My good friend and fellow j-student Mary suggested that I pick a theme for this little experiment, which might make it easier to blog daily. After hemming and hawing about it, I’ve decided that she’s right. This will also probably stop this blog from becoming my depository of excess emotion ala my old LiveJournal. (No, I won’t tell you where you can find it.)
I decided I didn’t really want to write about journalism because that’s all I think about all day and, quite frankly, I don’t think obsessive thought about my industry all the time is healthy for me. On the other hand, I want to write about something I love.
So what’s the theme?
Logophilia.
No, it’s not quite as dirty as it sounds. A logophile is someone who loves words; logophilia is the love of words. I am one of those people. I consult Roy Blunt Jr.’s book Alphabet Juice nightly to get a little wordsmith fix. If I had my college life to live again, I certainly would have studied linguistics. So for the rest of this month, I will be posting a word that fits my day with all the accuracy of lightning — as opposed to Twain’s devilish lightning bug — or just one I want to expound on that day. I may throw in the occasional charming turn-of-phrase, too.
Today’s word, of course, is logophile.
Feel cheated? Chew on these words, courtesy of Random House: verbiphage (one who devours words), logolept (a word maniac) and logogogue (a self-styled word expert.)
