To chew (food) slowly and thoroughly.

“She ate half a sack of carrots, and knowing full well that she was eating forbidden fruit, she bolted them, and for her failure to Fletcherize – but speaking of Fletcherizing, did you dine aboard the train?”
– Peter Bernard Kyne, Valley of the giants
The two extra months at sea gave him an insight into a great business, and he had the time to fletcherize his ideas.
– Elbert Hubbard, Little Journeys to the Homes of the Great: Volume 11

Fletcherize is named for the American dietician Horace Fletcher, who advocated chewing each bite of food at least 32 times in order to truly enjoy it.

Horace Fletcher

So, apparently your grandma’s old saying, “Chew your food,” can be summed up as “fletcherize?” Who knew?!

Perhaps there is relevant application for this concept this time of year?

What is the holiday season about, after all? Shopping Presents Spending money Baby Jesus Food! Right?!

I think Fletcher had a point, especially valid during holidays. Chew. Okay, perhaps you may be too distracted by your drunk uncle teasing your aunt, or your kid wobbling on a chair to grab an ornament from the tree, or your dog stealing food from the counters like mine does, to actually count to 32.

Honestly, that is a lot of chewing.

But the point is to taste your food (and maybe help your digestion while you’re at it!).

I’m the first to admit if something tastes great, my mouth gets real excited and gobble-gobble-gobble gets going in there, mixed with a little of more-more-more.

But Fletcher would say, slow down, notice the favors, savor this nourishment, and enjoy.

Which we should all probably be doing with everything this holiday season.

Except for pecan pie.

That I inhale.

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adjective:
not easily managed; contrary

The mule is a froward animal.

c. 1300, Old English fromweard “turned from or away,” from from + -weard. The opposite of toward, it was Latin pervertus in early translations of the Psalms, and also meant “about to depart, departing,” and “doomed to die.”

I like this word, the opposite of toward. But it does sound like you’re drunk and really meant to say “forward.”

Besides the mule being a froward animal, you could say the kindergartener is a froward animal.

(This is what getting ready for school looks like most of the time.)
Or my dog. Or the hubs.

Come to think of it, I am surrounded by froward animals. Are you?

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adjective:

1. Ineffective; futile.
2. Being at leisure; lazy; indolent; idle.
3. Of no use.

Although the wild outer movements and the angular Minuet can take such clockwork precision, the Andante, with its obsessive, claustrophobic dialogues between strings and bassoons, seemed sluggish and otiose.
– Tim Ashley, “VPO/Maazel”, The Guardian, April 16, 2002

Otiose is from Latin otiosus, “idle, at leisure,” from otium, “leisure.”

I’ve been rebelling against the New Year’s resolutions deal. Sure, I’ve been thinking about them, those positive changes, health issues, to-do lists, de-clutter projects, yada yada. But mostly I’ve been otiose.

Just the word “resolutions” makes me need to sit down. I imagine a large summit meeting, draft resolutions circulated, committee meetings, wording revisions, then at last, a very public signing ceremony for the Final Resolutions. Which get violated the next month by each party.

That’s what has been happening in my head.

And you? Are you jumping on those resolutions? It’s been a week!

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1. an interval of time between the close of a sovereign’s reign and the accession of his or her normal or legitimate successor.
2. any period during which a state has no ruler or only a temporary executive.
3. any period of freedom from the usual authority.
4. any pause or interruption in continuity.
Origin:
1570–80; < L, equiv. to inter- inter- + rēgnum reign

Our country is in an interregnum now, in case you didn’t know, and the economy is not happy about it.

At our house, we had an interregnum recently when I visited a friend in Portland for a weekend. Kid was not happy about it. At least not when we talked on the phone Friday night and her anger contorted into a loud, weepy, swirling heap.

That was fun to hear long distance when dining out with friends. Then I hung up and ordered wine.

We both got over it.

Let’s hope our economy gets over it, too. Go buy wine, everyone!

Helps the economy and calms the ruffled psyche.

And as part of a healthy Sardinian diet, it’s good for you, too. Ask Dr. Oz.

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noun:
Contemplation of one’s navel as an aid to meditation.

It is well known in the usually jocular phrase directed towards self-absorbed pursuits.
From Greek omphalos (navel) + skepsis (act of looking, examination).

You know you love this word. I think the Kid must do this a lot. She can easily because she’s naked much of the time.

As you age, your contemplation might turn from “hey, where’d that color of lint come from?” to “hey, am I imagining things or is my belly button bigger and where is that bag of chips I just put down?”

What deep thoughts do you contemplate while navel gazing?

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adjective:
Cheap and showy, tawdry; also, spurious, counterfeit.

