EDITOR@WORK

What does sopor mean

I'm reading a John D. MacDonald book called The Turquoise Lament, and lead character Travis McGee just used the word sopor. It was unfamiliar, so I looked it up.

Sopor is an abnormally deep sleep; a stupor.

It resembles soporific (tending to induce drowsiness or sleep: "the motion of the train had a somewhat soporific effect"; sleepy or drowsy: "some medicine made her soporific.")

I'd say they go together.

McGee just used the word saturnine to describe a doctor. Similar words: gloomy, somber, melancholy, moody, dour, glum.

MacDonald has used geodetic at least three times so far. Meaning: relating to geodesy, especially as applied to land surveying.

I've seen ferroconcrete mentioned twice so far; ferro indicates iron. From the online dictionary, ferroconcrete is concrete reinforced with steel: "a ferroconcrete storage tank."

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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)

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(the book of great NASCAR stories)

• My best day as a sports writer

• Jeff Gordon's milk toast to Dale Earnhardt

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Subject Complements - Predicate Adjectives and Predicate Nominatives

WORD MAN: I remember my high-school English teacher (Miss Landis) talking about the PREDICATE of a sentence (the part containing a verb), but I often hear people using predicate in a different way.

So I looked it up.

NOUN: the part of a sentence or clause containing a verb and stating something about the subject (e.g. went home in John went home); or something which (that) is affirmed or denied concerning an argument of a proposition.

VERB: state, affirm, or assert (something) about the subject of a sentence or an argument of a proposition; or declare or affirm (something) as true or existing; postulate or assert; or found or base something on.

The last meaning (found or base something on) is the way I wasn't as familiar with. But I think they're pronouncing it wrong.

I just found JOCOSELY, and it makes me think of jocularity. Jocosely is a formal way to say "jokingly." Use this adverb any time you want to describe an action that's done in a facetious or satirical way. I was right.

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EMAIL: tgilli52@gmail.com BLUESKY: PROFILE