Progress is
as slow as it has ever been since I began my quest in January. I am frustrated because I know this is going
to take me far longer than I hoped. I’ve
found myself craving a quick and easy read at times, knowing that I can tear
through numerous books in the time it’s taken me to get to where I am at. Then again, I am the one who decides to watch
playoff hockey instead of reading. No
offense to bibliophiles, but you don’t know what you’re missing if hockey is
not in your life.
Instead of
wallowing in how much longer I have until I finish the dictionary, I have come
up with a system for measuring my progress.
Beginning with this post, I am going to include a page count that shows
the percentage of a book that I have read.
For the dictionary, though, I will also include a running countdown to
the next letter. In my case, that means
counting down to the letter D. By
breaking this mission down into chunks, the end goal will seem much more manageable.
Interesting
words of note:
CARPE DIEM-
Everyone always say it means ‘seize the day’ but I was amused to learn that it
literally means ‘pluck the day.’ I
wonder if any poultry farms have that slogan posted somewhere.
CASHMERE-
How many of you honestly knew that cashmere wool comes from goats? Somehow that knowledge has eluded me for 30
years. Goats are often overlooked, so I
guess it’s cool that such an expensive fabric comes from them.
CATFIGHT- MW
dates this term back to 1919, so it is 95 years old. Interestingly enough, the only definition for
the term is a violent spat between two women.
Its origins have nothing whatsoever to do with a duel between two
felines. If I find this amusing, does
that make me sexist?
CATGUT- The ‘gut’
part is accurate but the ‘cat’ part is not.
A cord historically used (but not so much anymore) for musical
instrument strings was made from sheep intestines. Look up the process if you don’t mind a
little icky.
CERTIFIED
PUBLIC ACCOUNTANT- I passed on becoming a CPA and don’t feel bad about it. What fascinates me is that the designation
dates back to 1896. Lots of professions
require certification and have been around for much longer, but it is neat to
me that something relating to my degree was important that long ago.
CESAREAN
SECTION- No, the process was not made popular by a doctor named Cesarean. It comes from the legends that Julius Caesar
was born this way. Really? Not feels like a silly anticlimax for such an
important term/procedure.
CHAUVINISM-
Here is another well-known term that is named after someone. In this case, it is named after a fictitious
character from a play. The character,
Nicolas Chauvin, was a sycophantic supporter of Napoleon. So a term that now mostly means a man who
believes women are inferior used to mean someone who is pro-French (Napoleonic
French) to a nauseating degree.
Something tells me that someone took great liberties to make the jump
between pro-Frenchy and anti-women.
Page Count: 233/1600 (14.56%)
Pages to Next
Letter: 95
