Guest post by Pincy Cat
Hello! I’m Pincy and I’m a cat. I could say I’m an awesome cat, but that’s redundant because all cats are awesome.* One of my most awesome attributes is that I love words. Words are magical, aren’t they? The more words you know, the more ways you can use them. You humans have to read or hear or see them to learn, but I learn another way: osmosis. I like to nap on my Merriam-Webster dictionary because when I wake up I know even more words!
Follow Pincy Cat on Twitter
Because you can’t depend on osmosis, I’ll help you out. It’s summer, one of my four favorite seasons, and these are some of my favorite estival words. See what I did there? I snuck in the first word: estival. Estival is an adjective, which means it describes a noun. It means “of or relating to summer.”
Some people say summer is soporific. It means “causing someone to become tired and ready to fall asleep.” Just imagine lying under a shady tree, soft breeze moving, and you’re drifting off to dream of crinkly balls (maybe that’s just me). You might say, “I can’t think of anything finer than a soporific afternoon in the backyard, especially when I should be weeding the garden.”
Follow Pincy Cat on Twitter
Balmy is also an adjective. It has several meanings, but one is “warm, calm and pleasant,” and we use it to talk about the weather, the air, etc. You might say, “Balmy days make me happy, but a cat would make me happier.” And you would be speaking the truth.
Follow Pincy Cat on Twitter
Okay, so you’ve been soporific on a balmy day, but now it’s time to wake up. What’s the first thing you do? You practice pandiculation. Pandiculation is a fancy medical noun for stretching and stiffening your limbs when you wake up. Everyone does it, including cats, and it feels so good. You might say, “Pandiculation is the best part of waking up,” and then look superior when the other person has no idea what that is.
Something else people experience in summer is bugs. It doesn’t matter what they’re called—mosquitos, gnats, or “oh my gosh, what IS that??”—they’re a botheration. Botheration is a noun and means what you think it does: something that is annoying and bothers you. You might say, “I’d like to finish my favorite book of poetry, I Could Pee on This: And Other Poems by Cats, but these gnats are a botheration.” (Yes, that’s a real book. I own it.)
Follow Pincy Cat on Twitter
No sooner are those words out of your mouth, you’re beset with mosquitos. One of the meanings of beset is “to trouble or harass someone,” and you can tell it’s a verb because it’s something you do. “Arrgh!” you yell as you hightail it inside. “I’m beset with mosquitos!” Did you notice how I snuck a bonus word in that sentence? The verb hightail means “to retreat at high speed” and that’s what I do when it thunders, but that’s a story for another day.
Many people love to have parties during the summer, particularly ones held outside. A clambake is an outdoor party characterized by noisy sociability. You might say, “Let’s have a clambake! Bring your swimsuit!” And if that isn’t enough, mention that there will be food (and alcohol).
For some reason, humans like to get wet. If there’s a body of water around, people like to swim in it, especially the dog-paddle, which is a noun and refers to swimming the way a dog does. You might say, “I can’t even do the dog-paddle, so I swim like a fish . . . at the bottom.” And then wait for people to laugh. (You might have to wait a long time.)
When humans drink alcohol, the racket increases. Racket is a noun and one of its meanings is “clamor.” Clamor means “noisy shouting.” See how much fun it is to learn new words? Now when you think something is loud, you can say racket or clamor!
I don’t drink alcohol, but I get besotted when I have too much catnip. One of besotted‘s meanings is “drunk or intoxicated.” You might say, “I think Pincy’s besotted from catnip because she fell asleep in the butter!” (Side note: I dream of that happening.)
Follow Pincy Cat on Twitter
Summer is chock-full of fun and words to describe it. I couldn’t resist adding another word. Chock-full is an adjective that means “so full that nothing else will fit.” You might say (and I hope you do), “Has anyone seen Pincy? That cat is chock-full of awesomeness.”
What are your favorite words this summer?
*You know that’s true.
You might know this, but English isn’t my first language. My first language is cat (because I’m a cat). I was born in a barn and now I live in a house, and one of my favorite spots is on the back of the couch. My other favorite spot is Twitter, where I share a word of the day, silly jokes, and photos of a most photogenic cat (if you guessed that I’m that cat, you’re right!). Visit me on Twitter at @PincyCat. (Preference will be given to those who come bearing cat snacks.)
👍 maybe now, I can use words instead of so many emojis
Hehe, yes! 😍😀😜😘🤓
Pincy Cat can help you become the most eloquent person around!
Thanks so much for checking out the article, June!
Nice words..really would.love to use them in day to day life.
Keep it up and keep posting.
Thanks for checking out the post, Umesh! I am a huge fan of Pincy Cat, and I was thrilled with the words that she chose!
One of my personal favorites from her post is the verb ‘hightail’. It makes me think of a deer because they stick their tails up in the air when they run. We have a lot of deer where I live. 🙂
I smell a rat, might Sancho Panza and Pinzy Cat be close relatives? I wonder if they already know each other…
By the way, I’m chuffed to bits having read this lovely post. I enjoyed it quite a lot!
Have a bright day!!
You smelled right, Javi! 🙂 Sancho Panza is actually besotted* with Pincy Cat! He pines for her night and day. (Actually, Pincy Cat was the one who inspired Sancho to take to Twitter!)
I’m so glad you enjoyed it! I’m a huge fan of Pincy Cat! She’s wonderful!
*So, Pincy gave you one definition of ‘besotted’. Another is ‘to love someone so much that you do not behave in a sensible way.’
I love pandiculation, especially on soporific sunny days. ☀️Splendid words Pincy Cat! 🥛🐿
Thanks so much for checking out Pincy’s post! 🙂
I feel the same way about pandiculation. In fact, I intend to engage in some serious pandiculation as soon as I hit “Reply” on this comment!