Dispute resolution

observe, v. 9. trans.

    a. To take notice of, be conscious of; to notice, perceive, see. Freq. with that-clause as object. Also intr.

1560 J. DAUS tr. J. Sleidane Commentaries f. cclxxxv, The Sunne loked pale and dimme,..And this was not obserued in Germany only, but also in Fraunce & England. 1605 BACON Of Aduancem. Learning II. sig. Ll1, If men will intend to obserue, they shall finde much worthy to obserue. 1634 T. HERBERT Relation Trav. 223 King Henry..obseruing simplicitie in the Messingers deliuery. 1736 BP. J. BUTLER Analogy of Relig. I. ii. 32 This every one observes to be the general Course of things. 1783 H. BLAIR Lect. Rhetoric I. x. 200 We remark, in the way of attention, in order to remember; we observe, in the way of examination, in order to judge. 1793 W. COWPER Let. 6 Sept. (1984) IV. 390 Hearing the Hall clock, I observed a great difference between that and ours. 1805 M. LEWIS Jrnl.20 Aug. in Jrnls. Lewis & Clark Exped. (1988) V. 126, I have also observed some robes among them of beaver, moonax, and small wolves. a1855 J. EAGLESSketcher (1856) viii. 200, I am not, observe, here saying one is preferable to another. 1881 T. HARDY Laodicean I. II. i. 254 At last he observed the white waistcoat of the man he sought. 1940 H. G. WELLS Babes in Darkling Wood I. ii. 51 He seemed to be seeing something that had always been under his eyes but which he had never clearly observed before. 1987 T. WOLFE Bonfire of Vanities (1988) v. 125 You will also observe that I do not have eyes in the back of my head.

Jim and I are having a bit of a disagreement over what the above definition of "observe" literally means.  I think that the choice of the word "conscious" implies having cognizance of the event and therefore would also suggest that one has memory of it taking place.  Jim countered that the use of the word "perceive" intimates looking in the direction of the event taking place, but not necessarily remembering it.  What do you think?

Blogging Schedule

Now that I'm not in school, I feel as if I'll be posting more sporadically. Also, I watched Clueless last night so now I'm utilizing the word sporadically. So, no regular postings, just when I get random chances at work and off-nights at home. Pottertastic Tuesday will retire until the fall, unless something of note comes up.

Meiosis

It's Wednesday and if you look at the previous post, you'll see that it's not a Pottertastic Tuesday entry. Gasp! I don't want to go ahead and blame my new job, but apparently I need a little bit of adjustment time. I'm so effin tired right now. I am sorry to have let you down, but there will be two next week. I promise.

Second bit of news: I've decided to create a new blog. It will be out and about on the town in a few days (once) this paper of mine is finished and I can quasi-relax. I noticed that there are two distinct topics going on here: children's literature/librarianship and words/writing. As a result, the latter is finding a new home and this blog will get back on course. Goodbye Sporadic Word of the Day, we're going to miss you. Or something. Also, any quotations not related to children's literature and librarianship will be moved as well. That is all.

And the dictionary's dead depressing...

What's that you say? Kristi(e) came down with a case of dictionary depression? How can that be?

I'll tell you how. The Oxford English Dictionary, the very same book that cataloged the history of our enriching and ever-changing language, has failed me. I don't know if the sky is up or just an elaborate ruse devised by clever monkeys and vengeful birds. I couldn't tell you if Syd Barrett really was crazy, or just an elaborate story created by musicians with too much time on their hands. And you know what else I couldn't tell you? The meaning of the word embololalia after consulting the OED. That's right, not even the online version that fetches Rutgers a pretty penny. How can this be? The free version of Merriam-Webster was able to define it, so why not the esteemed Oxford English Dictionary? My world is crumbling in front of my very eyes. A better question, perhaps, is why can the OED define McJob, yet fails to enrich the lives of word enthusiasts all over with a genuinely delightful word?

Without further anticipation, I present to you, embololalia:

Pronunciation: ,em-bə-lō-'lā-lē-ə, -'lal-ē-
Function: noun
: the interpolation of meaningless sounds or words into speech

Acritochromacy

Reasons I love Wordsmith's Word-A-Day:

Well, this week we're seeing all things 14. We'll feature words that are 14 letters long, and define each of them in 14 letters.

acritochromacy (uh-KRIT-o-kro-muh-see) noun

Color blindness.

Words! Words! Wordfabulous words!

So, this week's theme for my Wordsmith's: A Word A Day is lesser known components of common words and I am totally digging it. This whole shebang makes me think of one of my FAVORITE words, whelm. Which, whelm is of course an uncommon way to say the common word overwhelm. There really is no difference aside from the noun whelm, which is a wooden drain-pipe, according to the Oxford English Dictionary online.

I figured you would be as enthralled as I am and get into all kinds of fights with me if you discovered that I was withholding the goods. Since these definitions are free and I have homework clawing at the back of my mind, I'm just gonna give the links. Deal.

Prepone

Nocebo

Dystopia

Inhume

Prequel--even though I'm sure George Lucas did his part for this word becoming more popular

You better believe I'll edit this later in the week to complete the week.

Zeugma

Who gives a fuck about the Oxford Comma?

A whole bus of grammarians definitely care about this grammatical separator. Journalists, select writers, and apparently this librarian also fancy this tiny little squiggle. I spend my free time reading blogs like the Lexicographer's Rules, reading the Oxford English Dictionary for fun, and reading about grammar in the Facebook group, "Good Grammar is Hot." I'm beginning to question my choice of graduate programs. Perhaps I would have been better served getting a degree in linguistics. Oh well.

The Sporadic Word of today comes to us from an article that was mentioned on the aforementioned Lexicographer's Rules all about Vampire Weekend and their musically driven debate about the Oxford Comma. I highly recommend the article, because it is exquisitely hilarious. This is my favorite quote, by far:

Peter Devine, Vanity Fair’s copy chief, also cops to giving a “modest-size fuck about the Oxford comma. There are times when it adds a bit of clarity.”

A modest-sized fuck (chuckles). Oh silly grammarians, how I love thee. But I didn't bring all of this up to talk about the Oxford Comma. Nope, I wanted to talk about zeugma (hence the title). I saw this in the article and ::gasp:: discovered an aspect of grammar I was unfamiliar with. Clearly I needed to get the librarian out of hiding and search for this interesting word. Normally the OED would serve me well for a purpose like this, but grammar isn't something I play around with (unless, you know, I'm writing poetry). So instead I traveled to Wikipedia and was delighted to have a vast array of distinct things to learn! To avoid making this post longer than I've already made it, I'd suggest checking out the Wikipedia entry if you are interested. Oh come on, I know you are!

Introducing: Sporadic Word of the Day!

To perpetuate my love affair with the Oxford English Dictionary I have decided to have a sporadic word of the day feature. Translation: Whenever I find an interesting word, I will define it. Some days will be a vast plain filled with nothing but tumbleweeds and a lack of good words.

On with the show, McGillicuddy!

tiswas slang::
a state of nervous agitation or confusion; occas. a state of physical disorder or chaos.

Source: Horribly Expensive Online Version of the OED
Word originally seen at: Tales from Homeward