Sunday, June 05, 2011

Word of the Day: nephelococcygia

nephelococcygia (n) [nef-el-o-kok-sij'-ia]

Cloud gazing; the act of looking for and finding shapes in clouds. Also, when capitalized, the name of "Cloud-Cuckoo-Land" in Aristophanes' The Birds.

"Terrence spent Saturday prostrate in the yard and in nephelococcygia, finding inspiration in the thunderheads."
--Leahcim Setag, Strange Loops

I remember seeing a lot of things in clouds as a kid: faces, cities, fabulous beasts. I can't really do that anymore, which is sad. Now I just see water vapor, though I still can't quite believe, sometimes, that I couldn't sit on one of those diaphanous thrones if I could just get up there.

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