Outrageous Benumbment

To trike, or not to trike? That is the question—
Whether ’tis nobler in the mind to suffer
The slings and arrows of outrageous benumbment,
Or to take arms against a sea of stinging wind,
And, by opposing, triumph? To trike, to ride—
Once more—and by cycling to say we end
The flab and the thousand fatty pounds
That flesh is heir to—’tis a consummation
Devoutly to be wished!

Apologies to Hammy Baby.

When I leave for work later this morning the temp’s gonna be a balmy 28º. The question is, will I trike or drive? Dunno but I’m betting on the trike. After all, I’ve a track record, a rep for riding in wintry weather.

While I’m psyching myself up, laying out my frozen season outdoor spinning gear, let’s have a few words. K?

acyrology
noun
Incorrect use of language (at which I'm a pro)
Related:
cacology (sounds like something poop related, does it not?)
noun
1. bad choice of words or poor pronunciation.
2. defectively produced speech; socially unacceptable diction.

fremd (Isn't this a Facebookism? You know, should I unfremd this asshole or not?)
Wikitionary has the most to say about this adjective:
1. (rare or chiefly dialectal) Strange; foreign; alien; outlandish; far off or away; distant.  
2. (rare or chiefly dialectal) Not akin; unrelated.  
3. (rare or chiefly dialectal) Out of the ordinary; unusual; unwonted. a fremd day

4. (rare or chiefly dialectal) Strange; weird; outlandish; singular; odd; queer. A fremd man this. — Hodgson MS.

5. (archaic or obsolete) Wild; untamed.

It can also be a noun:
fremd (plural fremds)
(rare or chiefly dialectal) stranger; guest
(archaic or obsolete) an enmity

So then, I can say “I may be a fremd but I ain’t no fremd” and that’d be all kosher and shit? And, because my mind is a jumble of songs, of lyrics that I'm continually bolloxing up, this is now in my head.

jeon (plural jeon) (Damned convenient that the plural is the same as the singular, eh?)
From Korean 전 (jeon).
Noun
A fried, filled pancake-like food eaten in Korea

These would truly hit the spot for brekkie right now, lemme just tell you. It’s fucking cold out — I need pancakes before I brave that frosty ride to work!

spiv
Noun
From World Wide Words:

A spiv was typically a flashily dressed man (velvet collars and lurid kipper ties) who made a living by various disreputable dealings, existing by his wits rather than holding down any job, and who often supported himself by petty black-market dealings. (Another name was wide boy, with wide having the old slang sense of sharp-witted, or skilled in sharp practice.) He was small-time, living on the fringes of real criminality. He is most closely associated with the Second World War and after in Britain; he always seemed able to get those coveted luxury items that were unobtainable during that period of austerity except on the black market, such as nylons.

Love this word. It’s just so evocative of film noir-ish scenes — of brilliantly beautiful, fiercely smart, devious babes, ready to use their angry survival skills to get what they need.

Hit the linky for more spiv related awesomeness.

winze (plural winzes)
noun
A steep shaft in a mine which joins two levels.

NOT what I was expecting. It looks like a verb. “I just had to winze when he made that awful pun.” Nope.

silva
noun
1. the forest trees of a particular area.
2. a descriptive flora of forest trees.

Looks more like how we pronounce the word “silver” here in these New England parts. As in “Do you prefer silva jewelry or gold?” Ah...no. This is related to sylvan as in a sylvan glade.

sylvan
[sil-vuh n]
adjective
1. of, pertaining to, or inhabiting the woods.
2. consisting of or abounding in woods or trees; wooded; woody:
a shady, sylvan glade.
3. made of trees, branches, boughs, etc.
noun
4. a person dwelling in a woodland region.
5. a mythical deity or spirit of the woods.

“Our woods are sylvan, and their inhabitants woodmen and rustics...”
from Thoreau's The Maine Woods.


Well shit, I can't procrastinate any longer. It's time to find my fleece lined leggings, triking socks, forehead scarf and maybe see if I can tuck cat or two down my vest.