From the monthly archives: November 2012

“Soon is Not Enough”

On November 29, 2012 By

The word of the day for November 22, 2012: SOON.

As I was scanning through entries to feature in this post, my son sent me a text message asking if I could pick him up from school. “Okay, I’ll be there soon.” I typed. Before hitting send, I thought about what a wishy-washy, noncommittal word “soon” is; a word that implies that something is just around the corner—often when it’s not. Even when “soon” speaks of hope, it’s largely indicative of some sort of lack. I revised my reply: “I’ll be there in 14 minutes.”…

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“Little Big Bangs”

On November 27, 2012 By

The word of the day for November 24, 2012: LIBRARY.

Library is a word that technology has rendered nearly obsolete. I had forgotten what a magical place a library used to be for me: construction paper letters announcing the new; musty smells of aged leather and browning paper announcing the old; librarians navigating a mysterious decimal system; the cacophony of crossing waves of passion from poets, prophets, and imaginers transcending time; the silence.

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Square Squared

On November 26, 2012 By

The word of the day for November 23, 2012: SQUARE.

As the adage goes, “there are two sides to every story.” This one has four.
A square is rare in nature. Through the airplane window at 30,000 feet, rivers snake across the landscape as meandering peaks fork through the limestone…

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Better [      ] Than Never

On November 23, 2012 By

The word of the day for November 22, 2012: LATE.
I was born critically premature. I almost died. I like to joke that I’ve never been early since…

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“Hall and Oatsmeal”

On November 22, 2012 By

The word of the day for November 21, 2012: HALL.
In the morning, you made me breakfast
You called it “Hall and Oatesmeal”
I rolled my eyes…
(ooo ooo)
[anonymous oneword™ user]

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The word of the day for November 20, 2012: RECEIVED.

Most people (and possibly some of Old Macdonald’s farm animals*) are familiar with the “I before E except after C” rule. But what’s with words like leisure, seizure, weigh, and neighbor? Seriously, what’s with you words? If any of you words happen to […]

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Decadent

On November 18, 2012 By

Ten years ago today, oneword™ flickered to life. Since then we have illuminated the lives of tens of thousands of writers (or at least helped to free them from a bout or two of writer’s block).

As I wrote a few months back, oneword™’s very first word (or lack thereof) was “astroturf.” Here are […]

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