...recondite. Yes. I found it in Terry Pratchett's book 'The last continent'. And I didn't have the faintest idea what it meant. So I looked it up. And the first entry in the online dictionary was: abstruse. Well whaddaya know. Who would have thought that? Not me. Because I didn't have the slightest idea what abstruse meant either. So, I read a little more. And what irony, because the definition of recondite turns out to be:
"difficult or impossible for one of ordinary understanding or knowledge to comprehend"
J: "Oi George, how are we doing in the word-department? Earth is all created, and there's no sense for the people of ordinary understanding to wait much longer now is there?"
G: "Well Jeff, we're just about finished. But we still have to invent a word for un-understandable."
J: "Yes. Un-understandable just won't do. It would be way too understandable for one of ordinary understanding."
G: "How does abstruse sound?"
J: "Well George, I think you're on to something. Still a tongue-twister, but no one of ordinary understanding will grasp the meaning of that."
G: "I don't think one word is enough though."
J: "You're right, there should be another word. That will boggle the minds of ones of ordinary understanding all right."
J: "Do you think recondite will do?"
G: "Well, it has a familiar ring to it. But it will do perfectly."
J: "Great. Well, I guess we're all done then. Let's get the people of ordinary understanding out there and have ourselves a good laugh."
I've read that book at least twice, and that word never even registered.
ReplyDeleteThen again..Perhaps I was being obtuse..
Hi, I came across your blog while doing some thesis procrastination :) Iḿ a PLI researcher too and it was nice to put a face to the author of the papers Iǘe been reading this morning! I enjoy finding quirky words too - maybe Iĺl try and slip the word recondite into my thesis!
ReplyDeleteSorry for typos, Iḿ using a Catalá keyboard that Iḿ not quite used to.
Haha, obtuse is a word I did know.
ReplyDeleteHi Jenny,
ReplyDeleteNice to meet another PLI researcher. What's the subject of your thesis? I think it should be possible to slip in the word recondite, although I'm quite sure I didn't use in it my thesis. But then again, I didn't know the word at the time. How far are you in your research?
Hi Mieke, I'm using direct observation to look at how children with PLI socialize in the playground. Just writing up now. Are you still doing PLI research in the USA?
ReplyDeleteHi Jenny,
ReplyDeleteSounds very interesting. When your final results are in I'd definitely like to read about it. I'm not doing research at the moment. I moved here because of my husband's job, and my visa doesn't permit me to work. But I'm still analysing data from back home, writing and working on developing norms for some instruments we've used.