Bookworm's study📚

2021-07-12 16:41:41 “It lay face down in a great pool of dark, thickened blood, and had the gory print of a shod human foot in the middle of its naked back. Blood was spattered everywhere — on the walls, furniture, and floor. My knees gave way as I took in the sight, so that I had to stumble to a chair and slump down. The thing had obviously been a human being, though its identity was not easy to establish at first; since it was without clothes, and had most of its hair hacked and torn from the scalp in a very crude way. It was of a deep ivory colour, and I knew that it must have been Marceline. The shoe-print on the back made the thing seem all the more hellish. I could not even picture the strange, loathsome tragedy which must have taken place while I slept in the room below. When I raised my hand to wipe my dripping forehead I saw that my fingers were sticky with blood. I shuddered, then realised that it must have come from the knob of the door which the unknown murderer had forced shut behind him as he left. He had taken his weapon with him, it seemed, for no instrument of death was visible here."

H.P. Lovecraft, Medusa's Coil Open / Comment

2021-07-12 16:33:16 Horrendous evil surviving from the times of Atlantis and Hyperborea lurks in this accursed mansion; slumbering, festering, biding its time to arise once more to wreak terror upon men. Beware Medusa's coil!

Now seriously, what the heck is Medusa?

First, Medusa is a proper noun. Sometimes she's also called Gorgo. In Greek mythology, Medusa is a monstrosity described as a winged human-looking female with living poisonous snakes in place of hair. She is said to have had so abhorrent an appearance that whoever caught even a glimpse of Medusa's face immediately turned into stone - forever! About this time, a portentous clap of thunder should roll across the sky.

How is this story connected to the myth about Medusa?

Well, the creature in the story was inspired by the legend and I should say the author got the part about "viperous" hair pretty nice.

But enough chit-chat. Go check it out yourself

#fiction #novelette

@bookworm_study Open / Comment

2021-07-12 06:00:16 Yesterday, while reading a casual (= informal, nonacademic) piece on animal habits, I bumped into a curiously formulated observation, which used pets, have, and thoughts all in one sentence. Incredible as the idea was, it got me thinking though, so I went online for the answers. The one I found was none too definite but, long story short, yes, probably, while not Einsteins, furballs can think a thing or two.

#nonfiction #article #science

@bookworm_study

https://news.harvard.edu/gazette/story/2002/03/scientists-think-that-animals-think/ Open / Comment

2021-07-12 05:00:05 Despite the shamelessly beaten (exp. if a saying is beaten, it is unoriginal because it's been used a lot in the past) message in this quote, one could hardly overstate the paramount importance of being your own self in a world of individuals and factions growing perplexingly alike. Stay true to you and your interests, be it stamp collecting or bonsai. No one is better suited for your part (=role) than you are.

Best of luck

#quote

@bookworm_study Open / Comment

2021-07-11 14:26:35 Castaway vs. outcast

Castaway is a person whose ship was wrecked (=severely damaged) at sea and who ended up in an isolated place such as an uninhabited island. Robinson Crusoe was a famous castaway.

Outcast, on the other hand, is a person rejected and avoided by society, typically leading a lowly life.

"After all, there might be some queer and perhaps hereditarily misshapen outcasts in those shunned hills, even though no such race of star-born monsters as folklore claimed."

The subtle point here is that both castaway and outcast can be used to talk about a person or people excluded from society. E.g.,

These homeless people are society's castaways.

Ravel vs. revel

Ravel means to untangle something such as a knot or seam if it's used literally; or to clarify if used figuratively. For instance,

Davy finished raveling out his fishing net.

If you revel in something, it means that you take great delight in it.

Billy said his was reveling in his newfound fame.

Mishappen vs. misshapen

Mishappen (pronounced mis- HAP(E)N) breaks down to prefix mis-, which means "wrong", "badly" and the word happen. If something mishappens, it happens through misfortune and causes grief. The word mishappen is considered obsolete nowadays and its use is primarily limited to works of literature and poetry.

"...The heavy hap, which on them is alight,
Afraid, least to themselves the like mishappen might."

Misshapen (pronounced mis- SHAY- pn) consists of the prefix mis-, the word shape and suffix -en, which is sometimes attached to a noun or verb to make a participle-like adjective. If something is misshapen it has a bad, ugly, deformed shape.

The man had unnaturally long hands and a misshapen complexion.

It is easy to remember the difference, if you memorize that the former word has two consecutive (=coming one after another) P's, while the latter has two S's in it.

#vocabulary

@bookworm_study Open / Comment

2021-07-11 14:26:35 Hi

I'm back with another post on confusing language pairs which perplexed (=puzzled) me greatly upon first encounter and gave me a difficult time remembering the difference.

#vocabulary

@bookworm_study Open / Comment

2021-07-11 05:00:06 Good morning, Sirs and Ladies

Start your day with a quote by unrivalled mistress of witty (=clever) returns Elizabeth Bennet from Jane Austen's opus Pride and Prejudice.

#quote

@bookworm_study Open / Comment

2021-07-10 16:18:31 Perhaps the second hardest thing to do after giving up an old habit is starting a new one. But not to worry. Here's a comprehensive guide (exp. if something is comprehensive it considers all aspects of the subject at hand) that will aid you on the path to identifying and uprooting (=breaking) harmful practices, which you may have no idea you engage in. Make a good use of it!

By the by, the book lists reading a lot as a good habit.

#nonfiction #guide #collection

@bookworm_study Open / Comment