I'm a Word Nerd: A Few Archaic Favorites

I've been in (more than) a bit of a poetry craving recently, to the point where I've considered redesigning most of my life to pursue a master's degree, publish my manuscript (I actually do have a manuscript), and teach at a cozy little nook of a college a few days a week. I've written all of two poems after graduation, and my sad little stab at NaNoWriMo didn't produce much more than an idea and a lot of loathing. Writing fiction in first person is just awful to me. But then again, I hate to write about myself for much more than a paragraph, so that probably explains my first person woes.

So in my quest to become a better poet, and after many failed attempts to keep a running list of interesting words, I picked up a little ditty called Let's Bring Back: The Lost Language Edition. My fellow English majors, if that doesn't leave you salivating, we might not be able to be friends. Thoughtfully compiled and complete with a few well-done illustrations, this book is a word nerd's dream. A few highlights include:

Attic Salt: a term from the 1700's serving as another word for "wit." Attic salt. Does that not tickle your brain in the best possible way? Think about it. Wit comes from your intellect, which is housed in your brain. The attic of your body, all the way at the very top. It's brilliant in this wonderfully unassuming way, and I fall in love a little more each time I think about this particular phrase.

Devil's Teeth: perhaps it's my odd obsession with teeth as of late (see my complete and utter fawning over Lorde's lyrics) but this phrase was seventeenth century slang for dice. "Devil's bones" was another option. Cue chills of delight.

Owl Light: this particular phrase stopped me not because I was captured by it, but because it reminded me of my favorite poetry professor in college, who once told a story in class about her accidental plagiarism of a poet who used "owl light" to describe the dusk. What I didn't know about this phrase is that saying someone "walks by owl light" means they are evading arrest. In either context, this sweetly haunting phrase is on my poetry "to-use" list.

Words, to me, are like microscopic books. There's an energy in every word, an emotion, that mirrors the way books completely enthrall me. So yes, when I see a word I really, really like, I'm bound to get a little over-obsessed. This post is only a small example.

Next on my quest to poetic glory is a trip around Chicago's staple bookstores. Does it directly relate to poetry? Maybe, if I swing by on a day where there's a reading. But otherwise, the chance that I'll stumble upon some glorious old relic and become immediately compelled to create is good enough for me. Stay tuned for more favorite phrases and general bibliophilia!