I was not amused!

Keith's Ramblings

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Today’s desuetude words are :-

Desuetude (n)  Obsolescence; a state of disuse.

Defenestrate (v)  To throw out of a window.

Declivitous (v)  Downward sloping.

 

nn

 

‘Where did you find that?  I asked.

‘I was clearing out the loft,  and there it was. I thought I’d lost it.  It’s worth a fortune you know’.

‘But it’s just a scruffy old football’  I said.  ‘It’s desuetude’.

‘It’s seen better days, but it scored the winning goal in the Northern Football League final in 1889 and I’m donating it to the British Sports Museum’.

As a joke, I opened the window and pretended to defenestrate it!

Unfortunately, it slipped from my grasp, hit the pavement, bounced its way down the declivitous street, hopped over a fence into the park, and plopped into a pond.

I was mortified! 

‘I’ll fetch it’  I spluttered as I rushed out the door.

When I got to the park I found a group of boys kicking it around.

‘No no no’  I yelled,  ‘it’s a valuable antique’.

It cost me six ice creams, four chocky bars and two sticky buns to get it back.

‘Here it is’  I said as I handed it back.  ‘No damage done’.

 My mean friend suddenly got a fit of the giggles. 

‘I hate to tell you, mate’  he chuckled,  ‘I got my kids a new ball yesterday and I was putting that godforsaken old thing in the garbage bin this afternoon’.

 

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Mondays words –

Eyne, embouchure, erelong,  eftsoon,  egad,  now, excogigate,  esurient, and  esurient.

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53 thoughts on “I was not amused!”

  1. Unishta Apr 4, 2020 / 09:45

    Greediness doesn’t pay does it ? The boys must have been thrilled with the treat they got in return for the ball !

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  4. hilarymb Apr 4, 2020 / 11:12

    Hi Keith – lovely story … and fun to see your words. He was not dismayed, was he … enjoy whatever sunshine you can see … looks the fog is finally going from here – cheers Hilary

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    • Keith's Ramblings Apr 4, 2020 / 11:50

      Thanks, Hilary. Brightening up nicely now. Should be a good weekend for tidying up my balcony after the damaged caused by all that wind recently!

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  7. Arti Apr 4, 2020 / 15:16

    That football emoji in the end captures what I-imagine-you-must-have-looked-like when your neighbour said those words perfectly. Good one Keith.

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  10. Christine Goodnough Apr 4, 2020 / 15:51

    A great little story, great use of words. I’d never heard the first one…some cousin to suede? You’d think the adjective form would be desuetudal. (What a mouthful!)
    The other words I recognize from their French roots. You’re making good use of your lock-down time, educating us all. 🙂

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  11. Anagha Yatin Apr 4, 2020 / 17:03

    A lucky lucky day for the boys in the field as well as the mean friend. But definitely a bad one for someone.
    I wonder if I can use even half of the new old words by the end of the series with your posts, I would be in a position to compete with a famous(?) politician in India who is known for his flair with English language!

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  12. soniadogra Apr 4, 2020 / 17:52

    I just watched a video today in which this Indian politician is throwing a volley of words are us with the clock ticking and it made me think of you.
    The flash was fun. Maybe he owed the lucky boys a treat. Happy Sunday!💐💐

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    • Keith's Ramblings Apr 5, 2020 / 11:41

      Me too! Thank goodness my blog doesn’t have an editor, it would look a right mess!

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  14. Namratha Varadharajan Apr 4, 2020 / 19:07

    That was one mean prank! But, I am tempted to use one or more of the words in this series and try coming up with a poem..

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  15. Kathe W. Apr 4, 2020 / 19:10

    I am so enjoying your wee little and amusing stories! Great imagination and use of unknown words! Cheers!

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  18. Srivalli Apr 5, 2020 / 06:30

    Lol… poor guy. Defenestrate is a cool word. I came across it two years ago when searching for some free submissions. That’s an online platform with that name. 😀

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    • Keith's Ramblings Apr 5, 2020 / 11:34

      I’m surprised how many people have said they knew it – I didn’t before discovering in my dictionary of old words! I guess I’d better start using it more in future!

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  21. Varad Apr 5, 2020 / 16:11

    That was one mean prank and one hilarious tale. Good one, Keith.

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  22. Stu Apr 6, 2020 / 13:15

    In real life, that would be great improvisational storytelling. Brief, but oh so expandable.This made me laugh.
    Besides the words at the top, there have been a few “native” words I have no idea what they are but a guess: choky bar is chocolate?

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    • Keith's Ramblings Apr 6, 2020 / 13:41

      Native words – I like that! And yes, it’s a bar of chocolate! Cheers Stu.

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  25. susanrouchard Apr 9, 2020 / 16:40

    Ha, ha, ha ! Priceless. Thank you for this fun flash. In French we use the word désuet, as an adjective, like we also use kitsch. Three Latin words today I see. Fenêtre, window. Déclinaison, slope.
    E appears very ambitious, looking forward to these varied origins. Already behind on visiting again this year … oh, well. Happy Easter week-end. Take care.

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    • Keith's Ramblings Apr 10, 2020 / 10:33

      Pleased you liked it Susan So many words have roots in other languages, archaic or modern. Joyeuses Pâques!

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