The Art of Legerdemain

The word legerdemain has a history of trickery--sleight of hand, and we are fascinated with it, even thrilled by its ability to hold us in awe.
What is it about the notion of being befuddled, even tricked, that we readily agree to suspending our disbelief even for a moment?
Perhaps, deep down in the human psyche, hope is at the root of our actions--hope in the context of the possible amidst the impossible, success juxtaposed with the unlikely. We are basically dreamers.  Writers have reflected our own thoughts about hopes and dreams through the ages:


Shakespeare in The Tempest:  Prospero says, "We are such stuff as dreams are made on and our little life is rounded with a sleep." The play fills us with the magic that comes with love and redemption and happy endings, the perfect ingredients for a Shakespearean romantic comedy.


Paulo Coelho in The Alchemist: The Alchemist teaches Santiago that, "When you are loved, there's no need at all to understand what's happening, because everything happens within you, and even men can turn themselves into the wind." And Santiago does just that.


Langston Hughes in "Dream Deferred": "What happens to a dream deferred? Does it dry up like a raisin in the sun?" In Lorraine Hansberry's play A Raisin in the Sun, the playwright transforms the painful racial integration of a white neighborhood into a triumph of magic to heal a broken family.


Our references to legerdemain are thus quite understandable, given our penchant for magic, even the metaphorical kind.  So, speaking of metaphors, we can easily use the word both metaphorically and literally. Placing an adjective before it turns legerdemain into a metaphor.


For example, while educational legerdemain might imply the magic of learning something new and helpful--a positive connotation of the word, political legerdemain could lead one to believe one has been duped by a more powerful authority--a negative connotation. Romantic legerdemain offers the magic of the sudden discovery of love in unexpected places, an often welcomed interpretation of the word.
In whatever way you choose to use the word, legerdemain renders precision in meaning, including imagery that shows as much as tells,  ideal circumstances for communicating.
Definition
Legerdemain:  sleight of hand; magic; trickery; deception; any artful trick


Pronunciation
(lej-er-duh-meyn)


Origin
Late Middle English (legerdemeyn, lygarde de mayne)  from Middle French (leger de main--translated literally, light of hand)
1400-1450


Part of Speech
Noun; adjectival noun


Examples
1.  The legerdemain of the loan officer created a magical illusion of prosperity for the young couple when she found them the lowest interest rate for their newly purchased home.


2.  What educational legerdemain did the English teacher conjure when all of her students passed the state exam, allowing them to graduate!


3.  Houdini's art of legerdemain was renown as he traveled from theatre to theatre in the South, escaping chains and adroitly tricking our eyes with his skillful cunning.




In his book All I Really Need to Know I Learned in Kindergarten, Robert Fulghum wrote,
“I believe that imagination is stronger than knowledge. That myth is more potent than history. That dreams are more powerful than facts. That hope always triumphs over experience. That laughter is the only cure for grief. And I believe that love is stronger than death.”  When we use the word legerdemain literally or figuratively, we use it with an understanding and appreciation of the place that magic holds in the hearts and minds of our readers. And connecting with people can be magic in itself.

Xenophobia and the Archetypal Warrior

In Dance of Language, I ask the question, "Will the legacy humankind leaves to future generations be one of esprit de corps--a spirit of loyalty that unites us and encourages us to help one another--or will it be one of betrayal, caused by greed and indifference to human suffering and need?" The answer, in part, may lie in how we view what social scientists call the other. Scholars who study human behavior attribute the conflict between kindness and hatred largely to the distress that comes from fear of the other--people who have ideas that differ from your own or even the conflicting ideas themselves--and the subsequent inability to tolerate those who are not like us. The term the media has been using with some frequency now is xenophobia.


Definition
Xenophobia:  an unreasonable fear or hatred of foreigners or strangers or of that which is strange or foreign or perceived as different


Pronunciation
(zen - uh - foh - bee - uh) or (zee - nuh - foh - bee - uh)


Origin
Latin: xenos + phobos (phobia) = stranger, guest + fear or flight
First appeared in English in 1903
Many ancient Greeks believed that foreigners were barbarians, that Greeks were superior and, therefore, many believed strangers were meant to be enslaved.


Part of Speech
Noun


Examples
1.  Historically most cultures engaged in some sort of enslavement, which developed from a heightened degree of xenophobia, until the philosophical belief in democracy slowly encouraged freedom for all citizens.


2.  Xenophobia exists even in the most civilized groups of people because of mankind's universal fear of the unknown and their tendency to create concomitant laws and behavior.


3.  Reason and compassion often serve as antidotes to xenophobia, and when they do, people once considered to be part of the other take their place among the ranks of nation builders--artists and scientists, writers and humanitarians, people of diversity who share their talents to strengthen a country.


The reasons for intolerance vary, but research shows that the more tolerance for ambiguity we have, the more we can accept and understand the mysteries of life, of which the other plays an important role.  Because certainty is not probable, we live in gray areas. Understanding that uncertainty is an immutable part of life, however, may be the best antidote to our anxieties about life's many conflicts, especially the ones based on fear of the unknown and unfamiliar.


Perhaps we can even conquer our own personal xenophobia.  Perhaps we can become archetypal warriors who commit to the higher values of courage, selflessness and tolerance for the people and things different from ourselves. Perhaps not only justice but also right would be done.

Wrestling with the Leviathan

Fear results from the unknown, either that which one cannot perceive with the senses and therefore is left to the imagination, or that which seems overwhelming to the senses, creating feelings of helplessness and thus also loss of hope.  The English language has words to express such gargantuan fear, but a Power Word with a Biblical and literary history that creates the consummate imagery you might be looking for is the word Leviathan.

