I have a trusty app on my phone that I use everyday. It's a dictionary app. I think it quite studious of me to be walking around all day with a dictionary in my back pocket. Between that and instant access to Google, I can be a walking hoard of information.
When I'm writing my blog, if I misspell a word, a squiggly red line appears under the word. I can't finish the sentence without correcting the word. Everything I have read about writing says go ahead, write what's in your head, get it down, THEN go back and edit. Sorry, can't do it. That red line drives me crazy and if I can't spell the word right on the third try, out comes the dictionary app.
Each day when I use the dictionary it always has a new word for the day. Today's is counterpoise. Seeing how I think I'm so very intelligent, I try to figure out what the word means, if I don't already know, without looking at the definition. I figured I would use it in a sentence: While she was taking new selfie pictures to put on Facebook, she decided to counterpoise in the kitchen.
That sounded good, but unfortunately that wasn't what the word meant. Counterpoise means, as a verb, to balance by an opposing weight. As a noun, any equal and opposing power or force. I now understand my dictionary app is a good counterpoise to my brain.
There's that squiggly red line again too. It's under the word "selfie" and it's not in the dictionary. It's a new term for the pictures people take of themselves with their phone cameras. It will probably make the list of new words that comes out at the end of the year and thus be added to the app. I certainly hope so because it's hard to finish with that red line screaming at me.
I didn't know what the word 'blog' meant either. It sounded like something one does through a deep muddy hole, but I guess the correct word for that would be 'plod'. I still think blogging through lots of words has the same visual effect though.
Using the wrong word or pronunciation of a word can have two outcomes, disastrous or hilarious. I remember years ago a young man came to our door selling a variety of handy creations meant to make life easier. The folks let him in and he sat on the living room floor, opened his cardboard briefcase and began his sales pitch. After several fascinating items, he brought forth a box that contained twelve liquid filled plastic balls. These were artificial ice cubes and their purpose was to not deplute your drink. He had me hooked. I didn't know what 'deplute' meant but he must have really liked the way it sounded because he said it at least a dozen times. To my disbelief, the folks didn't buy any but for years we always laughed about depluting our drinks.
Once my brother in law asked my sister what the word 'auspicious' meant. She asked him if he would like for her to use it in a sentence and he thought that would be fine. She leaned back in her chair and said, "When I came home and found all my chickens dead, auspicious of a fox." He quit asking her for information after that.
Words and their meanings shape our lives and help us to get our point across. It's fun to learn a new word and almost as much fun to try using it. Go ahead, try it and if you get it wrong or someone laughs, you will learn to get it right the next time and that experience will be a definite counterpoise.
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