Randy Smith's Open Salon Blog

I continue to exist

Thu, 4 Feb 2010 00:02:12 -0500

Life persists. OS continues to be a treasured experience, whether I am present or not. That is all.

OTOH

Sun, 5 Apr 2009 14:04:09 -0400

Well, I got my friends

And I don't need more friends.

I can count my friends on both hands.

Came an evil man, cut off one hand.

Now I count my friends on the other hand.

- SAMMY HAGAR

Just an old so-and-so: W.O.O.D.

Sun, 29 Mar 2009 13:03:53 -0400

OK, so you don't care for the W.O.O.D. feature? Doesn't mean I won't keep using the "open" feature of Open Salon to continue the series, a series that is, to my mind, both serendipitous and synchronous.

That is, when I run across something that crosses my eyes, I'll feel free to upload a post.

Soooooooooooo....

We are far removed from an agricultural society. Very few of us grow our own food. OS probably has a higher percentage of locavores than the run-of-the-mill online network, but still, how many of us know where our food comes from? and what it takes to get it to the table?

I don't grow my own food. I do support community supported agriculture and I crave locally grown food in season. I honor the idea of slow food in the only way I can.

That's a long, slow introduction to today's W.O.O.D.

Sowing. To spread or plant seed. In the non-ag vernacular, the proper expression is "sowing his wild oats," although it's understandable that some who use the expression orally might neglect to remember that the expression has a history - and mistakenly talk about someone "sewing" wild oats.

From the free dictionary: to do wild and foolish things in one's youth. (often assumed to have some sort of sexual meaning.)

According to Phraseology: Thousands of Bizarre Origins, Unexpected Connections, and Fascinating Facts About English's Best Expressions, by Barbara Ann Kipfer, wild oats are relatively worthless weeds, so the idiom represents the planting of worthless seeds.

When using idioms, don't be an idiot. Find out why the idiom exists before you use it. It's really not that hard.

BONUS: The original meaning and usage of the word "broadcasting" was related to a particular method of sowing seed - that is, spreading the seed in wide parabolic arcs as the sower proceeded down the row.

DOUBLE BONUS: That's the same "row" that is often hard to hoe. Is it most definitely not a "hard road to hoe."

TRIPLE BONUS: de-finite. Next time you're confused about how to spell definitely (for example, the all too common definately), just remember that you are discussing something that is FINITE, or finished. Unless you're Finnish.

When "Relish" has Nothing to Do With Pickles : W.O.O.D.

Fri, 27 Mar 2009 14:03:37 -0400

Back in my home state, Tennessee, sports-centric bloggers claim to be relishing in Memphis' loss last night in the NCAA tournament.

I'm sure they relish the loss. It's the classic institutional schadenfreude (last time I missed an adult spelling bee word was on that one; I outsmarted myself, but went on to win several hundred dollars worth of reference books).

What those bloggers meant to say was that they "revel in" the loss of a hated opponent.

From the Middle English revelen, a revel is an occasion of merrymaking or noisy festivity with dancing, masking, etc. (dictionary.com). As a verb used without an object, it is to take great pleasure or delight, or to engage in revelry - make merry, indulge in boisterous festivities.

Relish, on the other hand, as used, means liking or enjoyment of the taste of something. From time to time, I relish relish. I seldom, though, revel in the feeling.

Pet Peeve: Risk adverse (W.O.O.D.) RETITLED

Wed, 25 Mar 2009 11:03:35 -0400

A few weeks ago, at the suggestion of an admired OS colleague, I opened a thread on word usage and origins called "Word of the Day."

I'm sure the implication was that it would be a daily feature, but I knew at the time that it wouldn't be daily. Yet, a writing community like Open Salon is fertile territory for posts and comments that suggest topics.

CAVEAT: Think of this as a piece of a glossary, not as a dart thrown at any individual. If discussions of word usage annoy you, go somewhere else.

Today's word is "averse," a state of aversion. The New York Times Dictionary of Misunderstood, Misused & Mispronounced Words defines averse as an adjective meaning "having a feeling of repugnance; opposed; disinclined.

It is commonly confused with "adverse," although not quite to the extent to be called a malapropism. Adverse is defined by the same source as an adjective meaning "antagonistic; hostile; unfavorable; unfortunate."

We often read that someone or some institution is "risk averse," or disinclined to take risks. Because both averse and adverse are oppositional adjectives, they are often confused, resulting in the awkward construction of phrases like "risk adverse."

Used in a sentence properly, imagine this scenario.

Dr. Anonym, deeply concerned about her rising malpractice premiums and likewise deeply caring for her patients, has an aversion to prescribing drugs that have a high incidence of adverse reactions. That is, she is disinclined to administer pharmaceuticals whose side effects can be unfortunate.

June Casagrande, in her delightful Grammar Snobs are Great Big Meanies: A Guide to Language for Fun and Spite, has the best take I've found.

Here, in a segment attributed to Lucifer S.B.D.D.L.P.o.D. Mephistopheles, Esq., is what she wrote: "Adverse" shall mean unfavorable. "Averse" shall mean reluctant. The subtle similarity of the two shall forever torment all who attempt to wield these words. For those who master their use, I create a third word just to confuse. That word shall be "aver," a verb meaning to declare something to be true, to state positively, or to affirm. I am Satan!

The Latin origin of averse [aversus, pp. of avertere, AVERT] indicates that its strict meaning is "turned from;" in historical writing, then, you might run across "averse from" instead of the more modern "averse to."

Adverse has a Latin origin in advertere, meaning situated opposite a thing.

As always with W.O.O.D., we invite irresponsible comment.

The previous installment of W.O.O.D., with comments, is here.