virtue vir-tue / vûr-cho͞o noun 1. behavior showing high moral standards; uprightness; righteousness The happiness of your life depends upon the quality of your thoughts: therefore, guard accordingly, and take care that you entertain no notions unsuitable to virtue and reasonable nature. Marcus Aurelius, 121 – 180 2. a type or instance of moral excellence The virtue of prosperity, is temperance; the virtue of adversity, is fortitude;... Read More

detour de-tour / dē–to͝or, dĭ-to͝or noun 1. a circuitous, indirect route, particularly one caused by a temporary blockage of the main route The really happy person is the one who can enjoy the scenery, even when they have to take a detour. Sir James Jeans, 1877 – 1946 2. a change from a planned course of action that is generally less direct One of the major keys... Read More

circuitous cir-cu-i-tous / sər-kyo͞o-ĭ-təs adjective 1. roundabout, indirect, meandering It is often better to go by a circuitous than by a direct path. Latin Proverb 2. allusive, evasive, ambiguous or complex, as in language or action Involved sentences, crooked, circuitous, and parenthetical, no matter how musically they may be balanced, are prejudicial to a facile understanding of the truth. Henry Ward Beecher, 1813 – 1887

ebullience e-bul-lience / ĭ-bo͝ol-yəns, ĭ-bŭl-yəns noun 1. overwhelming enthusiasm Your success in investing will depend in part on your character and guts, and in part on your ability to realize at the height of ebullience and the depth of despair alike that this too shall pass. From “Bogle On Mutual Funds: New Perspectives For The Intelligent Investor” by John C. Bogle, 1929 – 2019

shower show-er / shou-ər except shō-ər for noun definition 7 noun 1. a brief period of precipitation He sendeth sun, he sendeth shower, Alike they’re needed to the flower; And joys and tears alike are sent To give the soul its nourishment. Sarah Fuller Flower Adams, 1805 – 1848 2. a sudden, downward flow of objects, such as tears, sparks, etc. If the boy have not a... Read More

dross dross / drŏs or drôs noun 1. waste, garbage, trash, impurity I also have in mind that seemingly wealthy, but most terribly impoverished class of all, who have accumulated dross, but know not how to use it, or get rid of it, and thus have forged their own golden or silver fetters. Henry David Thoreau, 1817 – 1862 2. the scum formed on the surface of... Read More

bowl bowl / bōl noun 1. a hollow, rounded container, shaped like half of a sphere, capable of holding a liquid What should it matter that one bowl is dark and the other pale, if each is of good design and serves its purpose well? Native American Hopi Proverb 2. the contents of a rounded, hemispherical shaped container; bowlful Give a bowl of rice to a man and... Read More

sire sire / sīr noun 1. a father; a biological male parent I had rather aske of my sire browne bread, then borrow of my neighbour white. George Herbert, 1593 – 1633 2. the male parent of an animal, especially used of a horse or other domesticated animal Every foal is not like its sire. Danish Proverb 3. creator or founder Toil, says the proverb, is the sire... Read More

janitor jan-i-tor / jăn-ĭ-tər noun 1. one who takes care of the cleaning or maintenance of a building Apply yourself at whatever you do, whether you’re a janitor or taking your first summer job, because that work ethic will be reflected in everything you do in life. Tyler Perry , 1969 –

trepidation trep-i-da-tion / trĕp-ĭ-dā-shən noun 1. fear; a feeling of dread or anxiety But the first lie in the series is the one you make with the greatest trepidation and the heaviest heart. Michael Chabon, 1963 – 2. (archaic) a condition of involuntary trembling or palpitation They pass the planets sev’n, and pass the fix’d, And that crystalline sphere whose balance weighs The trepidation talk’d, and that first-mov’d.... Read More