gad
verb, intransitive. To go around from one place to another, in the pursuit of pleasure or entertainment.
As soon as some members of her daughter's cadre of friends turned sixteen and got drivers' licenses, all of them began to gad about every weekend. They went to the mall, to sandwich and coffee shops, to each others' houses.... Sometimes they just drove around. Carla confessed that one Sunday afternoon, she, Jeanne and Debbie bought a pepperoni pizza, drove to an empty parking lot, and ate it in Jeanne's car during a downpour.
She understood it. She realized it sprang from their new independence, a result of their recently-earned ability to drive without supervision. Going out with friends, without having to convince an adult to enable the gatherings, was such a novelty at sixteen and seventeen, they still had not gotten their fill of it.
Fondly, she remembered her own college days. Somehow, she and her roommate and friends had filled their Friday and Saturday evenings, even though none of them had vehicles on campus, and none of them were old enough to go to the bars in the neighborhood nearby and drink. There was always something to do in the student union, and off-campus there were coffeehouses, where musicians and poets would sometimes perform. It had been a good time, and she hadn't missed her parents for a single minute.
Definitions adapted from The New Oxford American Dictionary, Oxford University Press, Inc., 2005 (eBook Edition, copyright 2008), and from Webster's Seventh New Collegiate Dictionary, G. & C. Merriam Company, Publishers, Springfield, Massachusetts, USA, 1965, depending on which is more convenient to hand.
Thursday, December 20, 2012
Saturday, December 15, 2012
Earmark
earmark
verb, transitive. To designate something, typically funds or resources, for a particular purpose. To mark the ear of an animal as a sign of ownership or identity. Also a noun.
Uneasy when she spotted the men near the cars, Marcia paused and observed them through the window in the stairwell door. Faintly, their voices sounded, echoing in the vast, underground space. After a minute or two, their voices grew fainter as they moved away from where she stood.
When she emerged into the garage, she caught a whiff of cigarette smoke. That told her that the men were just the temps HR had hired to drive today--not security. She wondered where the guards were. In the booth? If so, she had a problem.
Marcia glanced at her watch as she approached the cars. It was nearly nine-thirty. Yesterday, she had noticed both security guards in the lunchroom when she had stopped by to get a cup of vending-machine coffee. They weren’t supposed to be together, she knew, but discipline was lax at this company.
She walked purposefully toward the fleet, leased two days ago and earmarked for the motorcade this afternoon, trying to scan the shadowed distances of the garage without appearing to. Nervously, she fingered the key in her hand, wishing that her heels didn’t make so much noise on the concrete. It would only take a few minutes to enter the car, back out, and drive it to the exit. Once she reached the street, she knew she could get away. The windows of the rented vehicles were deeply tinted. If a garage attendant did see the car, he would not be able to see her at the wheel.
Definitions adapted from The New Oxford American Dictionary, Oxford University Press, Inc., 2005 (eBook Edition, copyright 2008), and from Webster's Seventh New Collegiate Dictionary, G. & C. Merriam Company, Publishers, Springfield, Massachusetts, USA, 1965, depending on which is more convenient to hand.
verb, transitive. To designate something, typically funds or resources, for a particular purpose. To mark the ear of an animal as a sign of ownership or identity. Also a noun.
Uneasy when she spotted the men near the cars, Marcia paused and observed them through the window in the stairwell door. Faintly, their voices sounded, echoing in the vast, underground space. After a minute or two, their voices grew fainter as they moved away from where she stood.
When she emerged into the garage, she caught a whiff of cigarette smoke. That told her that the men were just the temps HR had hired to drive today--not security. She wondered where the guards were. In the booth? If so, she had a problem.
Marcia glanced at her watch as she approached the cars. It was nearly nine-thirty. Yesterday, she had noticed both security guards in the lunchroom when she had stopped by to get a cup of vending-machine coffee. They weren’t supposed to be together, she knew, but discipline was lax at this company.
She walked purposefully toward the fleet, leased two days ago and earmarked for the motorcade this afternoon, trying to scan the shadowed distances of the garage without appearing to. Nervously, she fingered the key in her hand, wishing that her heels didn’t make so much noise on the concrete. It would only take a few minutes to enter the car, back out, and drive it to the exit. Once she reached the street, she knew she could get away. The windows of the rented vehicles were deeply tinted. If a garage attendant did see the car, he would not be able to see her at the wheel.
Definitions adapted from The New Oxford American Dictionary, Oxford University Press, Inc., 2005 (eBook Edition, copyright 2008), and from Webster's Seventh New Collegiate Dictionary, G. & C. Merriam Company, Publishers, Springfield, Massachusetts, USA, 1965, depending on which is more convenient to hand.
