Today, as well as Easter Monday, is also ‘Big Word Day’. One word which I shared with someone recently is not very big – ‘petrichor’: “the earthy scent produced when rain falls on dry soil”. It is somehow amazing that there is such a word. Scientists first started noticing the phenomenon in the 1860s, but it wasn’t scientifically described until 1964. In March that year, Australian researchers Isabel Bear and Dick Thomas wrote that “the smell derives from an oil exuded by certain plants during dry periods, whereupon it is absorbed by clay-based soils and rocks. During rain, the oil is released into the air along with another compound, geosmin, a metabolic by-product of certain actinobacteria, . . . [and] is emitted by wet soil, producing the distinctive scent . . .” (Wikipedia). Thomas devised the term ‘petrichor’ to replace “argillaceous odour”. The roots of the word lie in ancient Greek – ‘petra’, meaning stone, and ‘ichor’, “the golden fluid that flows in the veins of the immortals” (Met Office).
View from the Trinkie
Other words that had their first printed use in 1964, according to Merriam Webster, were ‘underprepared’ and ‘Quark’, meaning an elementary particle. ‘Quark’ was taken from James Joyce’s ‘Finnegan’s Wake’ by physicist Murray Gell-Man. ‘Pantsuit’, ‘loosey-goosey’, ‘soundscape’ and ‘snowmobiling’ also debuted that year. I expect ‘pantsuit’ has rather fallen out of use, but ‘folkie’, ‘humongous’, ‘grotty’, ‘pre-cooked’, ‘quasar’ and ‘posable’ have not.
Happy Creels
Apart from thinking about words, it’s been a quiet week. I did my regular weekly shop and filled the car. During the week, the strong smell of petrol crept through the front door. On Saturday, the fuel gauge was down by a quarter of a tank. I drove off to meet a friend, but while I was out, I did some internet research about leaky fuel tanks. As a consequence, the car went straight to the garage on my return. It might be the fuel filler system, they said, that tends to corrode. Looking at the large dark patch on the drive, I’m prepared for the worst.
Feather in the breeze
I’ve been preparing for the worst with the back of the gansey, which is nearly done. In a row or two, I’ll start the shoulder straps, which will be knit in pattern to the shoulder seam. Seeing it nearly complete, the narrow panels of small diamonds seem to add noise rather than enhance the overall effect; perhaps one wider panel would have been better. I’m still debating whether to rip it all out. There have been many ‘what was I thinking?’ moments, and also realising that I’ve done this before, many times. I think, “I’ll just knit this and see how it goes, it might work . . . “.
Love this site & your regular posts.