Monday Word of the Week: verisimilitude

I used that word three times in one page yesterday, in a memo on evaluating scientific learning exhibits.

It's a pretty word.

It always makes me think of pasta soup.

The Verisims!

A family sitcom based on the populars Sims game! Collect all the merchandize! Eat Verisims soup (no liability or warranty implied)!

...Why?

In my mind I get it mixed up with vermicelli...



silly, I know. :)

Hee hee! I guess that's somewhat reasonable...

That's prolly because it comes from the same Latin root as the Italian word "verismo" which literally means reality. (The word for truth is actually "verita".) I wanted to say this in my English class yesterday when the Prof brought this word up.

Oh Virgin! I hate the claim that literature is based on this concept--that it has to be a reproduction of reality. In a fundamental way it's true, but I fear they're using it in the sense to denegrate speculative fiction. -_-

A response, of sorts...

You said it was lonely, so I thought I'd write a little something, but it snowballed into crap... But, since I spent the time typing it (I'm a horrid typist) you get to read it, anyway! Hooray, crap! :)

A Conversation about Nothing

“She has verisimilitude,” Sarah said, nodding sagely at the television screen.

“Word-a-day calendar?” Rebecca asked, not looking up from her bowl of popcorn.

“Yeah, they can be a real pain, you know? You’re supposed to use each word at least five times each day, and they recommend ten,” Sarah sighed and shook her head.

“Oh, yes, I remember the day you had ‘autodidact.’ That was a fun one.”

“Dude, I spent so much time explaining what it meant I will never forget. Too bad it wasn’t a more useful word. No, I think the worst day was the time I had ‘hemorrhagic.’ Seriously, how do you work that into polite conversation? ‘Gee, Mrs. Tipton, that beet sauce reminds me of…” Sarah trailed off, shaking her head.

“Thank you, I am eating here!”

“Ironically, I ended up getting into a conversation with James – you remember James? – about how Richard Preston’s book The Hot Zone is a highly challenged book and that led to more instances of the phrase ‘hemorrhagic fever’ than I can count. So that one, at the end, was easy. But I was sweating until after the dinner party – I think I’d only managed to say it once, and I’m not sure it even counted.”

“You know it’s not like the Word-A-Day Calendar Police are going to come and get you if you miss a day, right?” Rebecca shifted in her seat to face Sarah. She held out the popcorn bowl, but Sarah shook her head.

“Popcorn bits get stuck under my bridge. Though it smells good, it’s too much of a pain. And, yes, I realize I don’t have to, but I like to try. Actually,” she paused, looking thoughtfully at Rebecca, “my new challenge is to try to use the word without you knowing it’s the word.”

“What?”

“Every time I use the ‘Word-A-Day’ word, you know. And you call me out on it, like you just did. So, my new goal is to be able to slip it into conversation without you realizing it.” Sarah smiled triumphantly.

“Why?”

“Just because. You were always so smart, it’d be nice to pull one over one you!”

“This isn’t a competition, silly,” Rebecca rolled her eyes at her.

“Maybe it should be!”

Rebecca sighed and slumped in her chair. “Does everything have to be a competition?”

“Yes.”

“Okay then, what are the rules? Is there a prize?”

Sarah sat back, and Rebecca returned her attention to the television. She had almost forgotten about it when Sarah spoke again, startling her.

“I’ve got it!”

“Got what?”

“The rules. And prize.”

“Oh, that…” Rebecca groaned.

“Right, that,” Sarah pulled a face at her. “No backing out now.”

“I won’t, don’t worry.”

“Okay, so each day you can guess that it’s ‘the word’ up to five times, but each time you’re wrong I get a dollar. If you’re right, you get a dollar. How about that?”

“Uh, it sounds like a losing proposition for me, since I know you’ll be using all sorts of words you wouldn’t normally, and it’d be impossible for me to guess which one was from the calendar and which ones you picked out of the dictionary. So, what if I don’t guess at all?”

“You have to!”

“No, I don’t!”

“Hrmph,” Sarah said, slumping back in her chair and crossing her arms across her chest. “You’re no fun.”

“I’m tons of fun,” Rebecca said, turning her attention again to the television. “Now, gimme my dollar for today…”