--She gave me a pen!

(Actually she gave me The Chambers Dictionary)

--is treasured by word-lovers and crossword enthusiasts for its majestic coverage of English and its tradition of sneaking in a sprinkling of light-hearted definitions...it preserves a rich stock of words from our literary heritage as well as covering all the latest developments in contemporary English.

What better gift for one who holds a degree in English? Holy crap, I "hold" a degree now?

(Alcohol is another great gift...or pens...gift cards for coffee or bookstores...money...I got them all though, again--I have the most thoughtful crew)

So I finally had a chance to unwrap my new dictionary--five pounds (weight) of words, words, words (Hamlet nonchalantly and intriguingly aptly replies)!

I marvel at the red cover, the pages, the bookmark. There is the "short history of English"--with paragraphs about: prehistoric old E, middle E, early modern E, later modern E...

I guess we'd be in the Later Modern English era now then...a section about British and U.S. spelling varieties too?

-ogue v. -og
-our v. -or
-ize v. -ise
-re v. -er
-ae, -oe v. -e

No. I haven't even gotten to definitions yet. I have to let these pages (knowledge) soak in slowly--I have time to do some word-soaking now.

Word-soaking.....READING! I just created my own "Later Modern English" kenning!
----------
Kenning: a circumlocution used instead of an ordinary noun in Old Norse and later Icelandic poetry.

Circumlocution: (also called periphrasis, circumduction, circumvolution, periphrase, or ambage) is an ambiguous or roundabout figure of speech. In its most basic form, circumlocution is using many words (such as "a tool used for cutting things such as paper and hair") to describe something simple ("scissors").

example: in Beowulf..."battle sweat" for BLOOD
----------
Whew! What else am I going to do with all of my "nerdy" stuff OTHER than go to graduate school and become a professor? REALLY?

~~J

but I shall continue to use references to classic '80s flicks as blog titles just to see who "gets it" too.