A real stinker

Open hailing frequencies: I'm reading a Star Trek novel — so sue me; I like Star Trek — and I came across the word putrescent. From context, I thought of putrid, and that fit with the description of this "Type M" planet. So I looked it up.

pu·tres·cent (py-trsnt)
adj.
1. Becoming putrid; putrefying.
2. Of or relating to putrefaction.
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[Latin putrscns, putrscent-, present participle of putrscere, to rot, inchoative of putrre, to be rotten, from puter, putr-, rotten; see p- in Indo-European roots.]
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putrescent
Adjective
Formal becoming putrid; rotting: putrescent toadstools [Latin putrescere to become rotten]
putrescence n

Yep; it's a real stinker.

Contact: I can be reached at tgilli52@gmail.com or nc3022@yahoo.com. Also, my Twitter handle is EDITORatWORK.

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

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

More 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!