Finally, I bring you what the word corner was meant to do…
V O C A B U L A R Y!
Yeah, the only useful vocabulary-giving post of mine was the medieval one.
So, let’s start with a simple one:
ALAS
This was an option in the polls for the top word, but it didn’t get chosen. So, I’m doing it here!
It means something around the lines of « sadly ».
By that, I mean that you can use it like « I wanted to eat, but alas, the fridge was empty » BUT NOT like « I walked forward alas ». It replaces sadly only sometimes.
THUS
« Thus » means « consequently ». « He stayed at the crime scene, thus he was caught. »
WOE
« Woe » is another way to express sadness! (there are a lot of sad words today) you can use it to sound particualrily dramatic, or just to show people that you have a good mastery of English.
« Oh woe is me! My poor cat hath no food in his bowl! »
(tip: imagining cats speaking like a diseased Victorian era child makes them x1000 funnier)
(« Oh mother! Yee hath forsaken me! Why hath thee disallowed my exit into the world outside? Oh, woe is me! All that poor Persephone wanted was to see the sun one last time! Oh woe is me! »)
BANAL
This word also exists in French, so this might confuse a person who didn’t know that it could also be used in English. If something isn’t interesting, say « banal » instead of « not interesting » or « uninteresting ».
Alright, quiz time! Decipher the following message:
SGD ZMRVDQ HR SGD SGHQC NMD
HINT: DISC, etc
- You have no enemies
- Lake Natron
- Caesar cipher
- The basilisk
ANSWER: This is a caesar cipher! It’s a common form of encrypting that consists of replacing each letter with the one that follows.