Words about Words

When I was in elementary school, I was in a club called "Word Masters." While I shudder at the title now, the group was a lot of fun and it helped me kick ass* on one section of the GRE. We learned new vocabulary words, did analogies and other fun word puzzles. I loved it. (Lest, you think I was a complete nerd in those days, it was school sponsored and I was invited to join by my teacher--this was not something I put together myself and *ahem* mastered alone. I was far too busy organizing groups called "The Nifty Niners" and "Girls Who Like Sports.")

I've always liked words, their origins and definitions. I just don't like spelling the words. Words=good. Spelling=bad. I'm also pretty bad at the pronunciation. I think it is because I do so much silent reading (or because I'm actually NOT a word master), but I often say words aloud (like while I'm teaching, perhaps) and think to myself "Is that how you say that word? Crap, did I just say the wrong word?" Other times, Drew gives me a blank stare and says, "What word is that?" and I realize that I made it up.

I did pretty well at THIS. American Heritage Dictionary has put out a list of 100 words every high school graduate (and their parents) should know. Fun!


*By "kick ass," I mean "do average" but do WAY better than I did on the math section**.

** And by "math section," I mean "the part of the test that made me feel like the dumbest person on the face of the planet.