No more snow here! I'm so sorry for those north of us who are in the throes of a blizzard this morning, but so thankful it bypassed the DC metro area. The wind howls; haven't seen a bird all morning. I wonder: What do they do, where do they go when the weather threatens?
Yesterday I finished Geraldine Brooks' "March". A good story set in the early years of the Civil War, and also a vocabulary-expanding read! It's been a long while since I've had to resort to the dictionary so often. Humbling, but educational. Here's my list:
rufous - reddish
couchant - couch (makes sense, huh?)
chiffonier - dresser, with drawers. (Maybe that's why my grandmother called it the chifferobe?)
helve - handle (as of an ax or other tool)
deliquescing - to melt
rutilant - ruddy
coruscating - shiny, reflective
jalap - a purgative made from the roots of a particular plant
harrow - to break up the soil with a rotating, tined disc
simulacrum - image or likeness; or a sham
sutler - a person following an army to sell food, etc.
Fifty centy words, I can remember my Freshman comp professor calling them! But fun, nonetheless.
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