QUIRTKwirt NOUN: a riding whip with a short handle and a rawhide lash. From the Spanish cuarta, first appearance in English in 1845. Princess Anne used her quirt sparingly.
Word of the Week
My Word! May 18
by Betsey Ellis •
PLENIPOTENCEPle-nip-o-tence Noun: the quality or state of being invested with authority or power to transact business; absolute power There has been a great deal of controversary over the plenipotence of the President.
States Well Stated
Indiana Wants Me
by Betsey Ellis •
Lord, I can’t go back there. Okay, so I had a senior moment and a song flashback. It ain’t easy finding a way to start these sometimes. I mean, we’ve all been staying home and social distancing (which is really easy if you live alone. And cats are basically the mascots for social distancing…) so…
States Well Stated
Illinois – The “S” is Silent
by Betsey Ellis •
EARTH, WIND AND FIRE What do they have to do with our new destination? Hopefully by the end of this month’s States Well Stated we will both know. So, what follows Idaho? Lucky for me, not Iowa (which I am still sick of). Off we go to Illinois! The area was first “discovered” by Europeans…
Word of the Week
My Word! February 23
by Betsey Ellis •
Digitigrade dig·i·ti·grade Adjective: a mammal walking on the toes alone without the heels touching the ground. From the Latin digitus (finger,toe) and gradus (walking) Cats are an example of a digitigrade animal.
Word of the Week
My Word! February 16
by Betsey Ellis •
Cernuous (cer·nu·ous) Adjective: nodding, drooping, pendulous. Derived from Latin “cernuus” meaning bowing forward. The cernuous peaches were just waiting to be picked.
Word of the Week
My Word! February 9
by Betsey Ellis •
Bromide (bro-mide) Noun This one has two meanings: 1. A trite or obvious remark. 2. Any compound of the element bromide and another metal. These drugs were sometimes used as sedatives or paralytics. John just kept repeating the phrase, “follow your dreams” until it had become a meaningless bromide. Tennessee has been having trouble obtaining…
States Well Stated
What’s In A Name?
by Betsey Ellis •
Thank the good Lord that there is a couple of States before Iowa. I don’t know about you, but I am sick to death of hearing about Iowa. So instead, let’s look at a highly nutritious State (as long as you don’t load it up with butter, cheese and sour cream) – Idaho. Unofficially known…
States Well Stated
Aloha, Hawai’i
by Betsey Ellis •
HELLO GOODBYE Remember that old Beatles song “You say good-bye, and I say hello”? It might well have been written with our next target in mind. Aloha and welcome to the Nation’s most recent state (if you can call 1959 recent) Hawai’i. Yes, for the natives, that extra mark is necessary. They think it helps…
States Well Stated
Georgia, Always Fashionably Late
by Betsey Ellis •
We all know that Georgia boasts of her peaches – but did you know that the peach is not the official State tree? That would have probably made too much sense. The live oak is the official State tree. And to get this out of the way now, the official fish is the largemouth bass.…