Wednesday, December 5, 2012
Dab
dab
verb, transitive. To press against something lightly with a piece of absorbent material in order to clean or dry it. To apply a substance with light quick strokes. To aim at or strike with a light blow. Also a noun.
Hunched over the worktable, Joshua dabbed at the plate and sourly considered his options. Priscilla had not only refused his proposal, she had refused it angrily. He had been so taken aback, he had not thought to ask her why. It couldn’t be his prospects, he thought. He was a journeyman printer now and could look forward to owning his own shop someday. He wasn’t bad-looking....
He put the rag down, then noticed his ink-blackened fingers. Was that it? His perpetually-stained hands? Surely Priscilla wasn’t so short-sighted as to reject him because of the marks his trade left on his body.
She was so neat and clean, Joshua thought as he wrestled the plate onto the press and clamped it. Maybe she feared that his hands would stain her clothes, her skin. Maybe he should forget her and find a woman whose standards would not be so ... petty.
He felt an agony of loss. How could he forget Priscilla? Whenever he saw her--on the street, in a shop--the sun itself seemed to blaze from her hair and eyes. No, forgetting her was impossible.
Definitions adapted from The New Oxford American Dictionary, Oxford University Press, Inc., 2005 (eBook Edition, copyright 2008), and from Webster's Seventh New Collegiate Dictionary, G. & C. Merriam Company, Publishers, Springfield, Massachusetts, USA, 1965, depending on which is more convenient to hand.
verb, transitive. To press against something lightly with a piece of absorbent material in order to clean or dry it. To apply a substance with light quick strokes. To aim at or strike with a light blow. Also a noun.
Hunched over the worktable, Joshua dabbed at the plate and sourly considered his options. Priscilla had not only refused his proposal, she had refused it angrily. He had been so taken aback, he had not thought to ask her why. It couldn’t be his prospects, he thought. He was a journeyman printer now and could look forward to owning his own shop someday. He wasn’t bad-looking....
He put the rag down, then noticed his ink-blackened fingers. Was that it? His perpetually-stained hands? Surely Priscilla wasn’t so short-sighted as to reject him because of the marks his trade left on his body.
She was so neat and clean, Joshua thought as he wrestled the plate onto the press and clamped it. Maybe she feared that his hands would stain her clothes, her skin. Maybe he should forget her and find a woman whose standards would not be so ... petty.
He felt an agony of loss. How could he forget Priscilla? Whenever he saw her--on the street, in a shop--the sun itself seemed to blaze from her hair and eyes. No, forgetting her was impossible.
Definitions adapted from The New Oxford American Dictionary, Oxford University Press, Inc., 2005 (eBook Edition, copyright 2008), and from Webster's Seventh New Collegiate Dictionary, G. & C. Merriam Company, Publishers, Springfield, Massachusetts, USA, 1965, depending on which is more convenient to hand.
Wednesday, November 21, 2012
Cackle
cackle
verb, intransitive. To give a raucous, clucking cry (of a bird, typically a hen or goose). To make a harsh sound resembling such a bird’s cry when laughing. Also a noun.
Morose after her long night in the nearly-deserted office, Anna trudged the store aisles, wishing someone else would do the grocery shopping for her once in awhile. It got so old, so tiresome, week after week--the same choices, the rising prices. It was always different, yet it never changed.
She finally came to the end of her list and made her way to the checkout stations at the front of the store. A few more customers were there than there had been when she started shopping, but not many. She had her choice of registers, and when Erin smiled and beckoned, she chose hers. Her bad mood didn’t lift at Erin’s pleasant greeting, and she knew her glum reply wasn’t very polite. She just couldn’t seem to shake off her depression.
As Erin scanned the last few items, Anna heard the cashier at her back cackle, “Mirror, mirror, on the wall, who’s the coolest of them all?” She saw Erin’s face crumple, then return to its usual bland expression with effort. It was as if Anna had been waiting for that inspiration all night, and perhaps she had. A profound belly-laugh gripped her and she let it take hold, let it out as she counted money, handed it to Erin and watched her count out the change. She was still laughing aloud as she put her purse away and pushed the cartful of sacks out the door to the parking lot.
Definitions adapted from The New Oxford American Dictionary, Oxford University Press, Inc., 2005 (eBook Edition, copyright 2008), and from Webster's Seventh New Collegiate Dictionary, G. & C. Merriam Company, Publishers, Springfield, Massachusetts, USA, 1965, depending on which is more convenient to hand.
verb, intransitive. To give a raucous, clucking cry (of a bird, typically a hen or goose). To make a harsh sound resembling such a bird’s cry when laughing. Also a noun.
