In my search for the just the right word, I often turn to Roget’s Thesaurus, which is a great resource but has the potential to distract me. For example:
Look up “sat”. See “Satan” at top of page. Find synonyms and antonyms for “the devil”. Notice "Beelzebub".
Am reminded of the Washington Post's Mensa Invitational reworking of the word and search old emails until I find it: Beelzebug (n.): Satan in the form of a mosquito, that gets into your bedroom at three in the morning and cannot be cast out.
Re-read the rest (**see below) and have a good laugh. Return to thesaurus. See Loki under subheading “fallen angels”. Hey, wasn’t that the spirit that possessed Jim Carrey in “The Mask”?
By now, I’ve forgotten why I opened Roget’s in the first place. And I wonder why my word count for the day is so low!
**The Washington Post's Mensa Invitational asks readers to take any word from the dictionary, alter it by adding, subtracting, or changing of one letter, and supply a new definition. The 2005 winners were:
*Cashtration: The act of buying a house, which renders the subject financially impotent for an indefinite period.
*Ignoranus: A person who's both stupid and a butthead.
*Intaxication: Euphoria at getting a tax refund, which lasts until you realize it was your money to start with.
*Reintarnation: Coming back to life as a hillbilly.
*Bozone: The substance surrounding stupid people that stops bright ideas from penetrating.
*Caterpallor: The color you turn after finding half a worm in the fruit you're eating.
*Giraffiti: Vandalism spray-painted very, very high.
*Sarchasm: The gulf between the author of sarcastic wit and the person who doesn't get it.
*Inoculatte: To take coffee intravenously when you are running late.
*Hipatitis: Terminal coolness.
*Osteopornosis: A degenerate disease (This one got extra credit.)
*Karmageddon: It's like, when everybody is sending off all these really bad vibes, right? And then, like, the Earth explodes and it's like, a serious bummer.
*Decafalon: The grueling event of getting through the day consuming only things that are good for you.
*Glibido: All talk and no action.
*Dopeler effect: The tendency of stupid ideas to seem smarter when they come at you rapidly.
*Arachnoleptic fit: The frantic dance performed just after you've accidentally walked through a spider web.