A proclivity is a tendency or an inclination. For example, I have a proclivity to eat cake and wear purple. So much so that I even did both at our wedding – which was a little over thirteen years ago! Doesn’t seem so long.
I was able to stand unaided, we were just pretending that even wearing heels I’m considerably shorter than Gary. Why we were doing that I have no idea. Perhaps we just have a proclivity to be daft?
Care to share any of your proclivities with me?
Concretize means to make something concrete rather than abstract. Concrete in this case meaning ‘existing in material form’ not a mix of sand and cement.
Actually getting on and writing your story, as opposed to just day dreaming about seeing it in a bookshop, will concretize your brilliant idea into something you can submit for publication.
Concretize may also be spelled as concretise.
(This is an old photo of the booksigning for my first ever published book. It’s now available in a newer edition.)
Selective means, using or categorised by selection, or able to select. It can also mean able to tune into a particular frequency without interruption from others.
I’ve been selective in compiling this set of photos – and if anyone says they don’t like them, I shall employ selective hearing!
A sphinx is a creature with a woman’s head and lion’s body. Sometimes it has wings too. Sphinx-like means an enigmatic or inscrutable person.
When people refer to The Sphinx, they generally mean this one at Giza.
Altruism is unselfishness, concern for other people or regard for others. An altruist is a person who behaves altruistically.
Btw, running this website isn’t simply an altruistic action on my part. You’re supposed to be suckered into buying my books!
Stray can mean to wander from the right place (e.g. don’t stray off the path) or to deviate morally (she promised to be faithful, but strayed with at least three of his golfing buddies, a caddy, the chaps in the pro shop and the club barmaid). In that case she could be described as straying or having gone astray (and no doubt called worse things by her husband!).
It can also be a person or thing which has strayed or become lost (I think this dog was a a stray). Stray is also some weird sciency thing which interferes with radio reception, or it can be something isolated or unusual (e.g. most bluebells are blue, but sometimes you see a stray white one).
Browse can mean either to read in a rather unmethodical manner or to look through items for sale or a collection in a similar fashion. Imagine you’re in a bookshop which has a massive sale on and you keep flitting between titles by your favourite authors and pretty, shiny notebooks.
Another meaning of the word browse is vegetation eaten by animals and their method of consuming it. A browser is someone who browses.
So, you could browse the library for a book on browsers browsing on browse, to browse through. By now you maybe raising your eyebrows!
A heath is an area of flattish, uncultivated land with low shrubs. Heath can also be used to describe those shrubs and is generally used for Erica or Calluna (types of heather).
Suilline simply means of the pig family. You know, like feline for cats, caprine for goats, equine for horses and supine for blocked writers.
My tongue is protractile. I’d stick it and prove it, but that’d be rude, so here’s a tulip instead.
The term usually refers to body parts and simply means they can be extended or protruded. Another word for the same thing is protrusible.
Which do you like best – protractile or protrusible?