WORDSMITH REFLECTIONS

It's that time again---the drawing close of one year opening up to the coming of 2021!

OED had so many words to choose from for "Word of the Year" they expanded and encompassed several as "Words of an Unprecedented Year." A restating of "unprecedented" seems all encompassing, albeit over-used to me. According to the article, the use of pandemic increased 57,000% in 2020.

WARNING--Don't multiply words without knowledge. (Job 35:16)

All of this intellectual repartee had me considering what few words (Ecclesiastes 6:11, Proverbs 10:19) defined my year with the underlying word of HOPE.......

JANUARY--Pause & Listen (before seeking)

FEBRUARY--Angst---it was a leap year and there was no February 29 in my devotional book

MARCH--New Normal (w/COVID-19)

APRIL--COVID testing--my first of 2, both negative

MAY--FOHOF (Fear Of Hurting Others Feelings--text talk hard for the aged)

JUNE--DRIVE-BY (Birthdays)

JULY--Social-distancing

AUGUST--STROKE

SEPTEMBER--Fishing

OCTOBER--Wearisome

NOVEMBER--Twosome

DECEMBER--BLURRS-DAY

Mask up, Memphis. I still want to be vigilant & hopeful in my word gathering in 2021.

COOKING UP NEW WORDS

There are so many new words that even the Oxford English Dictionary and Webster add new words annually. Lately most of them are concerning our digital age or are words I have never even heard before. Of course, even we elderly know "fake news," selfie (a 2013 word), baby bump and brexit.

Here are a few new ones to me......

blamestorming---the word coinage might be new & very political but it sounds like the blame game siblings play in their early years of "not me."

"ping me"---Not sure of that---does that mean text or just any digital communication whose notification involves a "ping" sound?  I can't distinguish my phone pings from hubby's phone pings.

worstest---that just sounds like bad grammar to me

Friendsgiving---I like the sound of that if one includes inviting international friends or friends w/o family to their Thanksgiving table, but if the focus is more on alcohol with friends (OED) than giving thanks, then count me out.

fitspiration---I'm too old for that word to be in my vocabulary---it describes people or photos of fit folks that are inspiring. At my age, old people who are still sane and mobile inspire me.

word salad---sounds like the way I talk when I'm talking in circles and hubby and others don't have a clue to what I'm saying. 

But God introduced a "new word"  for our family this past week via Pastor Cole, who's really good at word creation! A fitting one as we "wait," with our daughter and her family, for adoption news.

Pop Pop's Hands

Hopetimist----I like the sound of it.
Not just an optimist, or an immature cock-eyed optimist---who thinks that thinking good thoughts alone, or working hard will make all things "perfect," because that's not always true.

HOPEtimist. (emphasis mine) One who is hopeful and on their knees trusting the outcomes to the Lord. (Zephaniah 3:17)

Be strong and take heart all  you who hope in the Lord. (Psalm 31:24)
That's Bible-speak for a hopetimist!