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The Blogging From A to Z April Challenge: C is for Chthonic

Tuesday, 3 April 2012

My posts in the The Blogging From A to Z April Challenge are all about interesting words. Words that are weird, intriguing, poetic or just plain cool.


C is for Chthonic

Sounds like a word Lovecraft might have invented, but in fact it's considerably older than that (although obviously not as old as the Elder Gods, right?) Chthonic is an ancient Greek word meaning of, under the Earth or subterranean - particularly in relation to the spirits or gods of the underworld.

A fact I'm sure Lovecraft knew very well ...



Archaeopteryx Blunderbuss Chthonic

Posted by Simon Kewin at 08:00

23 comments:

  1. Deborah Walker3 April 2012 at 08:30

    Excellent. I really should write some more chtonic fiction.

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  2. Duncan D. Horne - the Kuantan blogger3 April 2012 at 10:02

    hi Simon, another great word. How did you find that?

    This is me, Duncan D. Horne, visiting you from the A-Z challenge, wishing you all the best throughout April and beyond.

    Duncan In Kuantan

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  3. mauz3 April 2012 at 10:30

    Great word..now that I know what it means how do I casually work it into a conversation?

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  4. Old Kitty3 April 2012 at 12:07

    Try spelling this word when inebriated! Yay! Take care
    x

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  5. Stuart Lloyd3 April 2012 at 12:32

    Great evocative word and yes, it is very Lovecraftian to; all the more reason to enjoy the word more.

    I look forward to seeing more words.

    Stuart

    Lloyd of Gamebooks - virtualfantasies.blogspot.com

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  6. RHYTHM AND RHYME3 April 2012 at 12:50

    Well as they say you learn something new every day and your blog taught me that something. Thank you a most enlightening post.

    Yvonne.

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  7. Jessica Bell3 April 2012 at 12:56

    Nice word! I could be wrong, but doesn't it also have something to do with Olympian heroes? Not sure what, it just sprung to mind!

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  8. Miranda Hardy3 April 2012 at 13:11

    I like that word. Interesting.

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  9. Unknown3 April 2012 at 14:42

    i'm sure he did. that's so cool, i didn't even know this word existed! :D

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  10. Sharkbytes3 April 2012 at 14:53

    I love words, so this one is great! I'm hoping to visit all the blogs on the A-Z Challenge in April.

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  11. Simon Kewin3 April 2012 at 17:10

    Deborah - You'd be great at it.

    Duncan - Just one of those words that lurks around in my head.

    Mauz - Yeah, that's the tricky bit. I'm sure you can do it.

    Old Kitty - probably best not to try; who knows what you'll summon!

    Yvonne - glad you enjoyed it!

    Stephanie - maybe I made the word up! No, I didn't - but I was tempted to ...

    Jessica - I don't know! We'll see if it's mentioned this summer ...

    Miranda - thanks!

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  12. Daisy Carter3 April 2012 at 18:09

    See, now I'm going to accidentally type this into a wip when I mean cathartic. Thanks ;)

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  13. Nicole3 April 2012 at 18:54

    I have a dystopian YA where this would work perfectly! Thanks for educatin' me. :)

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  14. Guilie Castillo3 April 2012 at 19:54

    Love this new word!

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  15. Simon Kewin3 April 2012 at 20:01

    Thanks, Guilie!

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  16. Tonja3 April 2012 at 22:38

    My husband has an insane vocabulary. I wonder if I can stump him on this one...assuming I can figure out how to pronounce it.

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  17. pensive pumpkin3 April 2012 at 23:12

    wow, that is really awesome. thanks!

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  18. Simon Kewin4 April 2012 at 02:34

    Tonja - hope it does!

    Pensive - thanks!

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  19. Debra Harris-Johnson4 April 2012 at 04:42

    I love that word! Awesome.
    dreamweaver

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  20. Anonymous4 April 2012 at 14:28

    Brilliant! I am looking forward to reading more of your posts as the challenge unfolds.

    I always thought that the word blunderbuss describes the operator as much as the weapon itself...cumbersome, noisy, blundering about in tussocky meadows... You've got me thinking now!

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  21. Lauren4 April 2012 at 20:40

    Okay, now I understand where Marvel comics got the name for this character. :)

    - Lauren @Word Art

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  22. Alana5 April 2012 at 08:53

    Oh my, this looks like a tough one to pronounce!

    Interresting take on the challenge. I will be checking back as I can always use a random word or two for trivia!! It looks like all the words you have selected so far would be great for Balderdash too!

    Best of luck with the challenge. Luckily, the tough letters like Q and X probably lend themselves nicely to your approach!

    Alana @ writercize.blogspot.com
    Found you through A to Z!

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  23. Katy Manck, MLS5 April 2012 at 17:43

    Studying for our etymology final exam many years ago, my friend went skipping down the hall, singing "autochthonous means indigenous" over and over. And decades later, I can still hear her funny song (yes, we both aced the exam).

    I love odd words & look forward to the rest of your alphabetical musings.

    **Katy M (on the A to Z blog trek)
    Recommending YA books beyond the bestsellers at
    http://BooksYALove.blogspot.com
    Follow me on Twitter @BooksYALove

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I'd love to know what you think.