Ahhh, Beautiful Words

Last night we were out to dinner (Guero's on Congress, always good for a nosh and a walk) and our daughter ordered "smacked up avacados".  Now I realize that guacamole is the better title for this concoction for a number of reasons, but I have to say I liked what she came up with. It's honest and it's fun to say--food should be fun to order and if I had my choice I think I'd rather order Smacked Up Avacados than guacamole.

Thinking about this last night as I got ready for bed, I fired up the trusty iPhone and looked on Amazon.com's Listmania service (totally awesome if you are wondering) and yes, someone else had put together a list of books on the origins of words, phrases, etc. And, I was pleasantly surprised to realize that I had read at least two of the 19 books, and with a quick glance, I know that quite a few others will soon be gracing our shelves.

The first one I had read was The Professor and the Madman by Simon Winchester.  It is about the making of the Oxford English Dictionary and is, as one reviewer said, a "well told yarn".  It was astounding and oddly pleasureable (for me anyway) to realize through the reading of the book that something like the dictionary was only completed with the help of someone who was certifiably mad. Mad, I say!

The second book I had read was The Disheveled Dictionary:  A Curious Caper through our Sumptuous Lexicon by Karen Elizabeth Gordon.   For anyone who loves to have fun with language, this is a book for you.  I knew her as the author of the Transitive Vampire, the only book on the crafting of language I every really understood.  But I loved this book--it's funny and yummy--and useable.  In fact, it helped me put into words the antagonism I have  for the recidivist crepuscular mammalian who has been excavating our garbage.  Her examples will actually leave you laughing, but one must start somewhere.

(If you want to see all of the books on this list, here is the link:  Listmania Books about Words)

In any case, creativity, as they say, is all about hiding your sources.  So I will continue to listen to my daughter and her verbose wit, while we both coninute to love our Smacked Up Avacados.