Thursday, July 2, 2009

Awesome, Overwhelming, Breathtaking, Tremendous, Amazing...

Oh great Thesaurus, you are my favorite.

You can turn this:

“I see you are looking for people with know-how in the writing stuff and know what to do with books… and stuff.”

Into this:

“I understand you are seeking candidates with a solid background in writing, craft, and with familiarity with the publishing field.”

Or

“Apparently caregivers are sensitive to the length and complexity of their own models even before they expand the child’s utterances.” Born to Talk, Hulit and Howard, 2006, p. 152

Into this:

“People watching over children worry about what they say.”

Or

“It was a dark and dreary night.” (I can’t remember who wrote this, but it is overly quoted.) (You can put it down in the comments if you know. The author, not the quote.)

Into this:

“It was a gloomy and monotonous hour of darkness.” (Well, not quit the same.)

* sigh*

Who couldn’t love the Thesaurus, or a great piece of pie? I just don’t know.

9 comments:

Melissa Amateis said...

I believe it was actually "It was a dark and stormy night" and it was written by Edward George Bulwer-Lytton. They have a contest to see who can come up with the worst first line. You can find out the details here:
http://www.bulwer-lytton.com/

And yes, I LOVE my thesaurus!

Carolyn V. said...

Thanks Melissa!

I wonder if he knew his 1st line would be so famous?

Nichole Giles said...

Personally, I adore my thesaurus! They really are a writer's friend.

And as for pie, well, who doesn't love pie?

Great blog.

Nichole

* said...

Thesaruses/thesari (plural form?) are my fave, ever since a young kid. I used to carry around a paperback one way before the days of common computer use, and would flip through it, feeling...wordy and wise.

Great post!!

Anonymous said...

Ah...the Thesaurus, oh how I love thee! Hence, the lexicon loving. =] Great job with school!

Carolyn V. said...

Thanks Nichole! Yes, the thesaurus is a wonderful, wonderful thing. Sigh. So is the pie.

Terresa, all I can say is...kindred spirits. =)

L.T. You are a walking thesaurus and I love it!

Amber Lynae said...

I am a fan of the thesaurus myself. Does any one else think that its name sounds like a species of dinosaurs? Regardless, it is a tool that will never go extinct in my book.

I loved your examples.

Anonymous said...

Forget what Stephen king says; "If you have to look in the thesaurus, it's the wrong word" or somrthing to that effect.
Ha!
Love, love, LOVE my thesaurus!

Linda Garner said...

My thesaurus is my best friend. Well next to Friend-Husband, and my critique group, and my editor, and my awesome illustrator. Well, you get the idea. L.G.