Word of the Day

Looking to the future
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MOOREEFFOC

Charles Dickens reportedly wiled away many of his days sat in a local coffee house in London. “When I had money enough, I used to go to a coffee-shop … in Maiden-lane,” he once wrote, and there order “half-a-pint of coffee and a slice of bread and butter” and watch the world go by around him. To everyone else in the coffee house, it was just a regular day. To the keen-eyed Dickens, however, the café was a microcosm of London life, full of hidden drama, bizarre characters and endless stories.

The entire experience proved a great source of motivation for Dickens, and he embodied the inspiration he was able to take from such a mundane scene in one word. “In the door, there was an oval glass-plate with Coffee-Room painted on it, addressed towards the street,” he explained. “If I ever find myself in a very different kind of coffee-room now, but where there is such an inscription on the glass, and read it backward on the wrong side, ‘mooR-eeffoC’ … a shock goes through my blood.”

Mooreeffoc became Dickens’ term for seeing something familiar or mundane from an entirely different angle, and thereby taking new and exciting inspiration from it.

It is a word to remind us that even in the most seemingly commonplace and boring of things, there is always something new to pique our interests. Mooreeffoc is ultimately a word for anyone who has become tired or lost their zeal for something that once interested them – as well as surely being a contender for one of our language’s most peculiar words.

Taken from Wikipedia, Mooreeffoc, also known as The Mooreeffoc Effect, denotes the queerness of things that have become commonplace, when they are seen suddenly from a new angle.

Trivia, I know. But even trivia can be a distraction. To those of us who grieve, I think this word can, in a sense, relate to our situation. We are certainly seeing life from a new angle (not in the best way) and things have definitely become very strange; horribly so.

Sending you all a Sunday hug. :hugs:

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Hi Kate
That was fun. The word hurts your head to try to read it. The idea behind it tho is well worth it.
Ty!!!

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These words of the day are provided every Sunday in the Telegraph. I’ve found myself looking forward to them. When I read about them I instantly try to apply the word and it’s definition, to my grief. I hope some of you can get something from them too. This week, one to help you break down your worries…

CULTELLATION

Everyone can feel a bit overwhelmed every now and then. But when your biggest burden is that you’re simply feeling overburdened, there’s at least one intriguing word that’s worth remembering: cultellation is the act of solving a problem by breaking it down into smaller, much more manageable parts.

Etymologically, cultellation derives from cultellus, the name of an ancient surveying tool used to measure height or distance over difficult terrain. Essentially a plumb line strung perpendicularly from a horizontal measuring pole or chain, the cultellus would be held out from the body, with the weighted plumb dangling down to the ground below. These two measurements, the horizontal and the vertical, could then be noted down, before a second reading – then a third, a fourth, and so on – was taken from every point where the weight struck the ground. Eventually, the entire distance could be covered in all these tiny incremental steps.

In this original practical sense, the word cultellation first appeared in English in the 1500s, but by the eighteenth century it had come to be used much more generally to describe the piecemeal solving of any difficult task or problem.

Ultimately, it’s a word reminding us that when we are overwhelmed with jobs – or, for that matter, one single impenetrable problem – breaking our worries down into smaller parts can make the whole thing seem much less daunting and more manageable.

In grief, how many times have we been told to take one day at a time, one hour even? Not to rush, nor make rash decisions. With regards sorting through our loved ones possessions, to break it down and do a bit at a time, when we’re ready.
When I first read the definition of cultellation, I thought it can’t apply to grief but actually, perhaps it can. Grief is overwhelming, no doubt about it and I can’t imagine it can ever be made to seem less daunting. However, maybe it can be more manageable. I think I manage my grief in a way that suits me. I have coping strategies. I accept it will never leave me, nor do I want it to. I’m more than 3 years down the line so I can think like this. Those of you newly bereaved cannot. You may be thinking what is this woman talking about. Crazy by name, crazy by nature? Maybe. I do tend to over think things these days. My grief is my life but that’s ok. My husband remains everywhere within my life. That’s ok too. If he didn’t, I couldn’t do this.

xx

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Interesting word Kate :thinking: love how you have applied it to our situation x

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Thank you V. I’m a very deep thinker these days. :thinking: xx

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Don’t want to bring gutter humour into your thread but just remembered something about my dad. This should be on the humour one but it takes me so
long to wade through! He used to find it hilarious as a boy to read on the sauce bottle the name Gartons backwards! :joy:

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That’s really funny!

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:joy::joy::joy: sometimes a laugh is good between the tears x

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