How about some “coDondrums” (conundrums created by yours truly)? The first syllable in this word has the sound of the word that appears twice in First John 5:17. This four-syllable adverb means “in a narrow or strict sense.”
This word begins with “pal.” Level, madam and 999 are examples of one. Thirdly, what’s the word that means the spirit of the time?
And here’s one more. Also starting with the same letter as the word that means the spirit of the time, this word means the highest point or state. After you solve these “coDondrums,” take this week’s word quiz.
1. uncanny (un-CAN-ee)
A. strange and mysterious in a way that might trouble you
B. staleness
C. hilarious, comical
D. risqué
——————-
2. scythe (SITH)
A. barbaric
B. a tool consisting of a long, curving blade fastened at an angle on a handle
C. someone who communicates wisdom
D. someone who predicts the future
——————-
3. crease (KREECE)
A. a line or ridge produced on paper or cloth by folding or pressing
B. an area around the goal in ice hockey or lacrosse
C. to crumple or wrinkle
D. (of a bullet) to graze someone or something without causing serious harm
The answers to the “coDondrums” are sensu stricto, palindrome, zeitgeist and zenith.
No. 1 is A. No. 2 is B. A scythe is a cutting tool. The King of Navarre in “Love’s Labor’s Lost” used the word. As for No. 3, all four are correct. I tell my students, “To help bring about unbroken eye contact with your audience, fold, long before you come to the podium, your speaking outline and really get that crease in the middle of the pages so that the outline almost automatically opens after it’s placed on the podium.”
——————-
4. nimiety (ni-MY-i-tee)
A. excess, an overabundance
B. paucity
C. scarcity
D. flexibility
Aside from A, nimiety means an instance of having excess or an overabundance.
Here’s one more coDondrum for you. The first three letters of the last name of “The Purloined Letter’s” author are the first three letters of this two-word noun that means “an outcome in which vice is punished and virtue rewarded usually in a manner peculiarly or ironically appropriate” (Merriam-Webster).
Editor’s Note: Dr. Don Rodney Vaughan is the pastor of Mt. Vernon Baptist Church near Eupora and is on the faculty of East Mississippi Community College, Golden Triangle Campus. Contact him at dvaughan@eastms.edu.