Definition
Leviathan:  anything of immense size and power; something large or formidable; a sea monster in the Old Testament; often capitalized as the proper name of the sea monster


Part of Speech
Noun or adjectival noun (noun used as an adjective)


Pronunciation
[le  vahy  uh  thuh  n]


Origin
Middle English: leviathan, from late Latin, leviathan, from Hebrew, liwyathan, meaning twisted or coiled.
First used in the Bible in the books of Job and the Psalms as a proper noun, Leviathan
First recorded use as a common noun, leviathan:  1350-1400; used by Thomas Hobbs as the title of his 1651 political treatise on government


Examples


1.  The head accountant took two weeks off to sort out the leviathan budgetary crisis of the printing company, only to discover the monster had grown in size overnight.




2.  Autumn crispness in the air,  the cheerleaders' intoxicating yells energized the crowd to the rhythm of the band as their team stepped onto the field, an overpowering Leviathan ready to swallow their opponents.




3.  The megaship floating into the St. Thomas harbor was known as the Leviathan of the seas with  powerful gross tonnage and length equal to no other cruise ship in the world.


4.  The President of the United States must often wrestle with the leviathan responsibility allocated to the most powerful leader of the free world and perhaps even the planet.




We live in a world in which the immense and the powerful gain our attention and support until, of course, the weight of the monster crushes us. Such is the muscle of metaphor and the use of figurative aids such as allusions and Biblical allegory. Look at these examples.


In the book of Psalm 74:12-14, God destroys the Leviathan, a sea serpent, and gives it to the Hebrews as food in the wilderness. 
                 12  For God is my King from of old,
                       Working salvation in the midst of the earth,
                 13  You divided the sea by Your strength;
                       You broke the heads of the sea serpents in the waters,
                 14  You broke the heads of Leviathan in pieces,
                       And gave him as food to the people
                            inhabiting the wilderness.


Leviathan, a large sea monster, is mentioned again in the book of Job, Chapter 41 as God challenges him and tests his faith:
                1    "Can you draw out Leviathan with a hook,
                      Or snare his tongue with a line which you lower...
                9    Indeed, any hope of overcoming him is vain
                      Shall one not be overwhelmed at the sight of him?


Later in 1667, Milton writes about Leviathan in his epic blank verse poem Paradise Lost about the Biblical fall of man.  Book I, lines 200-202:
                     By ancient Tarsus held, or that Sea-beast
                     Leviathan, which God of all his works
                     Created hugest that swim th' Ocean stream...


Finally, in 1651Thomas Hobbs uses leviathan as the title of his famous essay written during the English Civil War, urging for a strong undivided government in opposition to war.


The word Leviathan carries with it so much meaning and historical significance that its usefulness to our language seems to grow exponentially in the strength of its allusion to the Bible.


When you choose the word leviathan, use it to enhance the enormity of the concept that you are describing. That person, place, thing, event, action--it isn't just big or tall or heavy.  It is a skyscraper lying on its side in the ocean, the tip so far away that its size seems minuscule.  Now that's real power, almost leviathan.

Quid Pro Quo and the Give-and-Take Society

The meanings of common words and phrases often change over time.  This linguistic behavior is widely known, accepted, and appreciated by word lovers.  Power Word #16, quid pro quo, is one of the expressions whose meaning has shifted. 


In the 1530's in England, the phrase was used to indicate the substitution of one medicine for another, both intentionally and accidentally.  By the beginning of the 17th century, quid pro quo was used to mean a substitute but in a more expanded way, something that was given or taken in exchange for something else.  Although today the expression finds itself useful in legal contexts and politics, the word implies numerous equivalent exchanges. Let's explore this idea a bit more.


Definition
Quid pro quo: one thing in return for another; a substitute; something that is given or taken for something else


Part of Speech
A noun; plural form:  quid pro quos or quids pro quo


Origin
1555-1565
Latin, literally something for something


Examples
1.  Because no agreement of quid pro quo existed between organizations, both groups worked independently without sharing vital information.


2.  The evidence came to the attorney in the first place as a quid pro quo from a credible but criminal source and was therefore deemed inadmissible.


3.  David didn't need a quid pro quo to achieve enough votes from the student body; he was a popular candidate with a strong ethos.


4.  Because the unusually large sum of money suddenly deposited into Morrison's bank account looked suspiciously like a quid pro quo, the FBI opened an investigation.


The concept of quid pro quo has both negative and positive connotations, giving it the possibility of ambiguity.  The expression implies indebtedness, that a gift of equal value must be repaid or the consequences of lost faith will ensue, but is that always how giving works?


In light of negative undertones, we must consider what such an attitude says about the nature of giving. How often is our willingness or generosity for giving connected to the notion of what we expect to receive in return?  How difficult do we find it to give freely without encumbrances or attachments, without the concomitant guilt or shame?


Psychologist Brene Brown wrote, "Until we receive with an open heart, we're never really giving with an open heart.  When we attach judgment to receiving help, we knowingly or unknowingly attach judgment to giving help."

On the other hand, quid pro quo enhances human interaction; that is, when we repay someone's kindness willingly, our old brain thinks we're doing it so that we'll feel good about ourselves as well as the receiver.  Face it; it actually does feel good to make other people happy.


Furthermore, is it wrong to want to keep the playing field level, to insure continued help from others or even future cooperation by giving or returning the favor?  Perhaps that question has more than one answer.


I suppose, like everything in life, it's all in how you look at it from where you're standing.  Nevertheless, the point is, when you hear the expression quid quo pro now, perhaps you will give it another thought.  Such is the power of words.

Raison D'etre, Adding a Brawny Punch to Life

 In an interview I heard recently on NPR about Syrian refugees to the U.S. learning English, the journalist concluded the program with this statement:  Learning English is the key to freedom.

In the current political crisis, I understand why she used the concept of freedom. Well, word friends, nothing is more powerful than freedom, and Power Word #14, raison d'etre is one of those superheroes of diction.  It offers its brawny punch to our writing and speaking as it underscores the things that give purpose to our lives.  What could be more compelling than unlocking and revealing what means the most to us?

