--
Boodle (BOOD-l) noun

            An illegal payment, as in graft.
 
verb intr.
 
            To take money dishonestly, especially from graft.
 
[From Dutch boedel (property).]

 
Paisano (py-SAH-no) noun

            1. A pal, buddy.
 
            2. A fellow countryman; a compatriot.
 
[From Spanish paisano, from French paysan, from Latin pagus (district). Ultimately from the Indo-European root pag- (to fasten) that is also the source of peace, pacify, pact, travel, compact, pagan, and peasant.]

 
Skosh (skosh) noun

            A small amount; a little bit.
 
[From Japanese sukoshi (a little).]

 
Goombah (GOOM-bah) noun

            1. Friend, accomplice, or crony.
 
            2. Godfather or mentor.
 
            3. Gangster or Mafioso.
 
[Dialectal pronunciation of Italian compa, a clipping of compare (godfather, friend, or accomplice), from Latin compater, from
com- (with) + pater (father).]
 
 
          After a session of uncontrolled passion worthy of note taking by those less practiced, Maraj snuggled on a soft, custom-made, heat-controlled sofa in the living room with The Artist Formerly Known As Scanner.

          Maraj toyed with the yellow diamond and sapphire bracelet delivered by her timid UPS man Steve Katz just a few hours before. Right after he left wearing surprisingly stylish brown loafers, the guy from Pilgrim Floral showed up with 12 dozen perfect roses in all colors. Apparently, The Artist Formerly Known As Scanner wanted to apologize.

          In the small box that cradled the bracelet, Maraj found a simple card with one sentence in The Artist Formerly Known As Scanner’s handwriting. It read, “I don’t have to understand you to want you.”

          That made sense, so Maraj quickly put on her long, soft and smooth, merlot-colored leather coat and got into the limousine she found waiting for her at curbside to take her to the artist’s secluded estate somewhere north of Malibu. In the hills of Malibu? Did Malibu have hills? No matter. 
 
          As Scanner, still out of breath, played with her luxurious, recently highlighted hair, Maraj focused on what was happening on the giant TV monitor. It was an old gangster movie. She asked, “Will you turn it up just a skosh?”
 
          The Artist Formerly Known As Scanner purred sounds of acquiescence in her ear and increased the audio system volume so Maraj could clearly hear one of the movie goombahs assure his paisano that the mayor had taken the “bundle ah boodle wit no problemo.”
 
          Maraj began to pout. “The reason I don’t really get into these old black and white movies is that they don’t speak English.” – N

__

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