weakly   weak-ly  /  wēk-lē   adjective   sickly or lacking strength The sickly, weakly, timid man fears the people, and is a Tory by nature. Thomas Jefferson, 1743 – 1826   adverb   without strength or vigor I’ve known people who had fantastic ideas, but who couldn’t get the idea off the ground because they approached everything weakly. Donald Trump, 1946 –  ... Read More

dim-ple / ˈdim-pəl   noun   a small hollow or indentation in a soft spot on the face or body In the eyes of a lover a pock-marked face is one with pretty dimples. Japanese Proverb   a depression in a surface If valleys are the dimples on the face of the earth, as Steven King once said, then Silicon Valley is the deepest,... Read More

sub-lime / sə-ˈblīm   adjective   grand or lofty in thought, expression, etc. Anything which elevates the mind is sublime. Greatness of matter, space, power, virtue or beauty, are all sublime. John Ruskin, 1819-1900   complete Taste is the good sense of genius; without taste, genius is only sublime folly. Alexander Pope, 1688-1744   outstanding Know how sublime a thing it is to suffer... Read More

mag-ic / ˈma-jik   adjective   of or relating to supernatural power There is no magic wand that can resolve out problems. Jose Eduardo Dos Santos, 1942-   giving supernatural or enchanting feelings If you pay close attention to each day, you will discover the magic moment. Paulo Coelho, 1947-   noun   the use of certain means to exert supernatural force Those who... Read More

sec-ond / ˈse-kənd, written numerically as 2nd   adjective   after or next to the first in line When you have read a book for the first time, you get to know a friend; read it for a second time and you meet an old friend. Chinese Proverb   inferior Your second-hand bookseller is second to none in the worth of the treasures he... Read More

wel-come / ˈwel-kəm   verb   to greet hospitably and enthusiastically Welcome every morning with a smile. Og Mandino, 1923-1996   to accept or receive happily And now we welcome the new year, full of things that have never been. Paraphrased from a letter to Clara Rilke, dated January 1, 1907, from Rainer Maria Rilke, 1875-1926   interjection   (used to express greeting) Welcome,... Read More

eave   eave  / ēv   noun   the edge of a roof which overhangs a building (usually eaves, plural) The shivering birds beneath the eaves Have sheltered for the night. From “After the Winter” by Claude McKay, 1889 – 1948   adjective   pertaining to the edges of a roof which overhang a building And the son of Tarzan skipped across the room,... Read More

u-bi-qui-tous / yü-ˈbi-kwə-təs   adjective   ever present; widespread Helping children to face up to a certain amount of drudgery, cheerfully and energetically, is one of the biggest problems that teachers, in these days of ubiquitous entertainment, have to face in our schools. from ‘Chronicles of Fairacre, Comprising Village School, Village Diary, and Storm in the Village’ by Miss Read (Dora Jessie Saint MBE),... Read More

boun-ty  /  boun-tē   noun (plural bounties) generosity All that is good is ours not by right but by the sheer bounty of a gracious God.  Brennan Manning, 1934 – 2013   something that is given generously For here lies the pleasure of living: In taking God’s bounties, and giving The gifts back again.  Ella Wheeler Wilcox, 1850 – 1919   an incentive or... Read More

en-nui / ˌän-ˈwē   noun   a feeling of dissatisfaction or boredom To love to read is to exchange hours of ennui for hours of delight. Baron de Montesquieu, 1689-1755