'Four Hundred', or masses of macaroni

Four hundred posts, here at the Quirky Muffin, which is itself built over the old site of the Mighty Clomp. It seems like the most ridiculous of numbers, a ludicrous set of self-indulgent rambles through items both interesting and utterly banal. Along the way there have been long and repeated mutterings about my own wanderings, some personal things which should have been suppressed for breaking the code of the blog, lots of chatter about movies and novels and television, and the stories. The stories have allowed it to go on, adding longevity to what would otherwise become a massive burden. Enough about the number four hundred though, as it's time to push on!

(If you're interested, 400 has the prime factorisation 2x2x2x2x5x5, which is kind of sweet.)

In a recent trawl through the Phrontistery (a very cool website) the obscure definition of 'macaroni' figuratively popped out of the screen onto the addled eyes

macaroni: nonsense; foolishness,

with its associated adjective

macaronic: muddled or mixed-up.

Now, do you think there was any way that 'macaronic' wouldn't jump hilariously to the top of my nonsense adjectives? Much as 'paranym' is an awesome alternative to 'euphemism', 'macaroni' is a great and confusing term for the great recurring theme of nonsense in the world. In essence this whole Quirky Muffin has been a macaronic mass. Oh, Phontistery, thank you. You've proven your worth once again! It is a lovely website, a haven for the lexically curious.

Another good word is

kenophobia: the fear of empty space,

which I misuse as a pseudonym for the barrier of the empty page that plagues us all at frequent intervals, the scourge that is writers block by any other name. The horror that stalks the would-be writer and has made this endeavour critically difficult on any number of occasions. Note the distinction from agoraphobia, which is concerned with open spaces. Actually, I have a bit of an agorophobia problem myself, in that fairly common respect of going into a small and hazy panic under a grand and cloudless blue sky, where we're faced with the infinite itself. Or is that kenophobia instead? It's an empty infinite space after all? Only an expert could tell.

It's only fitting that the four hundredth end up being concerned with one of the forms of the first few Muffins: the curious word discovery. There will probably be more for as long as this goes on. The future is uncertain but there are still a few small things to talk about.

O.


Note: To spite my forebodings and premonitions I have finally broken into watching Jon Pertwee's last series of 'Doctor Who'. More on this soon. I miss him.

Note: If I've mentioned 'macaronic' before, please accept this virtual elephant as recompense for wasted time. Of course it's not a real offer, but the intent is there.