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Clamber: (KLAMB-uhr, KLAM-uhr) verb intr.                 

            To climb with difficulty, especially on all fours; scramble.   

noun                 

            A difficult, awkward climb.   

[Middle English clambren, probably frequentative of climben, to climb.]

             In exactly two minutes, the intermission would be over and the performance would resume. She lost track of time while practicing T'ai Chi in the bathroom, and her feeling of serenity vanished as she realized the stage curtain was about to open and the only way she could get back to her seat in the front would be to clamber over the laps of the other musicians -- and in a big hurry.

            Feeling even more awkward than usual in a dress because the narrow sheath design restricted her leg movements, Vickie handed her violin to a tuba player, who immediately started passing it and her bow to the front. The other members of the orchestra in her "path" laid down their instruments as quietly as possible in preparation.  Vickie hiked her skirt up to her thighs and threw herself into the tuba player's waiting arms so he could pass her off to the trumpet players, who lifted her up Rave style and moved her across the woodwinds to the strings section.

            As she passed over each row, the players quietly retrieved their instruments and quickly re-moistened the mouthpieces and reeds.

            Approximately six seconds before the curtain opened, Vickie got back on her feet and tip-toed two more chairs over to her seat where her violin and bow were waiting. Her black skirt was slightly torn at the hem, her pantyhose were in shreds and she was going to have to buy a whole lot of drinks after the concert; but, on the downbeat, Vickie was ready to play Barber’s emotion-stirring Violin Concerto.

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Simon Legree: (SIE-muhn luh-gree) noun                 

            A brutal taskmaster.   

[After Simon Legree, a cruel slave dealer in the novel Uncle Tom's Cabin by Harriet Beecher Stowe.]

             Though she didn't really feel like going, Maraj accompanied Cliff to an evening forum at the university school of business. Since he was a banker, Maraj felt it was important for him to have someone attractive on his arm. It was a nice thing to do.  In his presentation about executive-level management, Cliff mentioned Simon Legree several times.  In between yawns, Maraj wondered if this Simon guy was any fun when he was not at work. – N  

For: Jeff Brawer
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Munchkin: (MUNCH-kin) noun                 

            1. A very small person, especially one with an elflike appearance.                 

            2. Informal. A child.                 

            3. Informal. A minor official.   

[After the Munchkins, characters in The Wonderful Wizard of Oz by L. Frank Baum.]

             My SmartCar was munchkined by a compact car driven by punmiester Jeff Brawars as he yelled puns from his sun roof while navigating the shortcut to his shrink’s office. My poor little car is going to be in the cramped body shop a few miles from me until Friday. I hope it won't take longer than that because a fraction of a second past the promised delivery time I will become a tad bit short-tempered. – 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