Some of us are more preoccupied with words than others, but all of us use and need them. Words are the building blocks of stories, the conduit for emotional expression, how we do business, the ingredients for blessings and prayers, music to our ears, and yes, there are times we are at a loss for them. For those of us who love them, they are a source of endless delight and fascination and sometimes even frustration. As we downshift into mid-summer and kick back in a hammock, laze on a deck, or lounge on the beach with a book, I offer, in no particular order, a snippet of words that I love to read or hear.
Baubles: A word used by my grandfather long ago to describe my grandmother’s jewelry.
Sneak: Done by children, lovers and thieves when about to do something secret and usually forbidden. Shhhhh.
Whisper: Done by children, lovers, and thieves, and sometimes rude people in theaters or when gossiping about others.
Apoplectic: Used in casual conversation by my cousin when talking about a certain pundit.
Voilà! Words of French origin: apropos, croissant, boudoir, bouffant, chamois, covet, debauchee, entourage, epicurean, exhortation, fete, frou-frou, gazette, and we’re not even halfway through the alphabet.
Bon appetito mi famiglia! Joyfully exclaimed when breaking bread, sipping wine, talking, smiling, and laughing with friends.
Poppet as in adorable children or little dolls.
Onomatopoeic words: buzz, hiss, whoosh, whir, crash, clip, clap, clop, pitter-pater, pop, to name a few, and good grief, alliterative phrases, too!
Murmur: done by shy people, what you hear when trying to listen to people talking at a distance from you, a heartbeat that isn’t quite right.
Collective nouns for birds: a murder of crows, a conspiracy of ravens, a murmuration of starlings, a wisdom of owls, an asylum of cuckoos.
Visceral: You can just feel it.
Mercy: An old-fashioned feminine name but also to dole out compassion and forgiveness, best when preceded by tender.
Words of the divine: tabernacle, exalt, holy, praise, devotion, beloved, seraphim, sacred, you are mine.
Amazing Grace: May we all be blessed enough to hear that sweet sound, not just the song.
The soothing words of peace: pax, paz, mir, shanti, pace, shalom.
Finito: All done, finished.
Divine Ready 