es·chew

“uh-shoo”

mispronunciation and misspelling led to a definition wild goose chase – “achoo? ah-shoe? what?!”

es•chew \e-ˈshü, i-; es-ˈchü, is-; also e-ˈskyü\ vt [ME, fr. AF eschiver (3d pres. eschiu) of Gmc origin; akin to OHG sciuhen to frighten off — more at SHY] (14c) : to avoid habitually esp. on moral or practical grounds : SHUN syn see ESCAPE — es•chew•al \-əl\ n

‘Slouching Towards Bethlehem’ - Joan Didion (1961/Farrar, Straus and Giroux) cover design by Lawrence Ratzkin

leaving notes as i go – double underlines are for words i don’t know, yet.

several i’ve come across, so far:

an•ti•ma•cas•sar \ˌan-ti-mə-ˈka-sər\ n [anti- + Macassar (oil) (a hairdressing)] (1844) : a cover to protect the back or arms of furniture

apoc•ry•phal \-fəl\ adj (1590) 1 : of doubtful authenticity : SPURIOUS 2 often cap : of or resembling the Apocrypha syn see FICTITIOUS — apoc•ry•phal•ly \-fəlē\ adv — apoc•ry•phal•ness n

er•satz \ˈer-ˌsäts, -ˌzäts, er-ˈ; ˈər-ˌsats\ adj [G ersatz-, fr. Ersatz, n., substitute] (1875) : being a usu. artificial and inferior substitute or imitation <~turf> <~intellectuals> — ersatz n

rail•lery \ˈrā-lə-rē\ n, pl -ler•ies [F raillerie, fr. MF, fr. railler to mock] (1653) 1 : good-natured ridicule : BANTER 2 : JEST

de•noue•ment also dé•noue•ment \ˌdā-ˌnü-ˈmän, dā-ˈnü-ˌ\ n [F dénouement, lit., untying, fr .MF desnouement, fr. desnouer to untie, fr. OF desnoer, fr. des- de- + noer to tie, fr. L nodare, fr. nodus knot — more at NODE] (1705) 1 : the final outcome of the main dramatic complication in a literary work 2 : the outcome of a complex sequence of events

(definitions from Merriam Webster’s Collegiate Dictionary, 11th Edition)

enjoying ‘Slouching…’ so far. clocked it in a ‘Sex Education’ scene – reminded of my own unread copy…

slow to start, eager to continue

ok, bye bye