ad-vent / ˈad-ˌvent   noun   in Christianity, the four weeks leading up to Christmas (usually capitalized) It is the beauty of Advent to awaken in all of us memories of goodness and thus to open doors of hope. Pope Benedict XVI, 1927-   in Christianity, the arrival of Christ (usually capitalized) We celebrate the First Advent to whet our appetites for the Second.... Read More

an-tic-i-pate /  an-ˈti-sə-ˌpāt   verb   to expect or wait for excitedly The trick to happiness wasn’t in freezing every momentary pleasure and clinging to each one, but in ensuring one’s life would produce many future moments to anticipate. from ‘Oathbringer’ by Brandon Sanderson, 1975-   to foresee Anticipate the good so that you may enjoy it. Ethiopian Proverb   to do preemptively Anticipate... Read More

shop / ˈshäp   noun   a building housing merchandise; a small store To open a shop is easy – the hard part is keeping it open. Chinese Proverb   the workspace for a craftsperson or other manual laborer He who goes to the blacksmith’s shop comes home with scorched clothes. Afghan Proverb   a business, office, etc. A public relations shop does far... Read More

feast / ˈfēst   noun   a large, abundant meal; banquet Small cheer and great welcome makes a merry feast. William Shakespeare, 1564-1616   something that provides great enjoyment The heart at rest sees a feast in everything. Indian Proverb   a religious observance in honor of a deity, person, or event For many people, the big feast of the year is Christmas, but... Read More

sple-dif-er-ous / splen-ˈdi-f(ə-)rəs   adjective   magnificent; overly showy I want to write something most splendiferous today, and I am sure to find it in your face. from ‘Tommy and Grizel’ by J.M. Barrie, 1860-1937

pi pi  /  pī noun (1), plural pis   the 16th letter of the Greek alphabet (Π, π) , equivalent to the Roman letter P Since partnering with The Dictionary Project in 2005, the Alpha Pi Chapter of Delta Kappa Gamma has provided dictionaries to over 7,000 students.   an irrational mathematical number equal to approximately 3.14159265, represented by the symbol π, which expresses... Read More

gob-ble / ˈgä-bəl   verb (1)   to eat in a hurried and voracious manner …spiritual nature, like bodily nature, will be served; deny it food and it will gobble poison. C.S. Lewis, 1898-1963   to take hastily, usually followed by up If we continue to gobble up our resources without any regard to stewardship and to spew out our deadly wastes over land,... Read More

verb re-cord / ri-ˈkȯrd   to write down so as to provide evidence of History will have to record that the greatest tragedy of this period of social transition was not the strident clamor of the bad people, but the appalling silence of the good people. Martin Luther King, Jr., 1929-1968   to indicate One of the reasons Death Valley has the hottest temperature... Read More

gu-ru / ˈgu̇r-(ˌ)ü   noun   in Hinduism, a teacher who guides one’s spirit Without a Guru none can cross over to the other shore. Guru Nanak, 1469-1539   a guide or personal mentor in a certain field of study If there’s anything weirder than an introverted writer going to lost of social functions, it’s an introverted writer being converted into an accidental guru.... Read More

or-ange / ˈär-inj   noun   a globe shaped citrus fruit which contains seeds, with a yellowish-reddish rind and an edible pulp If the family were a fruit, it would be an orange, a circle of sections, held together but separable – each segment distinct. Letty Cottin Pogrebin, 1939-   a yellow and red hue Orange is the happiest color. Frank Sinatra, 1915-1998  ... Read More