It's time for another vocabulary lesson, faithful readers. In light of her recent passing, I have begun reading Passion and Purity by Elisabeth Elliot. In the very first chapter, I came across this descriptive little sentence describing the room she lived in her senior year of college:
"The closed windows shut out neither the tremendous crash and clatter of early morning collections nor the noisome effluvium of the day's cooking."Noisome effluvium? Effluvium? I had to consult my trusty dictionary.
effluvium (noun): an unpleasant or harmful odor, secretion, or discharge
I'm not sure what I thought "effluvium" might mean, but I was not expecting that. I decided to look up "noisome" too, for good measure:
noisome (adjective): having an extremely offensive smell; disagreeable; unpleasant; harmful, noxious
I'm not sure what they were cooking at Wheaton College back in the 1940s, but I'm glad I wasn't there to smell it.
Does your cooking produce noisome effluvium? I mean, my kitchen still reeks of last night's tacos (no worries, I'm about to go bust out the febreeze), but I wouldn't exactly call it noisome effluvium...
That is NOT what I thought it would mean either!! Crazy!
ReplyDeleteDoesn't "effluvium" sound like a Dr. Seuss word??
DeleteBahahaha! I love this vocab lesson. I'm sure Danette will also appreciate it when she reads it :)
ReplyDeleteI haven't read Passion and Purity since I dated Justin. Remember that? I loved the book so much, and I had him read it and asked what he thought of it. He was like, "It's okay, but it didn't really apply to me at all." I almost died. Talk about a prideful spirit!
Oh my gosh, I remember you telling me about that! What a punk.
DeleteI know, right? Soooooooo glad I'm married to Tyler and no longer dating punks :)
Deletei've made it a goal to use effluvium in a conversation within the next three days
ReplyDeleteYessss.
DeleteReagan, if that goal is reached I need details on the where, when, how it was used as well as the reaction of the person you were speaking to. Please :)
DeleteI second Christina's comment. Feel free to give us a little progress report here on the blog.
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