Definition 
Raison d'etre:  reason for being; the reason for which a person or organization exists; the thing that is most important to someone or something


Origin 
From French
First known use:  1864

Use
Noun; plural form--raisons d'etre

Pronunciation
(rey zohn de truh)

Examples
1.  Taking care of the horses on her grandfather's farm seemed to be Jenny's raison d'etre, at least for the summer, which eventually led her to apply to veterinary school.
2.  The raison d'etre of the family was to provide a good education for their children, even at the sacrifice of their usual luxury vacations.
3.  The heated discussion between the two friends revealed the raison d'etre of their friendship, and they quickly patched things up.

When you look at the list below, the very fact that you recognize these names indicates little doubt about their raison d'etre.

Abraham Lincoln
Mother Teresa
John F. Kennedy
Martin Luther King
Nelson Mandela
Winston Churill
Bill Gates
Muhammed Ali
Mahatma Ganhi
Christopher Columbus
Charles Darvin
Elvis Presley
Albert Einstein
Leonardo da Vinci
Thomas Edison
Pope John Paul II
Rosa Parks
Superheroes of all sorts
Beethoven, and the list goes on.....

We ordinary human beings don't usually have just one particular interest--person, place, hobby, talent, that gives us our sole reason for living.  We have jobs, school, families, extracurricular activities and hobbies that consume our time and keep us devoted to maintaining order in our lives.  Occasionally, however, we do feel as though one special person is our everything.  Or our gratitude to a career that is especially enabling and productive leads us to believe, even momentarily, that this job is our raison d'etre, our purpose for continuing. It even may be the one thing that overshadows the bad and accentuates the good, solidifying that reason to go on living.  And perhaps it isn't the day job but the after hours activities--watching or engaging in sports, playing in an orchestra, enjoying friendships, traveling, that provide a raison d'etre and lend a different level of meaning to our lives.

Have you noticed that the added benefit to learning new words is thinking in greater depth about the application of the word to your own life?  The French call this something extra lagniappe. Another good word to make us more conscious beings.

Machiavellian, Amoral Member of the Dark Triad

Psychologists have a term for a collection of three undesirable personality traits:  narcissism, psychopathy, and Machiavellian-ism.  They call it the Dark Triad.  The third trait was named after Niccolo Machiavelli, the second chancellor from Florence, Italy who lived from 1469 to 1527.  In his book The Prince, Machiavelli discusses ways in which rulers of nations can use political expediency above morality and gain control of the people, basically through manipulation and deceit.

What kind of man Machiavelli was is surely demonstrated by the company he keeps in the triad:  narcissists and psychopaths.  Yet, we all know people such as he; therefore we must call it like it is and more importantly know it for what it means. Power Word #13, Machiavellian.

Definition
Machiavellian:  of or relating to Machiavelli; cunning, scheming, unscrupulous, amoral, opportunist, duplicitous, cut throat, unconscionable, unethical.  Can be used as an adjective or a noun--a person who follows the beliefs of Machiavelli.

Origin
Named for Niccolo Machiavelli, with the publication of his book The Prince in 1513

Examples
1.  Johnson's Machiavellian tendency to detach himself from any form of community building made him an ineffective member of the welcoming committee.

2.  The Machiavellian battle of ISIS to gain and control power over Syria and Iraq has been viewed by the West as a dark pessimistic view of brutal opportunism.

3.  During her last semester of college, Janie's philosophy professor assigned The Prince, the book that analyzes Machiavellian methods of governing people with manipulation, craft, and deceit.


Everyday life with its often mundane duties of jobs, school, and family life--hobbies and a bit of relaxation thrown in, often discourages serious responses toward leadership, including our government.  Generally the most we can hope for in exercising citizenship for the good of humanity is casting our informed vote in each election.  Furthermore, the average person is not a psychologist trained in the science of recognizing and diagnosing personality disorders. Yet, leaders of government, industry and business, and even education have indeed exhibited the cold selfishness that results in high priorities of money, power, and the advancement of one's career or position at the expense of the less powerful.  We don't need to look far to observe it happening today. Harsh management tactics and manipulative behaviors tend to stifle if not enslave people, and frequently because of our constraints of time and training and even consciousness, we are helpless in preventing them.

Thus, unfortunately, you won't find any answers to such madness in this post, but as you know, "Consciousness is as good as it gets."  Perhaps an awareness of the word might engender an awareness of our growing lack of tolerance for the actions of such power hungry leaders.

Savoir Faire, a Pleasure to Meet You

Some people never seem to get it right in social situations.  They get tongue-tied, or the words that they do manage to emit offend people, and what's worse, their lack of sophistication follows them like a bad penny, irrevocably repeating the behavior that holds them back from success. It has been said that skill with language is one of the most important qualities for getting ahead in life.


That being said, people with the ability to say and do the appropriate and graceful thing in these same social situations most assuredly have the advantage.  These are the people who show restraint and good judgment when speaking about delicate situations in public.  Savoir Faire is the man or woman with a firm handshake; a cautious, calm and appropriately friendly demeanor.  This social smoothness seems to serve them well, and they are remembered for it, which of course means they can climb the social ladder--or any other ladder they desire, with ease.


Yes, my friends, we have a word for it, savoir faire, thanks to the French who, by the way, invented many of the words we use for these important social skill-and-grace matters.  More on this in a moment.


Definition
Savoir faire:  the ability or instinctive knowledge to behave in a correct and confident way in different situations.  Used as both noun and adjective.


Origin
Savoir faire:  French, savoir--to know; faire--to do (to know how to do)
                       Latin, sapere + facare= to know + to do
First recorded use: 1815


Examples

1.  Jasmine, a savoir faire sophisticate, responded to the brutal questions posed by the reporters with tact and delicacy in light of the latest Washington scandal.


2.  Lucy Hargraves mingled among the attendees at the party, many A-list guests from around the world, with her usual savoir faire, greeting them with graciousness and charm.


