There Is A Word For That

The last few days have been a whirlwind of activity as we prepare for our son’s impending looming upcoming wedding. “Impending” and “looming” didn’t sound quite right, for they both imply that the wedding “hovers threateningly.” It pays to consult a dictionary now and then so that you can find the proper word. There is no “threat” here … the wedding is a marvelous thing.

It is the detailed itinerary I have prepared that “looms.” Technically, I suppose it is just a “to do” list, but I consider it the “journey before the trip.” I look at the list with dread each morning. It is exhausting trying to get ready for an event, isn’t it?

I was plumb “tuckered” out yesterday (pun intended), so I blindly plopped into my favorite chair on the porch to relax for a few minutes. I leaned back in the cushions and closed my eyes, drinking in the scent of flower blossoms and the sound of the buzzing cicadas. Moments later, I sat bolt upright and began slapping at my arms and legs. I abruptly leaped to my feet and danced all over the porch tossing my head until my hair flew. I looked like a rock musician cavorting onstage … or an unfortunate victim of St. Vitus’ dance.

“What’s wrong?” my alarmed husband asked. I don’t know if he was more disturbed by the sight of me dancing, or the shrieks I emitted.

“ANTS!” I shouted.

It seems that while I was blithely working inside my house, a colony of ants decided that my favorite chair would make cushy new digs. I was covered with them! An hour later I was still finding errant ants that had managed to hide in my hair.

Several hours later I was still wiping at myself, imagining that ants were on me. I told my husband, “There aren’t any ants anymore, but I still tingle like they are walking on me.”

“Formication,” he said with a smile.

“Do whut?” I asked with several degrees of disbelief. I could not believe my ears! How could he think of that at a time like this? You see, my ears heard an “n” instead of an “m” in that word and, quite frankly, it should have been obvious to a blind mule that I wasn’t in the mood at that particular moment.

“There’s a word for that,” he said.

“What in Thunder are you talking about?” I shouted.

“It’s the word for what you have,” he replied. “Formication. It means: the illusion or hallucination that ants or other insects are creeping on or under the skin.”

“Oh,” I said. He wasn’t thinking of “that” at all.

I consulted a dictionary, and he is right, but I discovered that formication is also a “feature of some psychotic states.” Is my itinerary making me psychotic, or should I stop looking at the dictionary?

Is there a word for “obsessively looking up words in the dictionary?”

Other posts you might enjoy:

1. I Love It When He Talks Dirty
2. Bluebonnets and April Fools
3. Thursday Thirteen #10—Excuses
4. Titillation: Part One
5. It’s All Geek To Me

Tagged as: humor, vocabulary