The family played a few hands of gin rummy last night. Nancy clobbered us as usual. Considering she's not an autistic savant, she's able to keep lots of numbers in her head.
In my quasi-ADD way, I was ruminating on vocabulary, coming up with groups of four similar-but-not-identical words. Example:
booth
kiosk
cubicle
niche
lair
hideout
cache
cave
weir
fence
membrane
sieve
Etc. etc. and so forth.
Do we really need all these words? I.A. Richards and C.K. Ogden made up something called "Basic English" that had 850 words. They claimed that for many purposes, 850 was enough. I used to write high school essays in it without disclosing the fact. I got A's (go figure). I can't resist wondering if Basic English is the opposite of Acidic English, which I like as well.
To be sure, some of the words were like "get," which has innumerable meanings (obtain, impregnate, become, understand -- just for starters).
I enjoy these word games, but I fear it's an affectation, like goosing statues. NB: I originally typed "goosing statutes." That's what I do for a living, not as recreation; I'm a lawyer. That, in turn, could be because I lack manual dexterity (skill, finesse, precision).
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