3.  Alone in her convictions but tolerant of others, Sophia sailed through the school year with savoir faire, skillful in her dignity and good judgment for someone only thirteen years old.


Thinking about this new Power Word, savoir faire, I tried to conjure up all the famous and not-so-famous people I knew, or knew of, who might be contenders for the right of ownership.  Few people came to mind in the true sense of consistent behavior and not just a one-off.  The title is a demanding one, and so those who are the true savoir faire sophisticates are rare gems:  Franklin Roosevelt, Abraham Lincoln, Audrey Hepburn, Jackie Kennedy, the screenwriter/playwright Moss Hart.  There are others, of course, but then savoir faire wouldn't be a power word, would it, if all of us held this esteemed position.


Because of its power, the word savoir faire and its meaning have been adopted by cruise lines, restaurants and hotels, culinary arts, photography, tourist spots, theme parties, the perfect job interview that went without a hitch, the deal made so seamlessly, hosting the quintessentially elegant party, and French culture.  What do they all have in common?  Refinement, luxury, the peak of principled actions and speech.  Once again the power of persuasion in marketing is about the language we use--words, metaphors, and the etiquette by which we define our behavior day by day.

No doubt the French have cornered the market on savoir faire.  After all, they did invent the word, but the French may have also been the first to demand refinement throughout their culture.  Take a look at this list of French words and expressions that reveal their interest in a suave facility of life:

• bon vivant--an epicurean who enjoys the good life
• coup de maître--master stroke, planned action skillfully done
• de rigueur--required or expected, especially in fashion
• déclassé--inferior social status
• élan--distinctive flair or style
• Haute Ecole--prestigious higher education
• joie de vivre--joy of life
• panache--verve, flamboyance
• par excellance--quintessential, the very best
• savoir-vivre--etiquette
• soigne--fashionable, polished

So...
Voila, mes amies!  There you have it, friends.  Most of us do not consider ourselves savoir faire sophisticates with worldly wise experiences and that touch of elegance.  We're not perfect.  We make mistakes and say the wrong things.  Nevertheless, setting a goal to develop the skill and graciousness for speaking and responding adroitly to the people around us is a good beginning that deserves our attention; it comes with the promise of a better life.  N'est-ce-pas? Right?


Right.

Sentient, Hearts and Brains Wanted

One of my favorite Jungian scholars, James Hollis, has quite often remarked that, "Consciousness is as good as it gets."  Hollis, who after serving the C.G. Jung Center in Houston, Texas for many years, is now the Executive Director of the Jung Society of Washington, D.C.  In his comment, he refers to a keen awareness of ourselves, a mindfulness of who we are, what we want, and what we must do to move forward. So, yes, I would say that's pretty close to the top of where we'd like to be in life.


Today's Power Word #11 offers us a way to express that consciousness: sentient.


First, let's get the pronunciation out of the way.  The preferred pronunciation seems to sound like this, two syllables with the accent on the first syllable:  (sent shuhnt)


A second pronunciation would sound like this, with three syllables, the accent again on the first syllable:  (sent tee uhnt)


Your choice.  The British use the first one and Americans use both, if they use it at all, which is why I chose sentient as word #11. This is one of those words with exactness of meaning, not to mention using the word will make you sound smart, which never hurts.


Origin
Sentient:  From the Latin sentire, to feel or perceive; present participle form, sentient, sentiens
First recorded use:  1595-1605


Definition
Sentient: conscious of sense impressions; sensitive to perception or feeling
Synonyms:  aware, conscious, mindful, cognizant, perceptive
Antonyms:  insentient, devoid of feeling and consciousness


Uses
Adjective:  sentient
Adverb:  sentiently
Noun: sentient (a person who is keenly aware of his/her surroundings and thoughts)


Examples
1.  Taking the life of a sentient being is not always a crime, especially if the victim is an animal used for food.


2.  Vegetarians choose the path of avoiding meat for health reasons but also because they believe all living creatures are sentient, making it a sin to slaughter them.


3.  The electronic robotic vacuum whisked across the floor with its sentient detection of dust, magically disappearing in its wake.


4.  Being out on the street and hungry, the disheveled man was fully sentient of his degraded state.


No doubt we sentients are capable of feelings, sensing all things around us, but do we always take time to engage in mindfulness?  Do we slow down just a bit and really think about the needs of others as well as our own needs, not just the material needs but those of the heart and spirit?  And if we did, what do you think would happen?


Psychologists explain that consciousness and mindfulness incline the heart toward good will, the first steps toward kindness, generosity, compassion, and wisdom.


We are not robots.  We are the Tin Man and the Scarecrow looking for our hearts and brains.  When we find them, we become the sentient people we were meant to be.

Draconian, Hyperbole of Fairy Tales?

Draconian, power word #10, has an interesting history, but its current use begs the filter of hyperbole.  Cinderella's stepmother comes to mind. Before we examine that hyperbole, let's take a look at the backstory.


Once upon a time, say the eighth century B.C.E., a group of powerful Athenians controlled land, politics, and money, which also means that the law favored them over most other Athenians who lived in poverty.  This is already beginning to sound like Cinderella.


At any rate, things got so bad for the poor by year 621 B.C.E. that they approached an Athenian legislator named Draco, who responded by creating a written code of law.  The problem was, however, his code got so out of hand that even the most minor offenses were punishable by death, and failure to pay one's debts would result in slavery.  Ironically, the code led to even greater power of the aristocracy over the poor. Although the laws were eventually changed, today any measures that have severe, unrealistic results in which the punishment does not fit the crime might be called draconian, thanks to the Athenian Draco.


