Image courtesy of BuzzFeed
Is it a rat? An opossum? A little of both. It is a rat-like marsupial that lives in southeast Asia and Australia.
How did they come up with a word for it? Perhaps having a little bafflegab – unclear, wordy jargon that sounds like gobbledygook.
Cute or creepy? Not sure I’d want one as a pet.
Nuptials – wedding, marriage, union
I’ve never liked this word. Sounds too much like pustules which are abscesses, boils, or swellings.
I’m supposed to attend nuptials this weekend.
Just after Valentine’s Day . . . I’ll stop typing now.
Penumbra is the partial shadow (as in eclipse) created between regions of complete shadow and complete illumination. Happening tonight!
A lemniscate is a plane curve with a characteristic shape, consisting of two loops that meet at a central point as shown below. The curve is also known as the lemniscate of Bernoulli. In the (x, y) plane, the lemniscate can be described in terms of the following general equation: (x 2 + y 2) 2 = 2a 2(x 2 – y 2)
Otherwise known as the infinity symbol, which sounds a whole lot more relatable to a non-math aficionado.Yet when I look at it, I see the number 8 on its side. Metaphysical people relate the number 8 to money and physical abundance manifestation. It speaks to strong ambition, independence, and courage. Eight is great! Lemniscate? Leave it to Latin to complicate something simple. Happens to be my favorite symbol. 
“To lemniscate, and beyond!”
Doesn’t quite work.
Pretty, huh?
What is it? The inspiration for a couple Star Wars cantina characters?
Nope.
It’s really a spiny-headed worm, or parasite, that lives in the gut of vertebrates. Creepier still? There are about 1150 different species of them.
Sweet dreams.
Arethusa. Not the Greek Goddess “The Waterer” who left sea water for a fountain of fresh water…
Not the Arethusa Dairy Farm…
But arethusa, the orchid, also known as Dragon’s Mouth or Swamp Pink.
An Orchid! Undoubtedly named after the goddess.
Then what about argillaceous? That is something that resembles or contains clay. The word itself sounds like something awesome, as does anything ending in ous. Yummy.
How about an argillaceous arethusa? Fire up the kiln for the Waterer!
Any of various marine crustaceans of the order Stomatopoda, which includes squilla.
What’s a squilla? Mantis shrimp.
Looks like a lobster wearing a headdress of a fly with deer antlers. Creepy looking, but I’m betting tasty with clarified butter.
Yes, I’m having shrimp for dinner. I’m not sure why eating something that looks like a bug doesn’t bother me, yet anything with big eyes and fur bugs me. I do eat mammals, but not ones I have to look in the eye first. Really wish I didn’t have to, but my genetics dictate. I tried to be a vegetarian once and got pretty ill, even before I passed out and got a concussion on the Terrazo floor. My doctor said, “Bad idea with your blood.”
On a snowy day, a little stomatopod soup will go down nicely.
