I took on the task of sprucing up the language

 

A stency scene in the lovely French town of Annecy

I inadvertently coined a new word the other day. I like it so much I am not only going to keep it; I am going to pass it on to you for your use.

 The word is ‘stency’. You see, I was making a comment on the blog of the wonderfully wise and witty Pearl (if you haven’t yet visited her blog, do so, that’s a firm directive). Anyway, in my comment I had intended to write the word ‘stench’. However, on a re-read I found that I had typed in stency.

And, you know, I liked it. So I checked it out on line and found that there is no such word as noun, verb, and adjective. A few people have Stency as a name, but that is as far as it goes. So, with that all being understood, I have decided to appropriate the word and darn well make it work.

Now, we come to the matter of what is stency. Is it indeed to be a noun, verb, adjective, etc.

 As a noun it could apply in a number of areas:

 Stency as noun:

-         A product name: “I see Hiram’s got himself one of them new Stency hybrids. Runs on old paint, I understand.”

-         A meteorological phenomenon: “With those low pressure areas in the plains travelers can anticipate a series of thunderstorms, and possibly even stencies.”

-         Going back to the original: “Little Clarissa smells bad. I think she’s done a stency in her diaper.”

-         “Jon Stewart went beyond satirical tonight, and was virtually stency.”

 Stency as verb:

-         “Yes, folks, for this fundraiser you can walk, run, cycle, kayak or even stency.”

-         “Yes, you have fencing but, and potentially more lethal, you have stencing.”

-         “Uh, Fred, I probably shouldn’t admit it, but Clarissa Jane and I, ahem, stencied last night. You know, like her parents were out and stuff, so we like stencied for hours.”

-         “Take that, you blackguard – I stency you!”

 Stency as adjective:

-         “It was a lovely, serene and stency scene as we looked out over the moors.”

-         “My God, the way she walks – lithe, sensual, stency. I think I want to marry her.

-         “Your new Beemer is about as stency as any car comes.”

-         “Subtle, delicate, a tiny bit presumptuous, but almost stency in its bouquet.”

And so it goes. There is a vast realm of possibilities. So, dear friends, fight back against rising illiteracy, texting, twittering and all that other crap by adopting a new word to fill some of those unsightly gaps in anyone’s lexicon. I have offered you my new word. Find some of your own.

 Meanwhile, any other linguistic possibilities for stency would be appreciated.

Love to hear you talk that talk — now, what about the walk?

Franklin Delano Roosevelt and Winston Spencer Churchill are virtually legendary at many levels, and especially due to their sans pareil oratorical gifts. They offered gems like “The only thing we have to fear, is fear itself,” and “Never before has so much been owed by so many to so few.” And most of us would have been excused for fearing we would never hear their likes again in this crass, inarticulate and text-message sphere in which we find ourselves.

Oh, there have been a few who have inspired via their gab since the day of those aforementioned giants. In Canada Pierre Trudeau (despite my detestation of his politics) could only be praised for his elocutionary prowess in both English and French; the stentorian tones of Margaret Thatcher (regardless of what you might think of her) commanded attention; John F. Kennedy, Bostonian tones notwithstanding, was a powerful linguistic presence. But, they have been offset by the twittering whines of the Bushes, junior and senior; the hoarse slurriness of Bill Clinton; the smarmy twit-ness of Tony Blair and the sheer boredom of a speech by Canada’s Stephen Harper.

But wait, there is hope. Hope at many levels in the form of Barack Obama, not the least of which is his oratorical acumen. My but he talks good. Indeed, there can be little dispute that his projection skills earned him many votes. He could be discussing the weather, but he commands attention on the part of the listener. His tone is great, his words are perfect and he is, quite frankly inspiring.

At the same time, however, I offer this caveat. While the president’s level of articulation is to be admired, we must also remember that both Roosevelt and Churchill had great follow-through to their words. We can only hope the same applies in this case, or it’s all hollow.