Definition
Draconian/draconian (lower case as well): an adjective meaning unusually cruel or severe; rigorous


Origin
Draconian:  Greek, drakon; Latin, dracon--stem of draco: a kind of serpent, the sharp sighted one.
It's interesting to note that the root of Draco and Draconian is also the root of dragon. Here's a superb example of a metaphor turned hyperbole as you will see in the examples.
First recorded use: 1810-1820


From Metaphor to Hyperbole
The use of figurative language in our everyday speech adds color and vitality to whatever we want to communicate, whether it's telling a joke or writing a serious essay.  Power word #10, draconian, offers hyperbole, that is, a word used in exaggeration.  If you refer to something as draconian, your intention might be to exaggerate the number of times the coach made you run around the track, even though her request wasn't really out of the ordinary in terms of team practice and even your good health.  Somehow, exaggeration seems to make us feel better, and we can even laugh about the cleverness of it. And you really do like your coach.  She's not the dragon type.


Animation, especially a number of Disney characters, boasts some of the most dramatic and memorable examples of draconian behavior.  No one likes Cinderella's cruel and heartless stepmother who turns the lovely image of sweetness, Ella, into a kitchen wench full of ashes with no hope of meeting the prince.  What a dragon!


Then there's Cruella Deville and the wicked witch who gives Snow White the poisoned apple, and Rapunzel's wicked stepmother who imprisons her in a tower--the endless list of draconian women in fairy tales old and new.  Have you ever wondered why they're mainly women?


Examples:
1.  Ella pulled on the door knob, and realizing her dreams of meeting the prince drift away behind a door shut tight by her draconian stepmother, she allowed the tears to fall.


2.  The guidelines for taking lunch breaks, instituted by the new manager of the store's shoe department, seemed draconian to the clerks who had been abusing the system for years.


3.  As Billy looked at the list of homework assignments in his planner juxtaposed with his athletic schedule, he began to doodle caricatures of his draconian task masters.


While the word draconian has evolved into the metaphor-hyperbole state and our exaggerations are somewhat harmless, we know that we live in a world in which the soft underbelly of the dragon cannot atone for the fiery breath that sears the soul and scourges the lives of those who in reality struggle to survive as well as all of us who long for justice.

Dichotomy, a Necessary Balance

We live in a world of antithesis, stark opposites that sometimes seem quietly juxtaposed while at other times gnashing and crashing wildly into one another.  Whichever situation you might experience, the result is, at a basic level, the same: a dichotomy of two elements that are opposed or entirely different from each other.  When you point out a dichotomy, you draw a clear distinction between two things to illustrate the contrast. Hence, we now have power word #9, dichotomy.


Definition
Dichotomy:  a division into two parts or kinds that are different from each other; two ideas that are opposites


Origin
Greek, dichotomia.
     dicho--in two parts, in pairs
     tomia--to cut
First recorded use in 1600-1610


Examples
1.  Attempting to keep his students awake, the instructor injected humor into his lecture as he clarified the dichotomy between the social behavior of men and women.


2.  The dichotomy between light and dark in Hawthorne's writing supports the antithesis of good and evil.


3.  When Jane pointed out the dichotomy between their budget and their expenses, she drew a clear distinction between their values and their whimsical desires.


4.  The continually diverging policies of the two political candidates revealed the stark dichotomy between the visions of their campaigns.


Although we normally think of dichotomy as a division between people and things, the truth is without these necessary opposites, we would not have the concomitant tool that is necessary to teach us how to make decisions, how to have choices, and how to live a balanced life. 


Think of life without night and day, light and dark.  Imagine only good or only evil.  It's impossible because all of these contrasting elements complement each other.  As much as we struggle with frustration over the most unusual Presidential election we have experienced in our lifetime, we still would not want to live in a country without a two-party system, no matter how wide the dichotomy.


The only way to live a life of harmony is to insure a life of balance, the balance of opposites.

Symbiosis: Win-Win

Symbiosis, word #8, is a good word that can be useful in multiple contexts.  You will find its adjective form, symbiotic, more frequently used unless you happen to be a scientist, or at least a science aficionado.


Before I expound on the benefits of  knowing how to use the words symbiosis and symbiotic, let's look at a straightforward definition.




Definition
Symbiosis:  a close interaction between two living things that depend on each other.  This relationship could be biological species, organisms--actually any kind of living beings.  They work together and depend on each other.  Most of the time, that is, and when they don't, one becomes a parasite.




Origin
Greek:  sym, together; bio, to live (to live together)
First recorded use: 1615-1625


As history would have it, in 1877 the word symbiosis was used to describe the dependent relationship of lichens, and two years later scientists would refer to the coexistence of two unlike organisms.


Today English speakers employ the word in a more figurative way, which is typical of so many words and phrases that have become metaphors.  Symbiosis now frequently describes a relationship between two people or groups that work together as a team.  One helps the other as they progress through the daily routine of the relationship.  Occasionally, our language reverts to science in which we witness one organism taking without giving back.  So much for teamwork.  We might call that person a parasite.


Examples
The animal kingdom offers a sweet example.  Along any country road in Texas one might find a field of cattle accompanied by lovely white egrets, small white birds.  They're like bird groupies hanging out with the cows, but both the cattle and the birds have a quite satisfying symbiotic relationship.  The egrets like the insects stirred up by the hooves, but they also like to sit on the backs of the animals and eat those annoying bugs that bite the cattle, who no doubt appreciate the egrets' assistance. What a happy coexistence for both!


Another favorite example is the honey bee, who gathers nectar and pollen from flowers which she transfers to the hive but at the same time pollinates the plants so they can reproduce.  Win-win. Furthermore, what scientists have discovered is that flowers that are visited more often by bees will produce larger and more uniformly shaped fruit.  Most of the fruits and vegetables in our diet depend on pollination for growth and production, but the bee gets her due, a well-fed bee hive. I call that a symbiotic rock star.


Finally, I can't leave this article without mentioning the incredible human interaction that sometimes produces miracles when people work together to help each other strive and become the people they were meant to be.  The Olympic teams this year come to mind.  While the medalists certainly reap many benefits, their countries swell with pride--newfound hope, and experience the symbiotic relationship of what Maslow called the critical human need to find one's place, not in isolation, but in the whole of society. Definitely win-win.

