The Word on Wednesday

No secret that I'm a nut for word books (another of those obsessions!) Picture me at the RWAust conference. A bookstall, table after table stacked high with a glorious smorgasbord of books. I spot a section with thesauruses (thesauri?), ones I don't have on my bookshelf, with shiny bright new covers. Mmm, shiny. Picture me, several hours later, bellying up to the concierge's desk.

Me: "Could you point me toward the nearest post office."
Concierge: "Yes, but we can handle your mail for you."
Me: "Even this--" I point to fat stack of recently purchased books "--load of books?"
Concierge: "Not a problem, madam. We'll box them up and charge it to your room."
Madam: "Perfect. Thank you."

Smiling, Madam returns to the bookstall.

Fast forward twelve days. I have returned from RWNZ conference. I have remembered the two boxes of forwarded books. Which, strangely, haven't arrived. Slightly worried, because I don't have the particular concierge's name and I can't locate my copy of the receipt I signed when handing the considerably valuable cache of books over, I call the hotel. Very helpful hotel people find me the concierge by description alone (Amber; her name was Amber!) and I'm told that the boxes were returned undelivered but have been redespatched.

Whatever, they arrive two days later.

I love new books. And word books. Funnily enough, I don't use them much when I'm writing. But I love looking up the different word choices just for fun and I love finding new words. At the moment (well, not right at THIS moment, but at night, while watching ridiculously addictive TV shows) I'm flipping through Roget's Descriptive Word Finder. And finding all manner of new and unknown words, which is what prompted today's post, which may become an ongoing Wednesday Word feature...or not, depending on whether I remember or not.

Today's word: lickerish adj. Which could mean:

a. sweet, black, as in pertaining to liquorice.
b. something you would like to lick (which may also pertain to liquorice).
c. tempting, enticing, appetising (which could also pertain to liquorice).

Which do you think is correct?

And now I'm feeling a yen for liquorice...

Labels: Conference, RWAustralia, Wednesday word, win books