1. Characterized by sudden and forceful energy or emotion; impulsive and passionate.
             2. Having or marked by violent force.                

[Middle English, violent, from Old French impetueux, from Late Latin impetuosus, from Latin impetus, impetus.]

             Marvin couldn't contain himself any longer.  He knew he might seem a tad impetuous, but instead of letting go of the book when the librarian reached across the counter to accept it, he jerked it out of her hands, threw it on the floor, grabbed her by the shoulders and planted a kiss so hard on her lips that her dentures shifted -- N

Soi-disant: (swa-dee-ZAN) adjective                  

                    Self-styled; so-called.   

[French : soi, oneself + disant, saying.]

            His name was Ted.  He hit me hard with the most intense sales pitch I had ever experienced.  Still, a furtive move at the brow with the napkin from Incredible, Edible World of Donuts revealed that his soi-disant performance masked a got-to-feed-the-kids desperation. – N

****For Linda Cooper:

Hobbit: hobbit (HOB-it) noun                 

                    An imaginary creature resembling a diminutive human being, having some rabbitlike characteristics, and being naturally peace-loving, domestic, and sociable.   

[From pseudo-Old English holbytla, hole-builder (coined by J.R.R. Tolkien) : Old English hol, hole + Old English bytla, builder, hammerer (from bytl, bietel, mallet.]

             Merchant catalogs. Several remote control units. A partially eaten, disgusting carob bar she bought because she heard carob was healthy. Lying in her Egyptian-themed bed, beautiful Maraj was surrounded by things that were supposed to make her happy; but, they weren't doing the job.  It was time to call the Psychic Friends Network.

             The second her personal psychic picked up the line, Maraj blurted, "My boyfriend broke my ankle when we were doing it and now I'm hobbiting around the house on crutches like a homeless person!"

             On the other end of the line, Linda was very supportive. She spent a good five minutes telling Maraj how awful her situation was and how she didn't deserve this agony or boredom.  

             In an awed whisper Maraj asked, "How did you know I was bored?" -- 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