Ink Tea Stone Leaf

Welcome back to my weekly series, Vocab 128, in which I sit down with pen and paper and write 128 words beginning with the same letter, in more or less the order that I think of them, before scanning the page and posting it here. The result is a flex of my vocabulary muscles, an exposure of my handwriting to the world, and perhaps an insight into the psychology of my word associations.

Generally, I avoid words that are merely alternate forms of other words, and when I think of such a word I generally default to the appropriate noun form. Proper nouns I exclude as a rule (but we’ll see how that goes once I get to X).

There is a reason that J is worth 8 points in Scrabble. This was easily the hardest letter so far, and as hard as I squeezed my brain to think up every last word, I can’t believe I didn’t think of “jabroni.” Or “jasmine.” Why is my brain like this?

My self-imposed limits were really put to the test on this one. Words like “jack,” “john,” “jenny,” and “jimmy” feel like they shouldn’t count, but they are not always proper nouns.

Is “jade,” the mineral, the same word as “jaded,” the disposition? Obviously not, but it gives my heart pause.

I went and added an E to “jowl,” like a fool. And apparently, “jerry-rig” requires the hyphen. Look, I’m doing my best here.

“Jojo” is what people in these parts (Oregon) call what I call a “potato wedge,” and “jawn” is a Philadelphia regionalism that is just fascinating in its versatility. You’re welcome, Philadelphia.

“Java” is here as slang for coffee. “Javanese” is here as an adjective meaning “of the island of Java.” Different words!

This week’s definition from American Heritage Dictionary:

jazz (jăz)

n.

1. Music

a. A style of music, native to America, characterized by a strong but flexible rhythmic understructure with solo and ensemble improvisations on basic tunes and chord patterns and, more recently, a highly sophisticated harmonic idiom.

b. Big band dance music.

2. Slang

a. Animation; enthusiasm.

b. Nonsense.

c. Miscellaneous, unspecified things: brought the food and all the jazz to go with it.

v. jazzed, jazz·ing, jazz·es

v.tr.

1. Music To play in a jazz style.

2. Slang

a. To utter exaggerations or lies to: Don’t jazz me.

b. To give great pleasure to; excite: The surprise party jazzed the guest of honor.

c. To cause to accelerate.

v.intr.
Slang

To exaggerate or lie.

Phrasal Verb:

jazz up Slang

To make more interesting; enliven: jazzed up the living area with beaded curtains.

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[Originally, vim, vigor, pep, copulation, semen, perhaps shortening of earlier jasm, vim, vigor and akin to JISM.]