I hope to keep this post compendious, that is comprehensive yet fairly brief. To write so compendiously would demonstrate my compendiousness, which would be nice. Cakes are also nice (and round here they're comprehensively dealt with in a very brief time).

Fatalism can mean either a submissive attitude to events as being inevitable, or the belief that everything is predetermined and that we have no influence over anything which may happen. A fatalist is a person who thinks fatalistically. I'm not a fatalist. Some things are out of our control, and luck plays a part, but I believe that it's generally … Continue reading Wednesday word of the week – Fatalism

Rich means having lots of money, or other items of value. It can mean splendid, costly or elaborate eg richly decorated or patterned. Alternatively it's used to describe abundance. eg my mind contains a rich supply of story ideas. Soil which is rich contains plenty of nutrients and is very fertile. Richness in our own food comes from fat or spices. Engines can have … Continue reading Wednesday word of the week – Rich

OK, brand new is a phrase and not a word and this may be more of a rant than an explanation*, but this has been bothering me for a while ... Why do people (particularly those in marketing) say something is brand new? The only definition I've been able to find is 'completely new'. But new is like … Continue reading Wednesday word of the week – Brand New

Consign either means to deliver something to someone (or arrange for that to be done) or to put a person or object in a place in order to be rid of them. Eg the editor consigned the manuscript to the return envelope. A consignment is a group of items which are to be, or have been, consigned. Con sign is a … Continue reading Wednesday word of the week – Consign

Hydrochory is passive dispersal by water. Plant seeds being carried downstream, fruit swept by tides and currents to a distant shore, writers drifting round a pool on a lilo, that sort of thing.

Cark is the harsh noise made by a carrion crow. They do sound as though they have a lot on their minds, maybe that's why cark also means burden. Carking is an archaic term for something worrisome. I hope nothing happens today to carken you with carking doubts.

Parergon is work that's subsidiary to your main employment, or an ornamental accessory. Parerega is the plural in either case. As a parergon to writing, I act as a photographic assistant (and I like to think I'm Gary's parergon, although I'm usually more windswept than ornamental).

Toward is the less common variant of towards. Both are prepositions meaning in the direction of or getting closer to something. Eg todays word count of 1,237 words helps toward my goal of finishing the next Little Mallow book. Toward (or towards) can also mean contributing to the cost of. Eg each book sale goes … Continue reading Wednesday word of the week – Toward