I Love Words: Saucebox

Word: saucebox

Pronunciation: \ˈsȯs-ˌbäks, ˈsas-\

Function: noun

Date: 1588

Definition: a saucy impudent person

(Some folks may want a definition for 'impudent,' so here you go: 1 [obsolete]: lacking modesty; 2: marked by contemptuous or cocky boldness or disregard of others : insolent.)

I'd actually never heard this word before until I read it recently in an Editrix post (Thanks, Ed!). Love it. Apparently, it's the precursor to saucy and sassy, two other favorites. Sassy reminds me of my pubescent days when I had a subscription to the eponymous magazine - such a great publication for young girls because they employed healthy (not anorexic), unconventional (read: normal!) female models and highlighted topics and people who were hip and smart instead of what the common fair focused on (i.e., diets, diets, diets, omgBOYS!, gossip, sex, Sex, and SEX). Of course, this was before they were purchased by a big conglomerate and morphed into just another teen rag ('Stepford Sassy' as writers at Bust [a great magazine, btw] and the authors of How Sassy Changed My Life called it.)

Words like sassy and saucy went on to inspire my young adult life as well. Case in point, this campy photo captured by my cousin. Saucy, very saucy. (No, we're not really hitchhiking. We're just being silly in a field in the middle of nowhere.)

As a result of my saucebox research I found out that it is also the name of what appears to be a pretty cool restaurant in Portland, OR. Will have to check it out if I ever get up that way.


Other "I Love Words" Posts

I Love Words: Parlance

Since I've used this word as the root for my made-up blog title, I thought I should probably offer its formal definition and a little explanation as to how I came to name my blog. (Yes, I suppose you could say this ILW post is pretty overdue.)

Word: parlance

Pronunciation: \pär'ləns\

Function: noun

Etymology: Anglo-French, from parler ("to speak")

Date: 1579

Definition: 1. a way or manner of speaking that is natural to native speakers of the language; vernacular; idiom: legal parlance.
2. speech, esp. a formal discussion or debate.
3. mutual discourse; conference

How I Chose My Blog Title: I was interested in blogs because of the interactive writing atmosphere they create, as opposed to what you encounter on static, article-posting sites (ergo, the "mutal discourse/conference" definition of parlance came to mind). I was thinking of that and, at the same time, considering some self-identifying words - among them, freelancer and fencer. Sooo, naturally, 2 and 2 came together pretty quickly (i.e., "meaningful root" + "common suffix" = "just right") to form the equation: parlance + er = Parlancer. Voila! Short and sweet and (hopefully) memorable enough. And, because it's a made-up word, the likelihood of there being another "parlancer" out there was pretty low. At least, I hoped. Luckily, after a quick online search, I found I was right, so I stuck my flag in the word and claimed me some blogger.com blogging real estate with it. And the rest is history . . . or, rather, remains to to be seen . . .

I Love Words: l'esprit de l'escalier

Word Phrase: l'esprit de l'escalier

Pronunciation: \e-SPREE des-kal-i-YE\

Function: noun

Etymology: literally, staircase wit in French; in German, the same concept is called treppenwitz.

Date: credited to the French author and encyclopedist Denis Diderot in his Paradoxe sur le Comédien, written between 1773 and 1778 but not published until 1830

Definition: the predicament of thinking of the right comeback too late

I am a big fan of the clever comeback, . . . but, like most, I usually struggle to come up with something witty quickly enough to be effective. Typically, I either suffer from l'esprit de l'escalier . . . or else come up with something less Shakespeare and more Monty Python (e.g., "Your mother was a hamster and your father smelt of elderberries."). So frustrating, but at least universal.

I Love Words: Interrobang

Word: interrobang

Pronunciation: \in-ˈter-ə-ˌbaŋ\

Function: noun

Etymology: interrogation (point) + bang (printers' slang for exclamation point)

Date: 1967

Definition: a punctuation mark (‽) designed for use especially at the end of an exclamatory rhetorical question

I found intterobang mentioned in an Editrix post last month and was intrigued to found out more about it. It allows for the messiness and reality of communication and doesn't demand you separate out the emotions but lets them coexist on the same plane. I've always found it to be the perfect punctuation for folks like myself who are often trying to say many things at once, trying to cram all the thoughts and emotions they can into a paragraph, a sentence, a clause (you know, something profound like "What the fuck‽"). And now I know what it's called. Thank you, interrobang. Thank you for being such an accommodating punctuation mark.

I Love Words: Circa

Usually, this recurring post "I Love Words" is about a word I fancy for one reason or another. Occasionally, though, I'll be talking about other word-related issues. For instance, since I'm smitten with words, I also abhor their misuse and abuse. Not that I'm the perfect grammarian; I admit I'm not. (What? I never said I wasn't a hypocrit?!)

Today, . . . I have a bone to pick.


I apologize that this picture to the left here is a little bit blurry, but it's the best one of this storefront in the Port Columbus International Airport that I could find. Allow me to tell you what it says: "Heritage Booksellers, Circa 1996." Yes, "circa 1996." Now I realize, technically, that circa can be used to mean "at" or "in," but the most common usage, I think everyone would agree, is "around," and people use it most often with a date to state a time period because they're not quite certain of the actual date (i.e., usually when something was such a long time ago, there really aren't records to confirm an exact date). So, you usually see it as "circa [a nice round #, e.g., 500BC]." My point in all this? I think Heritage Booksellers can probably confirm with surety that they officially opened their doors for business in 1996 and should have used a phrase like "est." (established) in lieu of "circa."

Ok, phew! One less nit to pick this week. If you're a grammar nitpick yourself, you might enjoy checking out the various "I Judge You When You Use Poor Grammar" groups on Facebook. They post some hilarious photos and observations of occurrences of poor grammar found "out in the field." You can comment on what's posted and post pieces yourself. Conversely, if grammar is your nemesis and you're more apt to join a group on Facebook called "I judge you when you judge me when I use poor grammar" (actually a group), you might want to check out Grammar Girl's podcasts or newsletter.

I Love Words: Heliolatry

Word: heliolatry

Pronunciation: \hee-lee-AH-luh-tree\

Function: noun

Date: circa 1828

Definition: sun worship

I am a heliolater. Unfortunately, with my one-standard-deviation-removed-from-albino skin, that’s pretty much like being a person with a nut allergy who would like nothing better than to eat a PB&J (i.e., sad).

I Love Words: Gimcrack

Word: gimcrack

Pronunciation: \JIM-krak\

Function: noun

Etymology: origin unknown

Date: 1676

Definition: a showy object of little use or value: gewgaw.

I love that “gewgaw” is part of the definition. Strike that. I love that gewgaw is even a word. And thinking of this word makes me think of a Gaelic word my Irish friend uses from time to time - craic, which is pronounced crack and means "fun, enjoyment, abandonment, or lighthearted mischief, often in the context of drinking or music." I love the story she tells about when she first came over from Ireland and was telling one of her new co-workers about the great craic she had the night before and was met with gape-mouthed astonishment.

I Love Words: Omphaloskepsis

Word: omphaloskepsis

Pronunciation: \äm(p)-fə-lō-ˈskep-səs\

Function: noun

Etymology: New Latin, from Greek omphalos (navel) + skepsis (examination)

Date: 1925

Definition: contemplation of one’s navel as an aid to meditation; also: inertia