Chimera, Myth or Reality?

Chimera, Power Word #7, is an interesting choice dating back to Greek mythology, traveling through Latin, Old Norse, Middle English, and ending up in our language today with a myriad of useful meanings and metaphors.


Because of its complicated journey through etymology, I'll begin with a tale from Greek mythology.


The Chimera, sometimes spelled Chimaera, was a fire-breathing monster with the body of a lion, the head of a goat rising from its back, and a long tail that ended in a serpent's head.  In Greek mythology, it was the offspring of Typhon and Echidna and the sibling of Cerberus and Lernaean Hydra.  Can you imagine how terrified the Greeks must have been?  If their gods were real to them, which they were, then the possibility of a Chimera was, too.


The story goes something like this.  A fire-breathing monster residing in Lycia, the southern coast of Turkey, that ravages the land has to be stopped, right? Who better for the task than a Greek hero.  Because of a series of tasks that our Greek hero Bellerophon is required to perform (the reasons for it comprise another story), his favor with the gods allows him to bridle and ride Pegasus.  From high above on his winged horse, Bellerophon shoots arrows at the Chimera and kills it, redeeming Bellerophon as a hero once more.


Etymology:  Greek khimaros; Latin chimaera, Middle English chimera
                     Old Norse gymbr (a ewe lamb) + Latin heims and Greek cheimon
                      (winter) a ewe-lamb or goat one winter (year) old. 


Somewhere along the line, the goat must have been added to the lion and so forth.


Now let me direct you to the definitions that have arisen from this imaginary monster.


Definition 1:  a fire-breathing monster of Lycia composed of the parts of different animals, a lion, a goat, and a snake


Definition 2:  in genetics, an occurrence in humans when mutation or grafting results in at least two genetically different kinds of tissue.


Whoa.  Stop a minute.  What kind of mutation or grafting exactly?  Well, apparently people who have bone marrow transplants receive donor red blood cells from the marrow that are not genetically the same as other cells in their own body.  No harm done, let me add.


Another example of a genetic chimera takes place when fetal cells travel to the mother's organs during pregnancy and often stay there for a lifetime.  Cool.


My final example here illustrates the marvels of nature and the human body.  A fetus can assimilate its twin if one embryo dies very early in pregnancy and the cells are absorbed, resulting in two sets of DNA with the code to make two separate organisms.  Another chimera.  Mind-blowing science, isn't it.


Definition 3:  This meaning is the one you will most often use figuratively.  A chimera can also be something that is so strange and unlikely that logic tells you it shouldn't exist.  Yet it does.  Now that you know the origin of the word and its interesting scientific reference, this definition might not be so difficult to grasp.


Definition 4:  Or maybe you'd just like to stick with an easy definition--a chimera that exists in the imagination and is not possible in reality. None of us has actually seen a fire-breathing monster with body parts of a goat and a snake.  Not literally anyway.


Examples:


1.  Bellerophon, dropping the reins not a moment too soon, released his bow at the fiery Chimera, the arrow piercing the smoke-filled sky and slaying the beast who had scourged Lycia for the last time.


2.  It was an ordinary day when Marti came in for her lab work, but two weeks later a surprising report indicated an extraordinary chimera. Two sets of DNA resided in her body, which could only mean one thing: she once had been twins.


3.  The man standing at his door handing him a check for a million dollars undoubtedly was a chimera beyond his wildest imagination, and, sure he must be dreaming, Arthur laughed nervously and asked for the man's identification.


4.  The fire jumped from the stove to the wooden cabinets, licking the surface before devouring the wood, a virtual chimera that would soon destroy the small frame house.




How fortunate for all of us devotees of literacy that we have such creative choices in our language to describe whatever we wish:  a storytelling chimera, a scientific chimera, a metaphoric chimera, and a mythological allusion to chimera. In whatever way we choose to employ this lovely word, the image  rendered will be unforgettable. Never take for granted the power of words!

Ian Turnbull's "The English Teacher"

Found it ever so appropriate to reprint a lovely birthday poem from my good friend and fellow writer, Ian Turnbull.  Thank you so much, Ian, for your beautiful verse.




The English Teacher

What light is this
Shining on manuscripts written long ago
It is her gift
Passed on to us so we may know

The hearts of men
Vile villainy's evil conceit
Thrives in chasms
Where right is wronged and is desolate in defeat

Trapped in the plot
We sink to those depths too
Succumbing to the sulphurous stench
Subsumed in the devil's stew

Yet stay with her
She tells that very same pen
Demonstrates ideals
The sword unsheathed of righteous men

Fables and tales
We share the saddle of the knight
Expectations signaled
The impending heroic fight

Justice restored
Once more we breathe good air
Evil vanquished
Good fortune banishes despair

From conflict
We now are steered away
To life's joys and pains
We're taken along this way

Melancholic metaphors
The tormented suitor spurned
Oh unrequited love
Carnal desires not returned

What rare romance
Only the moon witnesses the kiss
Nuptials planned
The true nature of the tryst

Yet even more
Now transfixed in the language of love
What joy's unleashed
A perception of the heavens above

What a journey
The articulated message sought
Replete in
Comprehending the author's every thought.

Ian Turnbull

Like · Reply · 1 · July 27 at 5:15am

Caveat, I'm Warning You

In the language of trust, we speakers and writers of English have developed, over a span of centuries, the need to express warnings, precautions, consequences.  In fact, we've borrowed an exceptional word from Latin:  caveat.


Definition
caveat:  a precaution or warning


Origin
From Latin, caveat is the third person singular present subjunctive tense of cavere, to take care, to be cautious


Examples
1.  Wary of his numerous failed attempts at exhilarating and risky behavior, Margaret offered her brother a stern caveat as he described his latest adventure, skydiving.


