Pulchritude

I remember the momentous day in my late teens...when I finally beat my mom at anagrams. It was so delightful because it had forever seemed impossible. 'Cuz my mom is smart.

You could say we are a family that loves games. Growing up, the closet was filled with a range for everyone--Chutes and Ladders, Uncle Wiggly, Othello, Rack-o, Boggle, Scrabble, Pictionary--we had them all. Often, on weekends, you could find us gathered around the dining room table intensely concentrating on winning whatever battle we were engaged in. The energy around that table was electric. It was exciting and nerve-wracking at the same time. No one wanted to lose.

One of my favorites was the dictionary game. Today someone has taken this concept and monetized it, but we played it the old fashioned way. Open the good 'ole Webster's at random and place your index finger on one of the open pages. Whatever word your finger lands on is THE WORD for that round. All the players make up a definition except the person with the dictionary, who writes down the real definition. Votes are cast for the definition each suspects is correct and points are given to those who are best at duping the rest of us! It always makes for a good time...and you can play it almost anywhere with anyone...

Which made it the perfect afternoon activity when we last visited John's parents. There were six of us, ranging in age from 12 to 86, and we were in that quiet, awkward time between lunch and dinner. I spotted a dictionary on a nearby shelf. "Should we play dictionary?" I asked. Everyone nodded in agreement and I explained the rules. After a few hilarious rounds, someone selected the word, pulchritude. "Does anyone know the definition?" I asked. No one did...until John's mother said, "I do."

We politely asked her to keep quiet until we finished the round and then, sure enough, she gave us the definition. We were all surprised at the definition. And I was even more surprised when the 45-year-old celebrity beauty Paulina Porizkova used it in a thoughtful article about women's beauty and self-esteem. Who knew?

I'm pretty sure my mom would have.

Pulchritude
Main Entry: pul·chri·tude
Pronunciation: \ˈpəl-krə-ˌtüd, -ˌtyüd\
Function: noun
Etymology: Middle English, from Latin pulchritudin-, pulchritudo, from pulchr-, pulcher beautiful
Date: 15th century
: physical comeliness