EDITOR@WORK

Monday, April 13, 2026

WORD MAN: RUSTICATE

Words For Writers: Rusticate

I'm reading A Study in Scarlet by Arthur Conan Doyle, and I came across RUSTICATE.

So alarming did the state of my finances become, that I soon realized that I must either leave the metropolis and rusticate somewhere in the country...

Meaning: go to, live in, or spend time in the country: "a place to rusticate while other people made the decisions."

Another interesting word from the Sherlock Holmes book: PIQUANT. It means having a pleasantly sharp taste or appetizing flavor.

NEXT: (Holmes) is an expert SINGLESTICK PLAYER, boxer, and swordsman.

Singlestick is a martial art that uses a wooden stick as its weapon. It began as a way of training soldiers in the use of backswords (such as the saber or the cutlass).

NEXT: Dr. Watson just used the word NECROMANCER. It's a wizard or magician.

NEXT: The word CHIMERICAL showed up. Chimeric means (of a mythical animal) formed from parts of various animals: "the design is based on a chimeric creature with the body of a turtle and the head of a dragon." Minotaurs and centaurs are chimeras.

NEXT: Holmes mentions TRICHINOPOLY. It's another name for Tiruchirapalli, city, east-central Tamil Nadu state, southeastern India.

NEXT: Holmes says something SENTENTIOUSLY. Sententious means trying to appear wise, intelligent, and important, in a way that is annoying.

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EMAIL: tgilli52@gmail.com BLUESKY: PROFILE

MORE EDITOR@WORK BLOG ENTRIES

• You really DO need an editor

• Reminders for would-be novelists

• What I do when I'm editing

• What I charge (it's a deal) and what I edit

• Slogging through the Internet

• J-school: More eyes on your stories

• J-school: Go out and learn

• Rookie mistakes for magazine writers

BLOG ENTRIES BY TOM GILLISPIE

• Resume for a writer and editor

• An editor's views on powerful writing

• Advice for be and would-be novelists

• Links to TG's stories online

• Favorite quotes

• What I do when I'm editing

ANECDOTES BY TOM GILLISPIE

• Wipeout at Death Valley

• Days with rainbows

• A desperate writer working in the dark

• Yer OUTTA there!

ENTRIES FROM THE DOG BLOG

• Katie cried

• Growl and pull

• 13-plus years with my dog Lady

• ... said the spider to ...

• The Dog Diary (2014)

• YIP! YIP! The stereo-sound huskies

• What Lady and Michael Jackson had in common

BLOG ENTRIES FROM THE AUTO RACING JOURNAL

• Angel in Black: Remembering Dale Earnhardt Sr.

(a book of great stories about the Intimidator)

• Then Junior Said to Jeff...

(the book of great NASCAR stories)

• My best day as a sports writer

• Jeff Gordon's milk toast to Dale Earnhardt

• Wayne Auton: A life in racing

Learn English Words: COTERMINOUS - Meaning, Vocabulary with Pictures and Examples

I just found the term COTERMINOUS MUNICIPALITY in the Rex Stout/Nero Wolfe book Not Quite Dead Enough. It wasn't in the book, but it popped up when I searched for Mount Kisco.

A coterminous municipality is a form of local government in some U.S. states where a municipality and one or more civil townships have partial or complete consolidation of their government functions. This structure allows for coordinated or divided administrative responsibilities while preserving the legal autonomy of each entity.

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EMAIL: tgilli52@gmail.com BLUESKY: PROFILE