April Snow Showers Bring May Flowers?

Old Man Winter doesn't want to call it quits for the year. According to weatherforyou.com and kare11.com, the Minneapolis/St. Paul area is set to get a whopping 7-12 inches of snow over the next day and a half.

God sure does have a sense of humor.

Update: The warm front from Mexico just barely pushed the storm north of us, sparing us of this unwelcome April blizzard. While we only got a dusting, many places north of us received well over a foot of snow.

A Few More Words

Here are some more words from Carson. My index card is now full, and the process of writing them down is becoming more of a distraction than an opportunity to satisfy my curiousity. Well, here are the new words. Perhaps you can add this list to your array of words, or maybe it is a refresher for you. Once again, the definitions are from dictionary.com.

Tautologous: needless repetition of an idea

Apogee: the highest or most distant point

Unguents: A salve for soothing or healing; an ointment.

Self-abnegation: self-denial or self-sacrifice

Equanimity: mental or emotional stability or composure, esp. under tension or strain; calmness; equilibrium.

Obduracy: The state or quality of being intractable or hardened

Paschal: of or pertaining to Passover

Paucity: smallness of quantity; scarcity; scantiness

Preponderance: superiority in weight, power, numbers

Adumbration: to foreshadow; prefigure

Aphorism: a terse saying embodying a general truth, or astute observation

Aporias: the expression of a simulated or real doubt, as about where to begin or what to do or say.

Frescoes: the art or technique of painting on a moist, plaster surface with colors ground up in water or a limewater mixture

Progeny: a descendant or offspring, as a child, plant, or animal

Nascent: beginning to exist or develop

And thus concludes your grammar lesson for today. I suppose I good lesson always ends in application, so your task is to use four words you did not previously know in a sentence today.

Example: Your equanimity will not be affected by the paucity of your present vocabulary; however, I fear that my emphasis on the importance of increasing your nascent, linguistic range is becoming tautologous.

My Expanding Vocabulary

D.A. Carson sure has an expansive vocabulary. Even though I had not read very much of him prior to his commentary on John, I realized rather quickly that he has great dexterity with the English language. At times it is rather comical. I have been keeping writing on a notecard all the words Carson uses that of wich I am not familiar. After only 100 pages of keeping track, my notecard is nearly full. Here is a list of some of the words I came across (the definitions supplied are from dictionary.com):

Umbrage: offense; annoyance; displeasure

Ignominy (I have came across this word at least 3 or 4 times): disgrace; dishonor; public contempt

Pettifogging: insignificant; petty;dishonest or unethical in insignificant matters; meanly petty

Reticent: disposed to be silent or not to speak freely; reserved

Incenses: To cause to be extremely angry; infuriate.

Assize: an edict, ordinance, or enactment made at a session of a legislative assembly

Viticulture: the culture or cultivation of grapevines; grape-growing

Derelication: Not in dictionary (He possibly meant dereliction)

Marauders: Not in dictionary

Putative: commonly regarded as such; reputed; supposed

Groundswell:any surge of support, approval, or enthusiasm, esp. among the general public

Sapiential: containing, exhibiting, or affording wisdom; characterized by wisdom

Animus: strong dislike or enmity; hostile attitude; animosity

Proleptic: the anticipation of possible objections in order to answer them in advance.

Castigate: to criticize or reprimand severely

Brigands: A robber or bandit, especially one of an outlaw band

And to think, this is a commentary aimed at "pastors, teachers, and students everywhere"! Granted, a majority of teachers would probably be familar with these words; however, I doubt most seminary students and pastors would fully grasp what Carson was saying without a dictionary near at hand.

With all that said, I don't know if this is more of an indictment against Carson's enigmatic writing style or the general American's ignorance of the wealth of English words.