I’m currently reading Erin Morgenstern’s The Night Circus, a magical read with dark, mysterious undertones. It’s giving me plenty of words to add to my vocabulary list.
A sign that hangs at the gates of the Night Circus reads:
Gates Open at Nightfall and Close at Dawn
Trespassers will be exsanguinated
Doesn’t exsanguinated send a chill down your spine? It should. It means: to drain of blood. Creepy, right? Would definitely keep me out of the Night Circus. Here’s all the info:
exsanguinated: \ek(s)-‘san-gwə-nāt\ verb, from the Latin ex + sanguine- blood
My years in health care (as a P.T.) gave me a clue to this one- I knew sanguine referred to blood, and with the “ex” in front, it couldn’t be good.
To balance the dark themes, The Night Circus also offers plenty of extraordinary, magical fun, including cloud mazes and wishing trees. Characters think and talk a lot about their ability to alter perception and see into the future or the past.
After one performer in the circus gives birth to twins, a fellow performer announces that the twins’ hair, bright red, is an auspicious color. Of course it is! (If you can’t tell from my profile pic, I’m a red head.)
Auspicious: \o-‘spish-əs\ adj, from the Latin auspic= diviner by birds (avis- bird + specere- to look)
Affording a favorable sign, propitious
I’m curious about how we got from bird watching to predicting favorability. Word etymology is so fun!
Word Nerd Workout: Try using one of the new words in a sentence. I’m going to stay away from blood.
The warm, clear weather at our first stop marked an auspicious beginning to the trip.
Now it’s your turn; click on the comments to flex your word nerd muscles. Remember, if you don’t use ‘em, you’ll lose ‘em.
Review: I was listening to “Wait, Wait, Don’t Tell Me”, the NPR news quiz, and one of the panel members used the word mellifluous. Can you remember what that means? If not, check the vocab page.
First of all, I have to say that I love the fact the you’re a self-proclaimed word nerd. Can I join the club?
I have The Night Circus on the TBR shelf, but the list is so long, I can’t even begin to tell you! It sounds great, though!
OK, now for the Word Nerd Workout (This is so great!!!)
The crocus poking through the snow was an auspicious sign that spring was not so far away. 🙂
Laura, of course you can join the club! Glad you like the “workout” – your vocabulary sentence is great! Love the spring theme too!
I love the word mellifluous and I love these exercises!
A winning lottery ticket would present an auspicious solution to Edgar’s financial woes.
Excellent! Glad you like the exercises! Mellifluous has a great sound and feel to it, doesn’t it?
I have been wanting to read this book. I’m sorry Julie, my brain is so fried the idea of using those words in a sentence just gave me anxiety! HA! 🙂
Aw, I understand. Thanks for stopping by and I hope you’ll try again later! I want to promote fun, not anxiety! Definitely try the book!