Laodicean musings

Well, perhaps musings re: “Laodicean”, since neither meaning of the word applies to me.

I have to congratulate 13-year-old Kavya Shivashankar for winning this, especially with an obscure word that I didn’t know the meaning of until I was into my 20s.

The word in question makes me wonder, though, about the inclusion of such a very religion-specific word in a secular contest of this kind – and whether the bee also contains words which are derived from religions other than Christianity.

While “Laodicean” has to some degree been appropriated for use in describing a certain political sentiment (or lack thereof), it is more easily found in the book of Revelations than anywhere else – excepting perhaps a work of Thomas Hardy which still uses it in its religious context.

Can anyone – pardon the pun – enlighten me as to my wonderings above?

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A sesquipedalian exercise

I admit it; I’m a lexiphane, and often rodomontade about it. Many people evince a certain dyspathy toward such logophilia… but at the risk of being panglossian, I am inclined to tripudiate at the notion of more widespread lexicographical pedagogy, and hope that the often philodoxical and kakistocratic educational establishment might someday accomplish more than mere goving at this post. If through ontology alone I might maieutically induce someone to hansardize – to forsake intellectual omphaloskepsis for metanoia – it would cause me at least a modicum of vainglory.

Amid the apricity and psithurism which pervade much of the nation today, perhaps some young tatterdemalion might relinquish his or her linguistic pusillanimity, sequester himself or herself (no circumlocution or tmesis here) with a good dictionary and begin to mentally estivate.

And now, as proprioception causes me to remord a recent borborygmus, my loquacity and garrulousness find a terminus.

That was fun.

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