A Monday “Save-a-Word Saturday”
For a while now, my blog buddies Susan Francino and Tyler-Rose Counts (collectively, The Feather and the Rose) have been running a weekly meme designed to rescue obscure, archaic words from the lexical graveyard. They call this feature “Save-a-Word Saturday.” Those participating must find an old, rarely used word, define it, and use it in a sentence, a paragraph, or some other creative expression based on the week’s theme.
I’ve been meaning to take part in this for a while, so for this, my 600th blog article, here’s my contribution. This week’s theme is LOVE:
Word: QUERULENT
Definition: adj., n. – habitually and abnormally suspicious (person).
Use: The Valentine’s card didn’t sit well in Jennifer’s querulent hands. Prom queen looks and cheerleader figures had eluded her all her life. She could barely stand her own reflection, so why should anyone take notice? The card mocked her; but she would have the last laugh. Ten minutes later, Joe passed by the lockers and saw the torn remains of the card. He swallowed down a wave of emotion when he recognized the handwriting. His heart laid scattered on the floor.
Do you feel challenged to rescue an obscure word and come up with a creative way to use it? Visit The Feather and the Rose, and join in the blog hop!
So nice to have you join in, Colin! And for your 600th post, too!
And oh dear… That sounds like quite the heartbreak waiting to happen. O_O
Thank you, Susan! Nice to be a part of the meme at last. 🙂 Yes, I know–not a happy story, but that’s what happens when querulent meets love.
Oh, poor Joe! I hope Jennifer learns to let down some walls, soon, before more people get hurt. ):
I know. Her desire to have the last laugh could turn very… CARRIE! 🙂 I’m not sure I would go there, though…
I really enjoyed reading that paragraph. So much I went back and read it again 🙂
I also wanted to get back to you on that beta read offer. I’d love to exchange. I remember yours from writeoncon. But I’m not sure what you’ll think of mine – it’s a bit more on the romance side. It’s going to take me a bit longer to get done than I expected anyway. But let me know, when you’re game!
Thank you, Tonja! What writer doesn’t like to hear someone say “I enjoyed it so much, I had to read it again”? Which reminds me again how important it is for me to communicate with the writers whose work I enjoyed (published or not)–so thanks for that too! 🙂
I’m very flattered that you want to exchange, as I am for the others who have expressed interest in beta reading my novel. It’s not ready for beta readers yet, but I’ll certainly be getting in contact with people as soon as it is. Implicit in my asking people to beta read is the offer to exchange. Even if your novel is not a genre I usually read, I hope I can give some constructive critiques, and offer encouragement, too.
I’ll be in touch… 🙂
Great piece.
I almost got this word confused with querulous, which has a very different meaning.
Thanks, Medeia! Querulous does have a very different meaning, though I wonder if, somehow, the two words are etymologically related? Similar Latin roots, perhaps? I might have to investigate! 🙂
Ahh, another person who was reminded of querulous! This post has allowed me to learn meanings for two words. I thought querulous meant timid or shy. I’ve never used it, but I like the sound of it, and to me it sounds like a shy sort of word. I shall have to use both querulous and querulent in the future 🙂
Woo! Two words saved for the price of one!! Awesome. Thanks, Anna. 😀