Every once in a while I run across a word and definition that still leaves me with a little bit of the .... "HUH?" factor.
Zeitgeist: the spirit of the time;the general intellectual and moral state or temper characteristic of any period of time.
Thank goodness for examples!
As most critics and all professors of cultural theory note, Madonna is nothing if not a skilled reader of the zeitgeist.
Callithump: A children's parade, with prizes for the best costumes.
Purlieu: a place where one may range at large; bounds or confines 2. A person's haunt or resort 3. an outlying district or region 4. A piece of land on the edge of a forest, originally land that, after having been included in a royal forest, was restored to private ownership, though still subject, in some respects, to the operation of the forest laws.
I've been reading Mark Twain's autobiography...the one he actually wrote (which is by far the worst example of writing and yet the most hilarious example I've ever seen.) and realize a little more each day that writers, as a rule, have completely lost our minds. To read the internal musings of such a great classic...well, I just have to say WOW.
What's your Monday looking like? :)
Zeitgeist is a great word. I've yet to use it though.
ReplyDeleteNever knew what a callithump is. Thanks for the def.
And love purlieu. Just wish it had a better definition. It sounds like something a cat does.
My Monday consists of laundry (what else is new) and getting back into my revisions. Ugh.
I love the word zeitgeist. It was my ZED in the A to Z blogfest! Callithump I think I heard of but certainly didn't really know what it meant and purlieu is a word I'm quite familiar with. Yay for wonderful words!
ReplyDeleteJan Morrison