Arid /ˈerəd/ Adjective dried, parched, dusty The will to win… the will to achieve…goes dry and arid without continuous renewal. Vince Lombardi (1913-1917)

Wisdom /ˈwizdəm/ Noun noun 1. knowledge and understanding of what is proper or reasonable Patience is the companion of wisdom. Saint Augustine (354-430) 2. understanding, insight The only true wisdom is in knowing you know nothing. Socrates (470 BC – 390 BC) 3. the quality of having experience, knowledge, and good judgment A loving heart is the truest wisdom. Charles Dickens (1812-1870)

National /ˈnaSHən(ə)l,ˈnaSHn(ə)l/ Adjective of or pertaining to a country A national language is a band of national union. Noah Webster (1758-1843)

Melancholy /ˈmel(ə)nˌkälē/ Adjective/Noun adjective having a feeling of deep sadness A melancholy-looking man, he had the appearance of one who has searched for the leak in life’s gas-pipe with a lighted candle. The Man Upstairs and Other Stories (1914), by P.G. Wodehouse (1881-1975) noun a feeling of deep sadness All changes, even the most longed for, have their melancholy; for what we leave behind... Read More

Oxymoron /ˌäksəˈmôrˌän/ Noun a figure of speech combining two opposite or antithetical terms A cautious creative is an oxymoron. George Lois (1931-2022)

Formation /fôrˈmāSHən/ Noun 1. a creation, the process of being formed Education has for its object the formation of character. Herbert Spencer (1820-1903) 2. an arrangement of something In the right formation, the lifting power of many wings can achieve twice the distance of any bird flying alone. Anonymous

Anonymous /əˈnänəməs/ Noun of unknown name There is no duty we so much underrate as the duty of being happy – by being happy we sow anonymous benefits upon the world. Robert Louis Stevenson (1850-1894)

Metaphor /ˈmedəˌfôr/ noun a figure of speech in which one thing is spoken of in terms of another Examine Language; what, if you except some few primitive elements (of natural sound), what is it all but Metaphors, recognized as such, or no longer recognized? Sartor Resartus (1834) by Thomas Carlyle (1795-1881)

Tail /tāl/ Noun/Verb Noun 1. an appendage found in many animals, extending from the end of the backbone A man who carries a cat by the tail learns something he can learn in no other way. – Mark Twain (1835-1910) Verb 2. to follow Don’t tail large vehicles closely – Trucks or buses can kick up a water spray that obstructs visibility. CA Weather... Read More

Studious /ˈsto͞odēəs/ Adjective hardworking and persistent in the pursuit of learning The earth was made so various, that the mind of desultory man, studious of change, and pleased with novelty, might be indulged. William Cowper (1731-1800)