April 21 Word of the Day: Fog
Fog
estranges the early riser at the undrawing curtain view, softly encumbering
roofs and gardens and vision itself whitely with condensation divested of all the
usual linearity. Estranges, not exactly, the verb is more like surprises or
soothes or gratifies, the way difference envelopes or calmness descends or airiness
nubilates before our very eyes. Indeed, makes domestic rather than estranges,
makes of our familiar habitation a tranquil mind of belonging, makes of our
indigenous present a stillness stiller still, missing any sign of motation. Eftsoons
fog has not budged from its former glory of the half-hour previous, glowing
increasingly by degrees with niveous splendour, albeit the latitudes are
temperate in these parts more given to various pluvious thicknesses on any a
time but today; fulsome immensities obstructing cloudiness from cloud abstractedly
and rendering the watcher, casting waking looks, into a state of sedate obmutescence.
Eftsoons fog as they say is thick, damp, blanketing those waking up with the
densest definition of undefined blank, structures their foundations dreamy to
vision and gentle against glass; settles across acres of the convenient commonwealth
of city, an enigmatist converting nature into watercolours and nursing the
ravaged edges with autumnal cool. Eftsoons fog lowers itself lower, raising
questions of and amidst more early birds. If fog is neither chimera nor
chiliaedron how then to name it or which shape to compare? Surely evaporation
is not instincted with animate anatomy nor virtuoso with deity, never let it be
said? Eftsoons say ten o’clock fog as they say lifts, if they must, perhaps too
quickly unnoticed, vehicles seem cleaner and flora brisker and fauna all
whiskers and the epidermis of the wakeful tenses tenderly with sunlight, our
epitome of measure. Light blue reaches through and opens wide. Had the
humanists amongst us only more time in the day, the answers might be plain to see
and dilate upon, as the charming layers of white, not so much layers as
penetrable substance, dawdle about treetops and sail idly and without incident above
riverbends and reflect in portholes before they pale and unfleck, and suchlike
verbs, into the all-purpose atmosphere.
[Selections
from Samuel Johnson’s Dictionary of 1755]
