Friday, September 11, 2009

FSOTD #19-A

As any good pitcher needs a good change-up, I note that I have done no pure vocabulary posts as yet in the month of September. For shame. Here are three words:

The first two entries are courtesy of Scrabble play last weekend in Tennessee.

ixia . . . n 1: genus of southern African bulbous plants (but this use is capitalized) 2: any plant of the genus Ixia (this is the one that works for Scrabble). plural: ixias

zamia . . . n 1: a genus of tropical and subtropical American cycads (again, capitalized) 2: any plant of the genus Zamia (but of course). plural: zamias

Carolus Linneaus ain't got nothin' on our Scrabble rabble!

Our third and final word for this installment is "temerity." It popped into my head earlier today, and while I was in the ballpark, making the jump from thought to speech definitely required a dictionary check. This from Webster's Third New International:

temerity . . . another noun . . . unreasonable or foolhardy contempt of danger or opposition : reckless and often presumptuous boldness : rash venturesomeness.

So perhaps you know that old adage about fools rushing in where angels fear to tread? That's temerity.


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