Noted this day

[mer]

There are not enough synonyms in the English language for "walk" and "look".

There are especially not enough synonyms for "glare" and "stare".

I really don't know what to do about "walking stiff-legged" because I don't believe that the term "stalked off" should be used more than, say, once per 50,000 words.

In other news, Stepdaughter won second place in one of her Science Olympiad events, and she has taken well to me calling her "my little nerd" because she knows that's a pretty high compliment in my book. Tonight we watched The Core with splash_the_cat and trashed-talked the bad science.

Also, Tai Chi this morning kind of rocked. I really didn't want to go, but I was so glad I did. By the end, I was loose and limber and in a much better frame of mind than when I woke up this morning. I'm learning a much less athletic form than I took when I was younger, which has caused a few problems--I get too low and lean too much--but the emphasis of this form on balance and understanding the space my body is in seems to be helping my general lack of coordination quite a bit.

The end.

Comments

[domynoe.livejournal.com]

Ever try the Flip Dictionary? It ROCKS. Seriously. I don't even use a thesaurus now. Get one. You won't regret it. :)

[merriehaskell.livejournal.com]

You know, I've perused this in the store a few times, but I've always thought, "But my brain doesn't work like this." I dunno. Maybe I should look at it again.

[domynoe.livejournal.com]

It is seriously good. And it does more than synonyms. Lists of different colors of red, different kinds of flowers, medical terms, all kinds of good things in there. I LOVE it. Wish they'd do another update...I'm on my second copy (had 1st ed, bought 2nd ed), and I would most certainly pick up a 3rd edition. Worth every penny.

[dendrophilous.livejournal.com]

There are not enough synonyms...

No kidding.

Or "smiled" but that's not really a synonym problem.

[merriehaskell.livejournal.com]

Yah.

I mean, at the base of it I know that if I'm relying overmuch on the usages of these terms, there's not enough action going on, and also, maybe I don't need to record every look and smile.

But, STILL. About six more words in the English language would be REALLY helpful at this point.

[redmomoko.livejournal.com]

could you us an hungarian word?

[merriehaskell.livejournal.com]

Not really. I'd feel uncomfortable introducing a foreign word that wasn't an important noun or extremely important other part of speech.

[asakiyume.livejournal.com]

I find the same is true of "glanced." How many ways can someone casually look at something? How many pages need to intervene before someone can glance again? Can you glance before 5 pm?

We laughed and laughed watching The Core.

[asakiyume.livejournal.com]

The problem with synonyms is that so often they're not synonyms. I find this when I read. I remember one novel where someone had used "smirked" a lot--I think without realizing that its particular shade of meaning made it not-so-appropriate for a number of places. Either that, or they wanted the character to be unpleasant in a subtle way?

[merriehaskell.livejournal.com]

Yes, this is also a problem. There are probably sixty-two kinds of walking. But only three of them are correct for 99% of times one walks.

[helaaspindakaas.livejournal.com]

In other news, Stepdaughter won second place in one of her Science Olympiad events, and she has taken well to me calling her "my little nerd" because she knows that's a pretty high compliment in my book. Tonight we watched The Core with splash_the_cat and trashed-talked the bad science.

Well done on all three counts!

...man, I miss Science Olympiad.

/nerd