Tuesday, May 6, 2008

Fustian

I've been subscribing to Dictionary.com's word of the day, and this morning (my time)'s word is:

fustian \FUHS-chuhn\, noun:

1. A kind of coarse twilled cotton or cotton and linen stuff, including corduroy, velveteen, etc.
2. An inflated style of writing or speech; pompous or pretentious language.
3. Made of fustian.
4. Pompous; ridiculously inflated; bombastic.

I'm not sure if I'd associate corduroy with ridiculously inflated, but I'd never heard this word that I can remember, so I thought I'd try to use it in the next little while.

Meanwhile, I was prioritizing my work commitments while at Sue's gallery yesterday (I've been doing it on Mondays lately), and I found I had written down our virtual exhibit photos are due May 9!! Gulp! I hadn't even seriously thought of a design, and it was already the afternoon of May 5. I did suspect it might have been a mistake, however, because I distinctly remember making the due date a Monday (so, Sunday North American time), so I decided not to panic until I checked what I posted. Which I did just now. Phew, it's June 9. I did wonder for two minutes there if it would be "on" for me to only organize and not show. Would you ever trust me again if I said, "You're in good hands," ?

%$#@!!

I've got lots to tell you, but all the words are jumbled in my head; I've been traveling deep into the other hemisphere these last few days. So, weave well, dear souls, until I can sit down and hear all your stories, and I can tell you mine.

4 comments:

  1. hmmmm your post says Monday 9 June.
    You are ahead of the schedule Ms Meg,
    Congratulations!

    My inner artist and my outer crafter are in serious conflict.

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  2. I know!!! How stupid of me! and I am so relieved...

    The kind of conflict you talk about - it's the funnest kind of conflict, yeah?

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  3. Coincidently I've just been reading a history of local textile mills (in Cheshire, England), including Fustian mills. My book says that Fustian is supposedly named after a suburb of Cairo called Fostat, where it is said to have originated. It is described as "a thick twilled union cloth, formerly cotton and linen but which could include silk, which is woven in such a fashion that a part of its weft is close to the surface and can be cut to form a nap". The cuttting was done by hand, using a knife, and to ease the strain on his eyes the cutter would wear a candle on his hat!

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  4. Fascinating information, Dorothy. Now I want to go google examples of fustian.

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