Lady Mary may be a bit insufferable, but he's hooked on "Downton Abbey," and Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day.
It all started with Lady Mary, the eldest and haughtiest of the three Crawley daughters in Masterpiece Theater’s television blockbuster, “Downton Abbey.”
Somewhat taken aback by the fact that the middle sister showed an affinity for helping out on one of the estate’s small farms, Lady Mary said, “It would appear that Lady Edith has found her métier – farm labor.”
Wow! I already had become entranced with Lady Mary and her insufferable, aristocratic attitude. Now, she was taking my interest to a new level by showing me the proper usage of “métier,” and doing so with an elegant touch of sarcasm.
To appreciate her remark fully, one must note her exquisite and precise pronunciation of the word – that is, “meh-tyA.”
As sometimes happens to people when they try to cope with the mysterious English language, I have had a tendency to confuse certain words – “métier” and “milieu” among them.
Well, Lady Mary certainly cleared that up. Her use of “metier” proved to be just right, because its definition is “vocation, trade; an area of activity in which one excels.”
As for “milieu,” it actually means “the physical or social setting in which something occurs or develops.” No real relation there to “métier,” other than the fact that both words come from the French and have a high-falutin’ tone about them.
Anyway, I was so impressed by that little scene from “Downton Abbey,” I felt compelled to call our daughter Melissa. I knew that she must have seen the same episode, because it was at her suggestion that we began watching “Downton” in the first place. As a Christmas gift, she had given us videos of the first two seasons, and we raced through them to catch up.
As we chatted about Lady Mary and her “métier,” Melissa gave me another welcome suggestion.
“Dad, you should sign up for Merriam-Webster’s ‘word of the day.’”
Of course, she was referring to the venerable Springfield publishing company which specializes in dictionaries and reference books.
So I took her good advice, found the Merriam-Webster website, and now receive daily emails with that precious “word of the day.”
Was it blind luck, or fate?
No sooner did I sign up, than the first daily word to reach my mailbox proved to be – you guessed it: “métier.” Of all the words in the English language, what were the odds of it coming up at that particular time?
Anyway, I am hooked now, and not just on “Downton Abbey” (Can’t wait for next season). I look forward to that daily wordfest with Merriam-Webster, complete with all kinds of additional goodies like quick quizzes, true-false challenges and a test-your-memory segment, in which you’re supposed to remember recent words of the day and what they mean.
Sure I do.
What’s a quick quiz, M-W style? Well, try this little gem: Add a letter to the word “fast” that will give it a completely opposite meaning.
If you answered “feast,” you’re a wordmeister of the first rank.
Or, you might be asked for the significance of this sentence: “The public was amazed to view the quickness and dexterity of the juggler.”
What’s that all about? Well, it happens to be a pangram – a sentence that uses all 26 letters of the alphabet.
Egad.
Can there possibly be a word that has six consonants in a row? Yes, indeed. M-W will tell you that it’s “catchphrase.”
Well, I never.
Working in the – ahem – 70 and older age group, I scored 2,330 points in a 10-question true-false test in which you are judged not only on correctness, but on speed of answer. Turns out I got three wrong, but my score was about the average (2,310) for the “senior citizen” category.
What did I get wrong? No need to dwell on all three. Let it go with this: It’s true that red grapes can be used to make white wine. Hey, who knew?
Now, as I check my email, I see that my latest word of the day is “nascent.” Definition: Coming, or having recently come into existence.”
This daily language lesson also provides background information, which points out the word’s roots and some of the changes which spring from it over time. Nascent, good old M-W tells me, comes from the Latin “nasci,” meaning to be born. Over the centuries, it has led to such offshoots as “nee,” which came along in the 1700s to identify the maiden or family name of a married woman; and “renaissance,” which came along in the 1800s to signify a revival of classical art and literature.
Gotta love those Latin and French roots, eh? I especially love the French influence, probably because my father’s family came from Quebec, “la belle province.”
All of which might help to explain my fascination with Lady Mary and her wondrous vocabulary. And, in turn, my fascination with the Merriam-Webster website as it helps me become immersed in my métier.
Or, is it milieu? Â
Garry Brown can be reached at geeman1918@yahoo.com