The distortions they bring on damage society and fuel defiant behavior, encouraging everything from immigrations to the Cayman Islands, to active distortions of reality through brummagem corporate filings.
– William F. Buckley, Jr., “Reforming the Rich”, National Review, January 20, 2006

Brummagem is an alteration of Birmingham, England, from the counterfeit groats produced there in the 17th century.

I mostly liked this word for the example sentence about the dubious corporate filings. Seems like everyone is lining up for money lately. The hubs We made some real bad investments. I wanna be bailed out! Don’t you?

Also, this definition and its origin made me look up “groats” which I know as food, like oat groats (which the hubs buys so I can break my arm grinding them into oatmeal). Why would someone in the 17th century pawn off fake oatmeal?

See, I’m getting smarter by the second with the weekly words….aren’t you?

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Hey, turns out there’s an online form to apply for government money. I read about it here. Yea, I got your Troubled Asset Recovery Program right here…..

Or, maybe we skip the official route and start making our own brummagem groats. What’d ya say?

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noun:

An imaginary land of ease and luxury.

Everyone was seeking renewal, a golden century, a Cockaigne of the spirit.
– Umberto Eco, Foucault’s Pendulum

Cockaigne comes from Middle English cokaygne, from Middle French (pais de) cocaigne “(land of) plenty,” ultimately adapted or derived from a word meaning “cake.”

Any land of ease and luxury must be imaginary, right? So I find this definition slightly redundant. But who wouldn’t love a word derived from a word meaning CAKE?? Come on. Everyone loves cake, right?

After discussing with a buddy here my hankering for chocolate chocolate cake, I’m still planning to make this one from the Pioneer Woman. Real soon.

Hey, maybe that will make my life closer to a Cockaigne.

What would make your life closer to being a Cockaigne?

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transitive verb:
1. To hold in contempt.
2. To undervalue.

I hesitate to appear to misprize my native city, but how can the history of dear, sedate old London town possibly compare to Paris for sheer excitement?
– Alistair Horne, Seven Ages of Paris
Misprize comes from Middle French mesprisier, from mes-, “amiss, wrong” + prisier, “to appraise.”

Here’s a check-in point from me today: I am misprizing the Kid today, and I mean the “contempt” version, not the “undervaluing” version. Unless it’s undervaluing her ability to think up creative, new, BAD things to do with a door closed. Or her ability to jump out of bed and have the first thing she thinks of to do in the morning be BAD.

There, fuming in my pajamas, I almost spanked her. Instead, I yelled at her. And denied her all treats, TV and computer games today. That’s gonna work real well later today after school, huh? I’m looking forward to it.

Then she cried and crawled under her bed and didn’t want to go to school due to the terrible, green ogre-ness called mommy. Yeah, good times, people, good times.

I need to take that lazy dog out and burn off some of this anger.

Are you misprizing anyone or thing today? (btw, the spellcheck doesn’t even know this word! we’re SO smart now, eh?)

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noun:

A choice without an alternative; the thing offered or nothing.

Fagan’s defense revolves around his insistence that he faced a Hobson’s choice and had to act.
– Laura Parker, “Discovery of daughters never followed by reunion”, USA Today, May 11, 1999

The origin of the term Hobson’s choice is said to be in the name of one Thomas Hobson (ca. 1544-1631), at Cambridge, England, who kept a livery stable and required every customer to take either the horse nearest the stable door or none at all.

[I realize technically this is two words, but you can handle it, I think. And hey, this is your choice: take it or leave it!]

Have you heard of a Hobson’s choice? I love the origin of it (and how they show you the pronunciation of “choice”), too. It’s like Mommy’s choice: eat this hot cereal for breakfast or get nothing at all. Wear this last pair of clean pants or nothing (dangerous choice here, as Kid loves the naked option….).

For a more sober example, take this demotion or be out of work. I believe a few bank employees around here have this Hobson’s choice.

Have you had any Hobson’s choice lately?

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adjective:
Of or belonging to the summer; as, aestival diseases. [Spelled also estival.]

Far to the north and hemmed in against the Russian Bear, it is easy to overlook this land of lakes, forests, and aestival white nights.
– [i.e. Finland]

From the Latin æstas, summer.

I had to squeak this word in after summer has slipped away around the corner but before FALL truly rears its wet, dark, sneering head.

Summers here in the Pacific Northwest are mostly quite nice, not too hot and with long daylight hours. I love them. Especially after those “summers” in Juneau. Think 50′s and horizontal rain until Monday when the sun comes out brightly, gleaming while you drive to work…

Are you still enjoying aestival days around your home? Looking forward to fall?

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