Never Have I Ever...#SOLSC #SOL24

I am such a word nerd! I have always loved a good dictionary; I still have my dictionary from high school. I used to underline the words I looked up and make notes about them.  

I adore roots and affixes. There is nothing better than trying to dissect a word to discover its meanings by its parts. My language during high school was Latin, and that may have been when I feel in love with words.  

When I started teaching, I started exploring the etymology of words and idioms with my students. This week in my 8th grade class, we have been learning about Raphael Lemkin, the Polish lawyer who created the word genocide.  Now, we are exploring the two roots that make up the word. 

My TeachWrite community has a monthly challenge, and Leigh Anne Eck provides us with daily writing prompts, which are usually words or phrases.  They take me in so many directions.  It was suggested that they might help inspire me with my slicing.  The month's theme is clothing, and today's prompt was the work stiletto.  

My first thought was never have I ever worn stilettos; I would kill myself in those things.  

In keeping with what I told my students today when we were working with moody words, I looked up the word to see its official definition. I was surprised by what I found. Due to my fear of the shoe, I remained ignorant to its denotation.

According to Merriam Webster, a stiletto is a "1: slender dagger with a blade thick in proportion to its breadth, 2: a pointed instrument for piercing holes for eyelets or embroidery, and 3: STILETTO HEEL."  

Well, that makes sense.  I always thought stilettos would make a good murder weapon.  Even the word piercing in the second definition creates a foreboding mood.  Its connotation is quite in line with my gut reaction to the heels--they could in fact kill me.  

I have no experience with any of these types of stilettos, and I do not envision me wearing or using any of these forms in the future.  However, I might possibly use them in a juicy story.