36 By the Way...
The Recorder · October 8, 2015
‘What an awesome
column,’ she said
Mims Cushing
Columnist
As of August 27, 2015, the word
awesomesauce is now in the Oxford
English Dictionary. Ladies and gentlemen, we have to do something about
“AWESOME” and “awesomesauce.”
Here are words I came across on the
internet connected to awesome. There
are plenty of others, but I will only tell
you a few: “Awesomeatic, awesomematicular, awesomealicious, awesomezatasticalious.
It’s not only kids who have taken to
sprinkling this word upon the landscape. Grown-ups are guilty too. When
did we stop using awesome to describe
nature? The towering palm trees… the
Atlantic ocean… the flowers of spring?
If you look out your car windows
much can justifiably be described as
awesome. Totally. The word simply
means “Excellent or extremely good.”
Kids say, “Oh man. Your bikini is
awesome.”
“Awesome job pressure washing the
driveway.”
“Wow, Mom! These cupcakes are
awesome.” Using the word awesome should be used because you
are moved to tears—something that
moving or beautiful. I have never
been close to tears over a cupcake. A
hot fudge sundae, perhaps, but not a
cupcake. No doubt it drove our parents
crazy to hear the words “Cool” or
“Neat” or worse, “neatsy” or “neat-o”
that we used all day long. I still catch
myself saying “cool,” and it makes me
mad. Depending on what part of the
country you lived in, you may recall
the two-word phrase from the ‘60s
“Wowie Zorch.” It meant something
was… awesome.
What is the matter with “fabulous,
wonderful, fantastic, impressive” and
dozens of other great words? In point
of fact the noun “awe,” is defined as
Quilt Lady
Continued from 35
and has chosen to always give away
his creations to family, friends, and
charitable organizations. For the past
3 years he has donated his quilts to
the Ronald McDonald House of Jacksonville for their annual fund raising
auction. In addition, he has donated 10
quilts to the McDonald House for use
in their rooms. The St. George Fire and
Rescue Fund of Tenants Harbor, Maine
and the Port Clyde, Maine Baptist
Church Annual fund have also received
quilts.”
wonder, solemnity,
dread, fear, admiration, worship,
adoration and
more.
The Urban Dictionary says, “Awesome is something
Americans choose
Mims Cushing
to describe just
By the Way...
about everything.”
I describe my
weekend to my son and he responds,
”Sounds like you had an awesome
weekend, Mom,” I don’t call a breakfast
after church at Beach Diner, a movie,
a meeting with Florida Writers or two
walks at Bird Island with my dog a
description of an awesome weekend.
The Urban Dictionary adds that
Americans use the all-encompassing
word to hide their singularly poor
vocabulary. I read somewhere it is one
of the three words used by Americans
regularly: “Ohmygod, awesome, and
sh&*!” Getting back to the OED, Buttdial is another word recently added,
which will get no explanation here.
Hangry is defined as “Bad-tempered
or irritable as a result of hunger” It’s
another newbie to the list, along with
“Rando: A person one doesn’t know
but is regarded as suspicious.” Never
heard of “Wine o’clock and beer
o’clock.” That’s the appropriate time of
day to start drinking wine or beer.
Well, you’ll be glad to know I am
not going to leave you growling about
this. I am here to offer solace. If you
hear the word “awesome” one more
time and are ready to perform harakiri, listen to the song, “My God is
awesome. He can move mountains.
Keep me in the valley. Hide me from
the rain…” It’s a beautiful song, and
you can find it on the internet.
Yes, God qualifies as awesome.
Jacque states, “CCPVB is a perfect
fit for my first quilt exhibit on the first
coast’ it’s in the community where we
live, possess a first class art facility, and
most important, the proceeds to support their CCPVB outreach programs.”
The public is invited to the preview
opening, Oct. 9 at the Cultural Center
of Ponte Vedra, 5:30 – 8:00 p.m. Raffle
tickets will be on sale starting Sept. 14
through Dec. 12 at http://ccpvb.org/
exhibitions/quilt-exhibition. Tickets
are one for $25 or $5 for $100 and can
be purchased online, by phone or in
CCPVB front office. The Cultural Center is located at 50 Executive Way. Call
(904) 280-0614 for more.
THEME: WORLD SERIES
ACROSS
1. *Where bats are
stored, pl.
6. Sheep sound
9. Biblical captain
13. *Player’s rep
14. Opposite of nothing
15. Slow on the
uptake
16. Rock bottom
17. *____ out a triple
18. Twig of willow tree
19. Pharmacy order
21. *Game that de-
termines home-field
advantage
23. Make bigger
24. Team homophone
25. Federal Communications Commission
28. Per person
30. Bank account
transactions
35. Bread quantity
37. “Kiss Me, Kiss Me,
Kiss Me” band The
____
39. Specialty
40. 4,840 square yards
SUDOKU
41. Edward Teller’s
baby
43. Capital on the
Dnieper
44. Dandruff manufacturer
46. Ship canvas
47. Additional
48. *H in DH
50. Kind of math
52. Hankering
53. Like a busybody
55. Voluntary fee
57. *Home of 1993
champion Blue Jays
61. Popular flowering
shrub
64. Opera house
exclamation
65. Not lean
67. Narcotics lawman
69. Of the Orient
70. However, poetically
71. *Ty Cobb or Al
Kaline
72. Sushi wrapped
in nori
73. Small dog’s bark
74. Mercantile establishment
DOWN
1. Campaigned
2. Petri dish gel
3. Surrender
4. Mack the _____
5. *Reason for World
Series cancellation
6. *Opposite of strike
7. Sierra Nevada, e.g.
8. Pool problem
9. Nessie’s loch
10. “I’m ____ ____!”
11. Away from port
12. *All-Star 2nd
baseman, ‘85 Cardinals
champs
15. Neolithic tomb
20. “Lifestyles of the
Rich and Famous” host
22. ____ Zeppelin
24. Like Kathleen
Turner’s voice
25. *HOFer Frankie
Frisch, “The Fordham
____”
26. Spherical bacteria
27. Jeweler’s unit
29. *Last World Series
win was 1908
31. Two-wheeler
32. In a cold manner
33. Not those
34. *Best-of-____
36. Matted wool
38. Chieftain in Arabia
42. The ____, against
Britain
45. Type of flag
49. Break down
51. *2014 World Series
champs
54. Sentimental one
56. Braid
57. Kind of ski lift
58. Guesstimate
phrase
59. Iron horse track
60. West Wing’s Office
61. At the summit
62. Therefore or consequently
63. Maple, to a
botanist
66. Bingo!
68. Miner’s bounty