[hey-mish] adjective, Slang. homey; cozy and unpretentious. My mom and dad came to Ketchum! They packed plenty of layers and made the long journey from Tampa, FL and it was beyond lovely to have the coziness of home in Idaho. I bought my mom an apron one year for Christmas that reads “Home is WhereContinue reading “haimish.”
Category Archives: Words
corybantic.
[kawr-uh–ban-tik, kor-] Adjective frenzied; agitated; unrestrained. Labor Day weekend at the saloon was hoppin’. People loved not laboring and they waited over two hours to eat prime rib. The nights were long and I was exhausted and Pal was ready for adventure. Finally, Kelly and I had a night off. “Wanna hike to Heart Lake?”Continue reading “corybantic.”
kith.
[kith] noun acquaintances, friends, neighbors, or the like; persons living in thesame general locality and forming a more or less cohesive group. kindred. a group of people living in the same area and forming a culture witha common language, customs, economy, etc., usually endogamous. Pal has a cutie pie kith named Lizzy. She’s a chihuahua terrier mix and Pal thinks she’s perfect. He doesn’t “play it cool” well; he’s a lot like his mom. So he dives in and overwhelms Lizzy. She snaps at him. He backs away briefly and then most likely thinks,Continue reading “kith.”
whigmaleerie.
hwig-muh-LEER-ee, wig- noun 1: a whim; notion. 2: a whimsical or fanciful ornament or contrivance; gimmick. Friday was my one year Idahome anniversary. It was also the Lit Walk the library puts on, full of local authors and wine and cheese and a tour of downtown with activities and book readings. Cheryl, the owner ofContinue reading “whigmaleerie.”
titivate.
TIT-uh-veyt verb 1: to make smart or spruce. 2: to make oneself smart or spruce. My cozy cabin is brown, brown, brown. The walls, the carpet, the couch. The porch, the firewood, the boots on the floor. I love it, but a girl can only take being surrounded by so much brown before she hasContinue reading “titivate.”
aesthete.
[es-theet or, esp. British, ees-] noun a person who has or professes to have refined sensitivity toward the beauties of art or nature. a person who affects great love of art, music, poetry, etc., and indifference to practical matters. Are my sensitivities refined? I don’t know. But they are extreme sensitivities toward nature and the vast Idaho wilderness. On August 19th, I’ll have lived in Ketchum for a year. The tears whilst hiking have decreased since Autumn, thank goodness. I was a messy aesthete. Now myContinue reading “aesthete.”
nixie.
[nik-see] noun a letter or parcel that is undeliverable by the post office because of a faulty or illegible address. Chapter One Bookstore is so lovely and inviting. If I didn’t have a part time job here, I’d still want to spend hours browsing and enjoying. Author and Ketchum resident Charles Brandt agrees. He comesContinue reading “nixie.”
towser.
[tou-zer] noun a big dog. Informal. a big, hearty person, especially one who is very energetic. One of my favorite people sent me an email with today’s word of the day and this note: “I am sure that Dictionary.com is reading Beth of Fresh Air….I had to laugh when I saw this!” I guess I have a bit to say about a certain big dog. A girlContinue reading “towser.”
zeitgeber.
[tsahyt-gey-ber] noun an environmental cue, as the length of daylight or the degree of temperature, that helps to regulate the cycles of an organism’s biological clock. “Ma, the zeitgeber! Let’s take the environmental cue and go on an evening hike.”
dulcinea.
[duhl-sin-ee-uh, duhl-suh–nee–uh] noun a ladylove; a sweetheart. I sit on the stool behind the cash register and throw my feet up on the shelf so my legs do not dangle. I open The Little Paris Bookshop and get completely lost in the story. It’s charming and inspirational and heart-wrenching. I’m no longer in the bookstoreContinue reading “dulcinea.”
beth of fresh air 