Tuesday, January 18, 2011

5-4-3-2-1...Blasting Off to Round 8!!



ABC Wednesday is a word meme with participants from around the world. This fabulous meme was created and hosted by Mrs. Denise Nesbitt who hails from Great Britain. Over time, others have joined in to help host this wonderful and informative meme. We are now in our eigth round-some of the participants have been with this from the very first round; others have joined in along the way. Each week we are taken across the globe to see the varied and exciting contributions people have taken the time to discover and capture. We start with the letter, "A" and each week we post something in regards to the next letter of the alphabet. This week's letter. is, "A" .

ARTICHOKE



My first introduction to the globe artichoke was when I was a college student. Prior to that, I knew little about them. It was love at first bite. My son loves them too, although we eat them perhaps once or twice a year. This lovely dried flower head is in the gift shop at Los Poblanos Farm in Albuquerque.  Do read up on the link for artichokes-quite fascinating (it is a Wikipedia link). 

In that write up, it does mention that artichoke is the primary flavor of the Italian liqueur, Cynar.

I know, I've never heard of that liqueur and may never have the chance to taste it in my lifetime, but it does seem like a curiosity, doesn't it?

 My other "A" offering for today is the word, ABRADE. I just love how that word sounds (say it like you would say, "a braid")!

a·brade  (-brd)
tr.v. a·brad·ed, a·brad·ing, a·brades
1. To wear down or rub away by friction; erode. See Synonyms at chafe.
2. To make weary through constant irritation; wear down spiritually.

[Latin abrdere, to scrape off : ab-, away; see ab-1 + rdere, to scrape; see rd- in Indo-European roots.]

a·brada·ble adj.
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition copyright ©2000 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Updated in 2009. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.

16 comments:

Nanka said...

Me too blasted off and happy sailing without abrade's!! :)

Sylvia K said...

Great post for the A Day as always, Paula! I learned a new word and I love artichokes!! Hope your week is off to a great start!

Sylvia
ABC Team

??? said...

I love artichokes, but unfortunately my boyfriend doesn't like them.
I think my favourite a word would be Aubade - especially Edith Sitwell's

Kate said...

Words and sounds of words are always fascinating. Artichoke is a great choice!!

Kay L. Davies said...

Thanks, Paula. I've never seen a dried artichoke, never heard of that liqueur (I must go to Google) and I didn't realize 'abrade' could mean 'wear down spiritually'! Can't see it coming up in day-to-day conversation, but 'chafe' really works in a cold Alberta winter. My skin is being constantly abraded by the weather.
-- K

Kay, Alberta, Canada
An Unfittie's Guide to Adventurous Travel

Roger Owen Green said...

I love abrade - great word.
ROG, ABC Wednesday team

Joy said...

Must admit that I've never tried artichoke but think they look wonderful, as do bottles of Cynar, nope not tried that either.

LisaF said...

I never really knew what an artichoke plant looked like. I think they're actually quite pretty!

Cheryl said...

Great stuff this week. Loved that you introduced abrade. I lurve that word. A great Scrabble word too!

Cheryl
ABC Team

photowannabe said...

Ummmm I adore Artichokes too. Butter or mayo are both delish with them. I just learned that Artichokes are a member of the daisy family. Never knew that before.

Tumblewords: said...

Love artichokes, fresh and green. The dried flower head is wonderful - it appears to be ceramic.

Laura Bloomsbury said...

Appreciated your A word as love to extend my vocab. Great artichoke pic for ABC wednesday
Laura

Lulu Post said...

Never had artichoke in my whole life. Visiting from ABC Wednesday. I also followed your blog. I hope you can visit mine too:

A is for Angels

Spadoman said...

My Mom, God rest her soul, used to fix artichokes once in a while. A womderful garlic laced olive oil, butter and breadcrumb mixture pressed in between the leaves after the top is trimmed flat across. They were steamed.We squeezed lemon on them. Haven't had one in years.

The 2nd meaning of Abrade, to erode spiritually, is interesting. Could that be like someone keeping you out of church by offering a sojourn to the bar instead? Just sayin'

Peace.

Reader Wil said...

Great A word! It's new to me! Thanks for introducing this!
You asked if crab zilla is still around! I think so! At least I haven't heard otherwise. I hope that this animal is still alive. Maybe Google can tell us more about it?
Have a great weekend!

Carver said...

What a great idea for the letter A. I absolutely adore artichokes.

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