I apologize for the time between posts.  My stomach has decided to eat itself and sometimes feels like I’ve been gutshot.  Let’s hope I get in to see a GI doc pretty soon.  Ulcers are no fun.

We’ll be working with the letter E today.  Thanks to the SST people for their suggestions!

Early – a time when some absurdly dedicated and crazy people get up to write.  I’m lucky if I make it out of bed on the second snooze.
Ebullient – excited, high-spirited.

Echolalia – repetition of someone’s words. “I think he went in there,” Fred said.  “Rin rere?” Scooby said.  “Ry rould re ro in rere?”

Edifice – this one has two meanings.  1.  A large building, of imposing size, or 2. Any complex system or organization.  Both could apply in an adventure story.  Your hero could find himself dangling from an edifice while investigating an evil edifice.

Eerie – what you hope a horror story will be.

Effluvium – an offensive emanation or smell.  Joker’s lair gave off such a stale effluvium of garbage, unwashed clothing and blood that Batman nearly puked.

Egregious (eh GREE jus) – glaringly bad, astonishingly so.  The trumpets coupled with digeridoos in that anime soundtrack launched an egregious assault on my ears.

EH –  initials of Ernest Hemingway, one of the most influential writers of the twentieth century.  Famous works by Hemingway include The Old Man and the Sea, The Sun Also Rises, and A Farewell to Arms. His work is characterized by extremely spare prose and strong imagery.

Eidetic (eye DEH tik) – having a photographic memory.

Ejectamenta – stuff that gets thrown out of a volcano.  Who knew it had a name?

Eke – stretch, make laboriously.  “Heh, we had to eke out a living on clamshells and rocks!” Grandpa Squarepants cackled to tiny Spongebob, who perched precariously on his knee.

Elderberry – the fruit of the elder tree, used in making wine and jelly.  Warning:  NEVER eat any wild plant, mushroom or berry unless you are absolutely certain you know that it is safe to eat!

Image by olibac / Flickr.com

Emicate – to sparkle.  Edward emicated brightly in the sun, allowing Buffy to fire her crossbow directly at his heart.

Eon (or aeon) – an insanely long time; in geological time, several eras.  Both spellings are correct.

Epilogue – an extra scene at the end of a book or play.  Like a prologue, but in closing.

Equestrianism – pertaining to horseback riding.

The most expert of all dressage riders are those who train with the world-famous Lipizanner horses.  They have such exquisite control over the animals that they appear to work with one mind.   I have seen this fine spectacle, and I say it is worth the price of admission.

Erotology – the description of erotic behavior in literature.  Sex scenes, people!

Espalier (es SPAL yey) – a lattice on which trees are trained to grow sideways.

Ethnocentrism – a high-handed belief in the superiority of one’s own ethnic group or culture.  What this country is sadly moving toward more and more.

Eurythmic – having a pleasant or harmonious rhythm.

Evanescent – scarcely perceptible, fleeting.  Commissioner Gordon watched Batman’s cape melt into the shadows in an evanescent swirl.

Ewer – a pitcher with a wide spout, like the ones in Victorian washbasins.

Expiate – to amend one’s wrongs.  “I will expiate my sins!” shouted the errant warrior, seconds before he flung himself into the volcano.

Eyrie (AIR-ee) – the nest of a bird of prey.  Also aerie.

EZ – common abbreviation for “easy,” what this list certainly was not!

That’s all for today.  See you next time!