Morose after her long night in the nearly-deserted office, Anna trudged the store aisles, wishing someone else would do the grocery shopping for her once in awhile. It got so old, so tiresome, week after week--the same choices, the rising prices. It was always different, yet it never changed.
She finally came to the end of her list and made her way to the checkout stations at the front of the store. A few more customers were there than there had been when she started shopping, but not many. She had her choice of registers, and when Erin smiled and beckoned, she chose hers. Her bad mood didn’t lift at Erin’s pleasant greeting, and she knew her glum reply wasn’t very polite. She just couldn’t seem to shake off her depression.
As Erin scanned the last few items, Anna heard the cashier at her back cackle, “Mirror, mirror, on the wall, who’s the coolest of them all?” She saw Erin’s face crumple, then return to its usual bland expression with effort. It was as if Anna had been waiting for that inspiration all night, and perhaps she had. A profound belly-laugh gripped her and she let it take hold, let it out as she counted money, handed it to Erin and watched her count out the change. She was still laughing aloud as she put her purse away and pushed the cartful of sacks out the door to the parking lot.
Definitions adapted from The New Oxford American Dictionary, Oxford University Press, Inc., 2005 (eBook Edition, copyright 2008), and from Webster's Seventh New Collegiate Dictionary, G. & C. Merriam Company, Publishers, Springfield, Massachusetts, USA, 1965, depending on which is more convenient to hand.
Sunday, November 4, 2012
Babble
babble
verb, intransitive or transitive. To talk rapidly and continuously in a foolish, excited, or incomprehensible way. To utter something rapidly and incoherently. To reveal something secret or confidential by talking impulsively or carelessly. Also an adjective or noun.
After the crash echoed through the building, he rose from his desk and went in search of its cause. It had sounded as if it came from the warehouse at the rear of the shop. As he approached that area, he joined a stream of others from the front offices, all babbling at once.
He did not join the chatter. He was thinking about what could have caused a noise loud enough to startle everyone in the front of the building. Nothing but silence had followed, and if anything, that was more ominous than the crash. He hoped he would find only a spilled pile of merchandise or a crumpled wall panel that had been hit by a forklift: anything but an unconscious or injured employee.
Definitions adapted from The New Oxford American Dictionary, Oxford University Press, Inc., 2005 (eBook Edition, copyright 2008), and from Webster's Seventh New Collegiate Dictionary, G. & C. Merriam Company, Publishers, Springfield, Massachusetts, USA, 1965, depending on which is more convenient to hand.
verb, intransitive or transitive. To talk rapidly and continuously in a foolish, excited, or incomprehensible way. To utter something rapidly and incoherently. To reveal something secret or confidential by talking impulsively or carelessly. Also an adjective or noun.
After the crash echoed through the building, he rose from his desk and went in search of its cause. It had sounded as if it came from the warehouse at the rear of the shop. As he approached that area, he joined a stream of others from the front offices, all babbling at once.
He did not join the chatter. He was thinking about what could have caused a noise loud enough to startle everyone in the front of the building. Nothing but silence had followed, and if anything, that was more ominous than the crash. He hoped he would find only a spilled pile of merchandise or a crumpled wall panel that had been hit by a forklift: anything but an unconscious or injured employee.
Definitions adapted from The New Oxford American Dictionary, Oxford University Press, Inc., 2005 (eBook Edition, copyright 2008), and from Webster's Seventh New Collegiate Dictionary, G. & C. Merriam Company, Publishers, Springfield, Massachusetts, USA, 1965, depending on which is more convenient to hand.
Saturday, November 3, 2012
Camp Ross Trails in the Queen City Discovery Blog
I ran across the Queen City Discovery blog while surfing. The link below is about the old Girl Scout camp where I spent a few weekends with my troop in the early 1960s. Those campouts were the inspiration for the title story in my anthology: Decision at Camp Ross Trails, and Other Stories, published for the Kindle -- http://www.amazon.com/dp/B007EDBNIO -- and on Smashwords for all other e-readers -- https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/175357 .
The place changed a lot after it was closed in 1989, but the 2005 photos on the Queen City Discovery post brought back a lot of memories nonetheless.
Queen City Discovery: Camp Ross Trails
Ann Witz's 1999 photos give a better idea of what the camp looked like in its heyday -- http://camprosstrails.intuitwebsites.com/index.html
The place changed a lot after it was closed in 1989, but the 2005 photos on the Queen City Discovery post brought back a lot of memories nonetheless.
Queen City Discovery: Camp Ross Trails
Ann Witz's 1999 photos give a better idea of what the camp looked like in its heyday -- http://camprosstrails.intuitwebsites.com/index.html
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