Monday, October 22, 2012

Do you suffer from Sardoodledom?

There I was, putzing on the Internet as The Hubby played his game online (yes, we believe in spending quality time together!).  As one often does, I was reading the dictionary online.  What - don't you do that? Oh, well...anyway, technically it wasn't the dictionary but the dictionary newsletter, which is just as interesting as the dictionary - but shorter.

So I'm cruising around the newsletter and found Word History of the Month. In doing so, I have gained a new vocabulary word - Sardoodledom.  What is Sardoodledom, you may ask? (Spellchecker is asking, because it wants me to change Sardoodledom to sardonically - not exactly a ringing endorsement for the accuracy of spellchecker!).  Well, Sardoodledom refers to  "mechanically contrived plot structure and stereotyped or unrealistic characterization in drama" and is a blend of the last name of 19th-century French playwright Victorien Sardou, who was famously criticized by George Bernard Shaw for the staginess of his plays, and English doodle, plus the suffix "-dom."

I'd say this is a great word to know. And for you writers, to avoid.

Don't come down with a case of the Sardoodledoms...it could be contagious!

  

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