Coruscate

Use this forum to discuss past Good Words.
George Kovac

Re: CORUSCATE

Postby George Kovac » Fri Jun 26, 2015 9:17 am

Coruscating prose....

With all the posts about rhinoceros horns when this was the good word of the day, it occurred to me that the Supreme Court was on the horns of a dilemma in deciding how to interpret the Affordable Care Act. Unwittingly, the editors of the Wall Street Journal today fed into that rhinoceros metaphor with this observation: <<As Justice Antonin Scalia observes in his coruscating dissent, “We [the Court] lack the prerogative to repair laws that do not work out in practice, just as the people lack the ability to throw us out of office if they dislike the solutions we concoct.” Wall Street Journal editorial “The Political John Roberts” June 26, 2015.>>

"Coruscate" is a brilliant word, and I am loath to waste it on mere political commentary. I prefer its literary possibilities, especially when used by fine wordsmiths. John Updike used the word idiosyncratically twice in his novel “The Centaur”: “The crescent jaws gnashed; in a swift telescopic thrust Caldwell’s pain shot upwards; coruscated; and then Hummel’s shoulders relaxed.” —description at page 9 of the car mechanic Hummel’s removal of an arrow shaft that had pierced Caldwell’s ankle. (Caldwell is presented in this scene as a centaur.) And the word appears again, 200 pages later: “A tree of pain takes root in his jaw. … Truly the pain is unprecedented: an entire tree rich with bloom, each bloom showering into the livid blue air a coruscation of lucid lime-green sparks. —description at page 217 of the dentist Kenny removing Caldwell’s rotten tooth. John Updike “The Centaur” (Alfred A. Knopf, New York, 1963)

LukeJavan8
Great Grand Panjandrum
Posts: 4423
Joined: Fri Oct 09, 2009 6:16 pm
Location: Land of the Flat Water

Re: CORUSCATE

Postby LukeJavan8 » Fri Jun 26, 2015 11:25 am

Superb examples. Thanks.
-----please, draw me a sheep-----

Philip Hudson
Great Grand Panjandrum
Posts: 2784
Joined: Thu Feb 23, 2006 4:41 am
Location: Texas

Re: CORUSCATE

Postby Philip Hudson » Fri Jun 26, 2015 2:17 pm

gkovac:

Your quoting John Updike as an example of the use of coruscate is apt indeed. One might even say that Updike coruscates words as he goes about painting his picture of reality. Thanks for getting us off the horns of our self imposed dilemma.
It is dark at night, but the Sun will come up and then we can see.

misterdoe
Senior Lexiterian
Posts: 619
Joined: Fri Mar 13, 2009 10:21 am
Location: New York City area
Contact:

Re: Coruscate

Postby misterdoe » Mon Jun 29, 2015 8:37 pm

I wondered why this word looked vaguely familiar. According to Wikipedia (and Wookieepedia :lol: ) Coruscant is a planet in the Star Wars story universe.

LukeJavan8
Great Grand Panjandrum
Posts: 4423
Joined: Fri Oct 09, 2009 6:16 pm
Location: Land of the Flat Water

Re: Coruscate

Postby LukeJavan8 » Tue Jun 30, 2015 11:41 am

Chewie had to come from somewhere.
-----please, draw me a sheep-----


Return to “Good Word Discussion”

Who is online

Users browsing this forum: Ahrefs [Bot] and 43 guests