2.  The obvious caveats appear by law on over-the-counter drugs as well as prescriptions in order to protect and inform the user of possible side effects.


3.  Professor Barnes' assignment came with a caveat:  Don't wait until the night before to write your ten-page research paper.


Two Latin expressions incorporating the word caveat can also contribute to your repository of power words:


Caveat lector:  let the reader beware
Example:  Polarizing sides of a political campaign often create a situation in which caveat lector might be essential:  Take what you read about each candidate with a grain of salt until you have researched the issues yourself.


Caveat emptor:  let the buyer beware
Example:  Caveat emptor also serves as a precaution for the seller who doesn't want negative repercussions after the sale but happy, satisfied customers who know exactly what they bought.


How many times have you listened with dread to those odious words, "I'm warning you!"  As much as we try to avoid circumstances of risk, the truth is, we are usually more amenable to accepting the precaution than jumping into a situation blindly with unpleasant consequences.  Hearing a caveat even if you don't care to, my dear reader, may save your life.  Good word, caveat.

Nonpareil, Without Equal

In Shakespeare's Twelfth Night, Cesario, who is really the main character Viola disguised as a boy, tells the lovely Olivia that she is the nonpareil of beauty. And that she is.


Within the comic madness of the play, Shakespeare arranges for three suitors--Duke Orsino, Andrew Aguecheek, and Malvolio, to attempt to win the hand of this beautiful, clever, wealthy young woman.  Toward the end of the play, however, Viola's long-lost brother Sebastian can't believe his good fortune--he must be dreaming, he says, for he is the chosen one.


And so we have a new word:  nonpareil. 


Definition
nonpareil:  without equal, peerless


Origin
1400-1450, late Middle English from Middle French
non (not) + pareil (equal)


Examples
1.  As best friends go, Betty was the nonpareil of all the people he had ever known, and he married her.  (noun)


2.  Nonpareil to most financial institutions, the old bank, which had been in operation since 1903, survived the Great Depression and never closed its doors.  (adjective)




Oddly enough, another definition exists that seems completely different from the one above but actually has a legitimate connection.


Definition #2
nonpareil:  a small pellet of colored sugar used for decorating sweets (Most often we call them "sprinkles"); a flat, round bite-size piece of chocolate covered with these sprinkles. See below.

Frankly, I'm not at all opposed to relating this lovely little word, nonpareil, to chocolate or even multicolored sprinkles, the kind you absolutely must have when baking Christmas cookies.  After all, these little confections just might be without equal in their decorative enhancement of yummy sweets.
See you in the next word, friends.

The Mot Juste: Our Search for the Perfect Word

What would twenty-five blog posts on the benefits of word power be without an entry on the perfect word or phrase for any situation?  Precision, exactness in diction is, after all, what we're after and thus is the subject for today.  Many thanks to the French for lending us mot juste, a label that attempts to identify perfection in our word choice.


Definition
mot juste:  the perfectly appropriate word or phrase for the situation about which you are writing or speaking


Origin
French
It seems to have been coined in the nineteenth century by novelist Gustave Flaubert (author of Madam Bovary), who, like many other writers, spent a lifetime searching for the right words.


Examples
1.  Shakespeare was a master of the mot juste, coining over 1500 words himself.


2.  Bill gazed into her eyes, relieved to find the mot juste, for her response was the one he had been praying for.


3.  His final essay for the course, banal and lacking in imagination, was a clear indication of his disregard for the mot juste.


4.  Cilla's natural inclination for the mot juste earned her a job as the senator's speech writer.




Did you notice that the word mot juste isn't necessarily itself the perfect word?  It does, however, identify the importance of seeing or hearing the right word.




One of my favorite writing gurus, Donald Murray, said, "We write to explore the constellations and galaxies that lie within us, waiting to be mapped with our own words." 


Without question, Murray's imagery demonstrates the power of the mot juste when writers and readers, too, stumble onto that perfect word, perhaps on the journey or even serendipitously. And they will never be the same.

Tabula Rasa: Nature or Nurture?

Throughout history philosophers and psychologists have been discussing, writing about, and debating word #3 in the Powerful Words series:  tabula rasa.  Just talking about this word would cause tempers to flare and arguments to heat up among great thinkers of the past, so what better choice than this one to give power to your diction.


Okay, another word borrowed from Latin.  So what does it mean?


Definition of  tabula rasa: a blank slate


Take a look at the famous people who have expressed fiercely different opinions about this word and its meaning:  Aristotle and the ancient Greeks, Avicenna the Persian, John Locke, St. Thomas Aquinas, Steven Pinker, B. F. Skinner, Sigmund Freud, and Carl Jung, to name a few.


The early philosophers like Aristotle believed that the human mind begins blank but acquires knowledge as it is learned in a variety of ways.


John Locke wrote that at birth, the mind is a blank slate that is filled by sensory experiences.


Jean-Jacques Rousseau said that humans must learn how to engage with others, even through warfare, and that this information was not innate.


Sigmund Freud, known as the father of modern psychology, believed that the human mind, in particular personality traits, is formed through the interaction of family dynamics.  In other words, we are what we are because of our upbringing.


Although a more modern psychologist, Skinner, too, implied that individuals are born with a blank slate, but as time progressed, these great thinkers began to acknowledge that perhaps the brain is receptive or actually programmed to pick up certain kinds of information spontaneously.  Not so blank any more, eh? 


Today we frequently hear that human beings are formed as much by nature (innateness) as by nurture(experience and teaching), but the debate is far from over.


My favorite theory comes from Carl Jung.  He said humans are born with a psychological heritage as well as a biological heritage as a result of a long evolutionary process.  He clearly did not believe in the tabula rasa idea as an explanation for how we learn.


