--
Glaswegian (glas-WEE-juhn, glaz-) adjective

            Of or relating to Glasgow, Scotland. noun 
 
            A native or resident of Glasgow, Scotland.

[Glas (Gow) + Galwegian, person from Galloway: Medieval Latin Galwidia, Galloway, a region of southern Scotland + -ian.] 

Mancunian (man-KYOO-nee-uhn, -KYOON-yuhn) adjective                 

            Of or relating to Manchester, England.  noun
  
            A native or inhabitant of Manchester, England. 

[From Latin Mancunium, Manchester, of Celtic origin.]

Neapolitan (nee-uh-POL-i-tuhn) adjective    

             Of, belonging to, or characteristic of Naples, Italy.  noun
    
             A native or resident of Naples, Italy. 

[Middle English, from Latin Neapolitanus, from Greek neapolites, from Neapolis, Naples, Italy.]

Ekistics ekistics (i-KIS-tiks) noun                 

             The science of human settlements, including city or community planning and design.  

[Ultimately from Greek oikistikos, of settlements, from oikistes, colonizer, founder, from oikizein, to settle, from oikos, house.]

 
Teetotal (tee-TOT-l) adjective

        1. Of, relating to, or practicing complete abstinence from alcoholicbeverages.                    
        2. Total; absolute.  

Meme (meem) noun    

            A cultural item that is transmitted by repetition in a manner analogous to the biological transmission of genes.

[Greek mimeisthaito imitate, copy; coined by U.S. biologist Richard Dawkins in his book "The Selfish Gene" in 1976.]


Bombinate (BOM-buh-nayt) verb intr.

             To make a humming or buzzing noise.  

[New Latin bombinatus, past participle of bombinare, apparently coined by Rabelais on basis of Latin bombilare to hum, buzz, from Greek bombyliazein, derivative of bombos.]

            The Glaswegian cheese maker lifted his left eyebrow in appreciation when he met the new preacher's wife. While Pastor Peter presented a sermon as good as any of those crafted by his Mancunian mentors, he lacked a zest for life his wife Lonesome had in abundance.  She had already caused a stir when she was seen practicing the two step with a slender Neapolitan near the lake a few months back. Supposedly an ekistics scholar, his agnostic background was a further shock to the ladies on the volunteer cleaning squad at Holier Than Vow Baptist Church.
 
             As the teetotals polished the candle holders and the memes in the preacher's study a day or so after Angus Stampede reported the "affair," their energetic accusations, and creative recitation of the absolutely and completely true facts of the matter, easily left the blessed church walls and made their way into every home in the village.
 
            That bombinate sound of sin had captured Leif's imagination and now, as he placed a pound of Olde York on the scale, he imagined Lonesome as a passionate young woman who needed attention. The kind he could provide if she would let him.  -- N
 

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Background: 

Along with countless other people the world over, I enjoy my subscription to A. Word. A. Day. that results in a daily email message with interesting, sometimes completely unknown-to-me words, along with pronounciation guide, etymology typical usage and more.

The New York Times hailed AWADmail as: "The most welcomed, most enduring piece of daily mass e-mail in cyberspace."

One day way back when, I decided that for learning, it would be helpful and fun to use the words AWAD sent to me in a sentence or two. Of course I found myself going beyond that and using them in not-so-obvious ways that entertained my friends as well as myself. Sometimes I use words incorrectly on purpose. But if you know the meaning, you get the joke. It is kind of a backward way of doing things, but that's creativity, right?

The first character inspired by AWAD was Maraj (not her real name.) She has quite a few fans. At the encouragement of several persistent friends, I decided it was time to share her and the others with my new friends here at OS, and begin on the first day of 2010. 

I'm offering vocabulary words I received from AWAD and what I wrote to practice using them. Tell me this isn't a much more fun way to work on improving one's vocabulary. Enjoy. Maraj and more will be back – and check out www.wordsmith.org to sign up for the free subscription. They don't know me, but for fun tell them I sent you. Like OS, it can be addictive. -- Natalie