Royalty /ˈroi(ə)ltē/ noun 1. a member of the monarchy There’s no royalty in America, so people deify actors. – Joseph Gordon-Levitt (1981 – ) 2. a payment to the owner for the use of copyrighted material Now my only income is a few royalty cheques from my books. – Bobby Fischer (1943 – 2008)

Furtive /ˈfərdiv/ adjective secretive, attempting to avoid being noticed, usually due to guilt So swift, silent and furtive were his movements like those of a trained bloodhound picking out a scent, that I could not but think what a terrible criminal he would have made had he turned his energy and sagacity against the law instead of exerting them in its defense. – from... Read More

Microcosm /ˈmīkrōˌkäzəm/ noun a small world, a community or situation seen as possessing the characteristic features of something much larger I have found that each garden is just what Voltaire proposed in ‘Candide’: a microcosm of a just and beautiful society. – Andrew Weil (1942 – )

Sideshow /ˈsīdˌSHō/  noun 1. a small show or exhibition, usually as part of a circus or carnival I have never listened to anyone who criticized my taste in space travel, sideshows or gorillas…when this occurs, I pack up my dinosaurs and leave the room. – from Zen in the Art of Writing, by Ray Bradbury (1920 – 2012) 2. a spectacle which diverts... Read More

Hearth /härTH/ noun the floor of a fireplace One may have a blazing hearth in one’s soul and yet no one ever came to sit by it. – Vincent van Gogh (1853 -1890)

Amalgamation /əˌmalɡəˈmāSHən/ noun the result or process of combining many things There is no process of amalgamation by which opinions, wrong individually, can become right merely by their multitude. – John Ruskin (1819 – 1900)

Diphthong /ˈdipˌTHäNG,ˈdifˌTHäNG/ noun a combination of two vowels forming a compound sound Out of the simple consonants of the alphabet and our eleven vowels and diphthongs all possible syllables of a certain sort were constructed, a vowel sound being placed between two consonants. – Hermann Ebbinghaus (1850-1909)

Flowery /ˈflou(ə)rē/ adjective 1. full of many flowers, resembling or smelling of flowers I have a rosy sky and a green flowery Eden in my brain; but without, I am perfectly aware, lies at my feet a rough tract to travel, and around me gather black tempests to encounter. – from Jane Eyre, by Charlotte Brontë (1816 – 1855) 2. (of speech or writing)... Read More

Cartography /kärˈtäɡrəfē/ noun the practice or science of creating maps Writing can be a crucial skill, like cartography…everybody lives in the middle of a landscape…writing can provide a map. – Phyllis Theroux (1939 – )

Boon /bo͞on/ noun something beneficial or helpful The children to whom we read simple stories may or may not show gratitude, but each boon we give strengthens the pillars of the world. – Maya Angelou (1928 – 2014)