Are You An Assiduous Bibliophile Or A Feckless Blunderer?

From the feedback we have received following last week’s blog I’m guessing that a lot of our readers enjoy learning fancy or elaborate ways of saying ordinary things. With this in mind I thought we would continue the theme and look at some more   interesting words to extend our vocabularies.

I have to start by admitting that I am a bit of a bibliophile, that is to say I am a book lover.  I love reading, and I’m particularly drawn to old books, I love the look, the feel and even the smell. Bibliophiles may also be collectors of books, and whilst I would not particularly describe myself as such, I will own up to having a few overloaded book cases around the house! On a serious note it is important that bibliophilia is not confused with bibliomania, which is an obsessive, compulsive disorder involving the collection of books to the point where an individual’s relationships and health are likely to be damaged.

Luckily for me, my book collecting is more of an innocuous hobby. When something is described as innocuous it means it is not harmful or offensive. People may ask innocuous questions or make innocuous remarks; they do not intend to cause any hurt or offense by what they are saying.

Of course, there are times when an innocuous remark may cause trouble accidentally. For example if you were to ask someone if they had a good time at the football match last Saturday, this may seem like a polite and innocent question. If you then find out that their partner, who is with them when you ask the question, thought that they were in work at that time, you can see how this could lead to an argument! This indeed would be a blunder! A blunder is a mistake or error that is caused by ignorance, stupidity or carelessness.

I’m sure most of us can remember a time when we have made a blunder, we all make mistakes. However, I would like to think that we are basically assiduous, meaning hardworking, attentive and conscientious rather than feckless. To be described as such is certainly an insult. A feckless person is someone who is useless and unable to take on any responsibility. They certainly cannot be relied upon, as they lack strength of character. You would not want to work with a feckless colleague. Luckily, here at Written English Corrected, we are all assiduous of course!

And now the gloaming has arrived, so I will finish this blog. Gloaming is used to describe that time following sunset but before complete darkness. This time of half light is also known as twilight or dusk. Whilst the gloaming occurs every day of the year, it is usually associated with travelling home from work or school in the autumn and winter, looking forward to the comfort and warmth of home.

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