “Word of the Year”
David Zapatka From existential threats to existential choices, the word existential was used in the news and in conversations around the country frequently this past year. “I’m trash!” was the insistent cry of Forky, the googly-eyed spork whose struggle to be a toy was at the heart of the summer blockbuster Toy Story 4. Forky’s…
Features, December 2019
Word of the Month: Shungite-fullerenes
David Zapatka Shungite-fullerenes: a unique combination of carbon and silicate minerals found in an ancient deposit in Karelia, Russia. Friend and fellow Wisdom Seeker book club member, Sandria (Joy) Valente, gave me a special gift recently, a shungite-fullerenes rock. I had never heard of these before. Joy explained shungite-fullerenes have special properties and are called…
Features, September 2019
Word of the Month: Carillon
David Zapatka While traveling this summer on the Goldwing, I was fortunate to receive a private tour of Missouri State University’s Jane A. Meyer Carillon. Carillons are the world’s largest instruments and this one is the largest of all those located in the U.S. Midwest. This carillon is made up of 48 bronze bells and…
Features, August 2019
Word of the Month: Demotic
David Zapatka I attend a five-day conference every summer where experts are brought in to speak about a wide variety of topics. This year’s annual gathering had 218 speakers lecturing, hosting interactive gatherings and running tournaments on 308 interesting and entertaining topics. Being a lifelong student, I’m in my element when I can learn from…
Features, June 2019
Word of the Month: Curry
David Zapatka Having spent the past week in Myanmar and India eating fabulous cuisine off the cruise ship, curry dishes are fresh on my mind. I’ve long loved Indian cuisine and all those many curry flavors. I’m impressed by how many different types of curry and varying spices there are. What I’ve learned is curry…
Sports, June 2018
Word of the Month: Hoedown
David Zapatka Listening to classical music this morning as I do every morning and evening, I heard Aaron Copland’s familiar Hoe-Down classic. I’ve always thought a hoedown was a country-style social gathering with dance and music. Right on track, the upbeat and catchy Copland tune comes from his score to the ballet Rodeo, which…
Sports, August 2016
Word of the Month: Doyen
David Zapatka Friend and fellow table tennis-playing enthusiast, Bill Lewis, exposed me to our word for this month, doyen, in a recent correspondence about long-term expertise in the sport of table tennis. When reading his email and coming across his use of the word “doyen” I had to look this one up. Doyen noun doy·en doi-ĕn′,…
December 2015, Classifieds
Word of the Month
David Zapatka This month’s word of the month is a long-time favorite of mine, bliss. I was first introduced to this deep and meaningful word in the early ‘70s when someone explained to me that a state of complete happiness is achievable. The word used for this complete and enduring state of happiness is bliss.…