In Jung's theory of the collective unconscious, he wrote that certain images or symbols represent those instinctual energies called archetypes.  Take for example, the tree, the most dominant symbol of life.  Every culture across the bounds of time recognizes this same symbol and its meaning without having learned it.  Thus Jung believed that all humans are born knowing these archetypes and archetypal patterns such as the hero's journey, which are stored in the collective unconscious, that mysterious, seemingly unattainable part of our minds that we have access to only through our dreams. 


Well, when you think about it, how did ancient people all over the world have the same story patterns and symbols that we have today?  They obviously did not learn them from us.


There's so much more, but let's stop here with the backstory.  The question is, how can you add this word to your speaking and writing vocabulary without having to be an expert on the history/philosophy surrounding the term?


You might find it easier to use the words clean slate/blank slate instead of the Latin tabula rasa.


Look at the four sentences below for some examples:


1.  My career has taken an interesting direction with this new job, and I finally feel like I have a blank slate to introduce my ideas.


2.  Jack's blank slate theory of dating resulted in starting over with a new girlfriend every six months.


3.  Much to Amy's relief, the new grading period offered her a clean slate and a fresh start with her math class.


4.  Forgiveness led to a clean slate in our friendship, and we began what would become a much happier journey together through high school.


One last thought.  You can still use the expression tabula rasa in place of blank slate.  This decision is part of the good news about working on your diction.  You have so many choices when you're trying to find your writing voice.  Learn to enjoy words and they will do half the work for you!






   

Nexus: Making Connections and Going with the Flow

The English language cuddles up to its metaphors like a dog in your favorite chair, and just as the pooch, we take our metaphors for granted.  Yes, I'm leading up to Word #2 in my Powerful Words series:  nexus. 


If you're a techie and even if you're not, you've no doubt heard of Nexus, that line of consumer electronic devices owned and promoted by Google.  No?  Well, if you're a seasoned traveler, maybe you know the Nexus program that's run by U.S. Customs and Border Protection that allows pre-screened travelers to enter the U.S. and Canada.


But I'm getting ahead of myself.  Let's start with the definition.


Definition of nexus:  a relationship or connection between people or things; a sequence, string, train, succession, flow, continuum, gamut, circle, cycle, chain.  (Whew!  Enough with the synonyms.)


Etymology:  from Latin, nectere, to bind
                     first known use, 1663


You see, creative business ventures know better than anyone the power of metaphors, helping consumers "see" the meaning of a product or service by creating images for us with words, especially figurative language such as the metaphor.


When Google and U.S. Customs and perhaps countless others use the word nexus, they want you to see how their products and services are actually about the connections we not only think we need but that psychologists tell us we can't live physically and emotionally healthy lives without.  The resulting impact is that we then buy these products.  Powerful persuasion, right?


So if we step out of the consumer box for a moment, how can we improve our diction and use this word with skill in everyday speaking and writing?


If you are part of the economic nexus, might you be looking for a financial upswing, maybe a raise in your allowance, or a bull market for your investments?


If you have concerns about the environmental nexus, do you recycle and reuse?  Have you gone green? Are you ready to do your part to prevent global warming?


As a teacher, I am part of an educational nexus, moving in the flow of change so that children may have access to learning and become the people they were meant to be.


And if you're really into the nexus of metaphorical language, your sweetheart may be your nexus of love, engaging you in the captivating cycle of the stages of romance and ending, hopefully, in eternal bliss for the two of you.  That's a nice thought, eternal bliss.


Ah, aren't words grand?  Enjoy your new gift.  Nexus.

The Power of One Little Word

One of the greatest joys of parents early in a child's life is waiting to hear what the first word will be, the anticipated utterance that will connect this baby's first thoughts with a word that consciously names it. Whether it is  the traditional mama or daddy, the great expectation is for the word itself.


As this child grows up, each additional word will accompany the growth of the thinking and experiential processes, and what could be more exciting or more important than accumulating words for a lifetime of communicating, not only for the people surrounding this new little wordsmith but especially for the child herself.  And once he learns the power of language, the words will come streaming in, but then what?  What will happen when choices about language are made, inadvertently or consciously, and will the choices perhaps be directed at a child who will have little control over them?  That could be unfortunate at best and scary at worst.  Why?


Words change our lives.  We wait for them with longing, sometimes with great anxiety--the words of love or understanding between ordinary human beings, the apology, the explanation, the diagnosis, even simply a yes or  no.  What enormous potential for communicating are words, clear and luminous so that we may see beyond the darkness and into the light of knowing.


Hence, my next twenty-five blog posts will focus on those words that contribute to lambent literacy.  The posts will be short enough to learn some new words with few encumbrances and long enough to glean some additional fodder for thinking, reading, and writing and communicating with power.


Let's begin now.  Here goes.


Word One:  deus ex machina  (Okay, that's three and they're Latin, but if you separate them, you lose the meaning.  So try to see them as one word.)


Definition:  the literal translation from Latin is god from the machine. I first heard the term when I was studying Shakespeare and the technical stage in which a "god" suddenly appears from the mechanical workings of the stage to solve a seemingly unsolvable problem.  The evolution of deus ex machina has resulted in any plot device in which a problem is suddenly resolved by a stroke of good luck, an unexpected and inspired intervention saving a character or situation from disaster. 


Does this remind you of, say, Harry Potter? You've no doubt seen this sudden and perhaps somewhat unbelievable rescue a number of times in literature or film, but let's look at it in a new light, a metaphorical one.


Could a person act as a deus ex machina, metaphorically, of course?  What if you have a friend or family member who shows up just at the right time to get you out of trouble, help you, or simplify a complex situation you have suddenly found yourself in?  Wouldn't that person be your deus ex machina? It's something to think about, right?  Good.  Let the word roll  around in your head a while like a familiar tune that won't go away.  And remember, it's actually not a new concept in literature.  We sometimes call it coincidence or the universe stepping in, but a rose by any other name would smell as sweet....(Those are Shakespeare's words.)Anyway, you get my drift.  Try to use your new word.  That's the best way to own it. See you in the next post.