Vocabulary

It’s been a very busy week. I had a lab work appointment and an appointment with the doctor a few days later. We attended five baseball games. During Cole’s first games (a double-header) as a member of the JV team, it was cold, rainy, and miserable. His team lost both games, but he did well. He played another double-header Saturday. It was warm and sunny. In fact, Mr. Fixit and I both sunburned. Noah had a game the same day. We left at 10:00 am and returned home about 7:00 pm. Needless to say, I am  wiped out.


This evening was the first chance I had to do one my Sunday crosswords. A few of the words made me think of how small my speaking vocabulary is. One clue is, “Sudden departure.” The answer is “decampment.” It is unlikely that I would ever use the word “decampment.” Instead of saying, for instance, “The decampment was fortuitous in view of the danger of flooding.” I would probably say, “He took off like a bat out of hell when he heard the river was rising.”

Another clue is “Bring shame to.” Answer - abash. I would never say, “I was abashed by my mistake.” I would say, “I was embarrassed by my mistake.” I might write “abashed” instead of “ embarrassed” simply because "embarrassed" is one of those words I’m never sure I have spelled correctly. I sometimes forget whether its 2 R’s and 1 s, or 2 s’s and one R, or one of each, or 2 of each. “Abashed” is a good alternative word that saves me looking it up for the 434th time.

Then the clue, “In the thick of.” When I read it, my first answer was “amid,” but the answer is six letters. Of course, “amidst.” Have you ever hear of anyone using “amidst” is everyday conversation? I may say, “I was standing amid the roaring crowd,” but I’m not sure of the correct usage of “amidst.” Do you stand “amid” or “amidst” the roaring crowd. I would probably say, “I was surrounded by a bunch of screaming nuts and weirdos (or is that weirdoes? According to Word which underlined “weirdos,” it's weirdoes. It looks strange to me. I like it without the “e.”)

I have come to the conclusion that I have a decent reading vocabulary, but my speaking vocabulary consists of maybe 250 words, several of which are not socially acceptable. I might be forced to decamp when abashed by using those socially unacceptable words while amidst people with delicate sensibilities.