Words. I love them.
Pickle.
Asparagus.
Platypus.
Spigot.
Serendipity.
Calamity.
Simple words with fun sounds. And oh don’t get me started on cognates and lexical gaps and all the fun things that amuse me because I’m a language geek. I LOVE WORDS! Let me shout it out from the rooftops!
So you’d think, given all that, that I’d be a fabulous cross-worder. You’d think.
Every now and then I dive into the foray of a puzzle because I’m certain this time will be different. Except it never is. <sigh> And I’m scratching out letters, and sneaking cheating peeks at the answers until I bang the magazine shut. Because who thought that was a good clue anyway?!? No one could have guessed that!
And so I move on in frustration, swearing them off forever. Or at least until the next time . . . When the glorious blank spaces call out to me and the need to find a pen (always a pen!) overcomes.
It’s complicated.
And all this makes me think. Have you ever let a character struggle with something that by all rights should have come easy?
Hmmm . . . and now if you’ll excuse me, I have some revising to do.
Granted, some lexical gaps are a bit grating (i.e. goodest, badder, funner), but used right, they can liven things up and give a sense of personality. I’ve seen a couple on blogs that are fun: besties, awesomesauce.
So the question is, do you have a favorite lexical gap? And would you ever use it in your book?
P.S. Now when someone tells you “That’s not a word,” you can tell them, “Yes, but it’s a lexical gap, so I can use it.” 😀