CAROL BURNSIDE / ANNIE RAYBURN

Since writers are in the wordsmith business, I thought I’d start including a few new (to me) words and their definitions occasionally. Today’s “Wat’s it Mean?” word is SANGUINE. I thought I knew what it meant. In my head, it sounds like a good word to describe a lazy river or a couch potato. Not so.

1. cheerfully optimistic, hopeful, or confident: a sanguine disposition; sanguine expectations.

2. reddish; ruddy: a sanguine complexion

So let’s use sanguine in a sentence:

1. Her sanguine expression was deceptive, for behind that smile lurked a monster.

2. His sanguine nose and cheeks suggested long-term alcohol abuse.

At one time I dabbled (read: tried painting and sculpture as a creative outlet) in art. In one of the definitions, I discovered sanguine was once used to describe a particular type of painting done in a reddish-brown chalk. See DaVinci’s self portrait in sanguine? From the looks of it, very similar to today’s sepia tone, though perhaps a bit more red.

So tell me, did you learn something today?

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Today’s Menu:

Leftovers from Friday:
My own chunky sauce chock full of ground beef, onions, garlic, mushrooms, black olives, tomato sauce, tomatoes, quartered artichoke hearts, herbs & spices over whole wheat thin spaghetti noodles.

and the ever present pitcher of sweet tea. 🙂