Meme: What Are You Reading? Me: The Dictionary :-(
I got tagged ages ago (February 22) for this meme, and either forgot (likely) or just was stupid (highly likely.) I’m sorry Kathy.
It’s the “what are you reading meme,” from Pondering the World.
I am not a book reader. I can’t remember the last book I read. The books I have around are the dictionary, 20,000 Words, road atlas, and a manual for a router (it doesn’t have 123 pages, even though it’s written in four languages.)
But I like memes, so I’m going to go with the dictionary. Webster’s New World College Dictionary, Fourth Edition.
1. Pick up the nearest book (of at least 123 pages).
2. Open the book to page 123.
3. Find the fifth sentence.
4. Post the next three sentences.
5. Tag five people.
This ought to be good…
1 to fasten with battens 2 to supply or strengthen with battens — batten down the hatches to fasten canvas over the hatches, esp. in preparing for a storm.
batten(2) (bat’n) vi, [[ON batna, improve <IE base *bhad-, bood> BETTER]] 1 to grow fat; thrive 2 to be well fed or wealthy at another’s expense — vt. to fatten up; overfeed.
Hey, I don’t know but you, but that was really fascinating, just fascinating (not.)
But here are some tidbits that went through my mind
- The word rhymes with part of my real name.
- I really read the dictionary for once and learned that batten has two very useful meanings: “we don’t need to batten you down because you are batten.”
- I’m guessing vi means verb intransitive, and vt means verb transitive. gadamn, I impressed myself remembering those parts of speech – even though I don’t have a clue what they mean.
I wonder if these people will repond. (If you have already done this meme, I apologize but I am too lazy to do a search through your blog.)
I habitually read the dictionary as a child, in addition to a medical dictionary and a one-volume encyclopedia sort of thing called the Lincoln Library of Essential Information. Also, Dr. Spock’s Baby and Child Care, where I was bewildered by the section on “different causes for handling the genitals”. I was six years old. I thought it said “Gentiles”.
@Gretchen: I liked to read the encyclopedia. Another favorite was “We” the Charles Lindberg story of crossing the Atlantic.
Yes, but see how you’ve enlightened us all to the various meanings of “batten.” I, for one, picked up on one that is entirely relevant for the day. I think we should campaign to instill it back into the common vernacular:
“batten: to be well fed or wealthy at another’s expense”
How appropriately political. And with corporate tendencies as well.
@Gretchen: I have trouble using it in a sentence. My example doesn’t really work. Since it’s a verb, …Paris is batten…???? Huh?… Now batten, A-rod…
I, too, was anti-prong. Maine Jeweler Etienne Perret makes beautiful rings which are simple and psuedo-traditional, but unique. Mine is from him and I love it.