Alternate Word Art

I've decided that one of the coolest things on the planet is the Thesaurus.

It is a tool (apparatus, appliance, bucksaw, contraption, contrivance, dojigger, engine, gadget, gizmo, implement, job, machine, means, mechanism, utensil, weapon, whatchamacallit) a device, if you will, that allows one to elevate descriptions to a level verging on an art form. Seriously people... what's more interesting, "Congratulations (Mike and Abby) on the announcement of your pregnancy!" or "Ovations on the communique of your fruitfulness!" See... art.

I used the Thesaurus a lot in high school and college, when writing papers but forgot how much fun it was. Now, in the age of computers and the information super-highway, I have a thesaurus link saved to my favorites and I find myself using it daily to describe things like "ambiance" (atmosphere, aura, backdrop, background, circumstances, climate, conditions, context, domain, element, encompassment, entourage, habitat, hood, jungle, locale, medium, milieu, neighborhood, purlieus, scene, scenery, setting, situation, status, stomping ground, surroundings, terrain, territory, turf, zoo.) to my clients.

I have however, discovered that the thesaurus can also be used to vent! This prodigious form of therapy has resulted in turning sheer anger and frustaration into hilarity and merriment (amusement, cachinnation, cackle, chortle, chortling, chuckle, chuckling, crack-up, crow, crowing, fit, gesture, giggle, giggling, glee, guffaw, guffawing, har-de-har, howling, laugh, mirth, peal, rejoicing, roar, roaring, shout, shouting, shriek, snicker, snigger, snort, snorting, sound, tehee, titter, tittering, yuck), when used to secretly insult the kingpins in my office. It's funny how "Kiss my butt, you pompous twit" almost sounds like a compliment when alternating typical words used daily with words found in the Thesaurus... "Osculate my aft extremity, you magniloquent dolt!"

I have also found the Thesaurus to be educational and useful when playing on-line scrabble with cute boys that reside in Pittsburgh. Let's say you have letters r, x, h, a, t, n and q. You need a 4 letter word starting with a 't' to get to the triple word square. What do you do? Remembering that there is a funny little word, meaning "creek," that grandma once used in a scrabble battle past, you look to the thesaurus! Cheating? Well, maybe (sorry honey)! Sidenote: that very same funny little word (tarn) was published in the May edition of Hemispheres (United Airlines in flight magazine), in an article about the french countryside... interesting!

And, at that, I will end this blog with my favorite "alternative word art" to date... fun (absurdity, ball, big time, blast, buffoonery, celebration, cheer, clowning, distraction, diversion, enjoyment, entertainment, escapade, festivity, foolery, frolic, gaiety, gambol, game, good time, grins, high jinks, holiday, horseplay, jesting, jocularity, joke, joking, jollity, joy, junketing, laughter, merriment, merrymaking, mirth, nonsense, pastime, picnic, play, playfulness, pleasure, recreation, rejoicing, relaxation, riot, romp, romping, solace, sport, tomfoolery, treat, whoopee)!