brachytherapy noun, the treatment of cancer, especially prostate cancer, by the insertion of radioactive implants directly into the tissue. (Got this from Radiation Diaries)

endaural — phenomena are sounds that are heard without any external acoustic stimulation. Endaural means "in the ear". Phenomena include transient ringing in the ears (that sound like sine tones), white noise-like sounds, and subjective tinnitus. (I’ve experienced this, fortunately not for long)

sigmoidoscopy noun [ mass noun ]: examination of the sigmoid colon by means of a flexible tube inserted through the anus. DERIVATIVES sigmoidoscope noun, sigmoidoscopic adjective (More Radiation Diaries)

pyrolysis noun [ mass noun ] Chemistry, decomposition brought about by high temperatures. steam pyrolysis of hydrocarbons. [ as modifier ] : a pyrolysis furnace. DERIVATIVES pyrolytic adjective

grissini plural noun: thin, crisp Italian breadsticks. ORIGIN Italian. NOW, here’s one we can use, if you don’t already.

jollof rice noun, a West African stew made with rice, chilli peppers, and meat or fish. ORIGIN jollof, variant of Wolof. (I picked this up from the NYT food column. Have you ever had it?) —or—

biryani noun [ mass noun ] an Indian dish made with highly seasoned rice and meat, fish, or vegetables. prawn biryani. ORIGIN Urdu, from Persian biryāni, from biriyān ‘fried, grilled’.

uncial adjective 1 of or written in a majuscule script with rounded unjoined letters which is found in European manuscripts of the 4th–8th centuries and from which modern capital letters are derived.

2 rare relating to an inch or an ounce.

uncial noun: an uncial letter or script. • a manuscript in uncial script. ORIGIN mid 17th cent.: from Latin uncialis, from uncia ‘inch’.

I LOVE anything to do with words and origins and writing….I just heard my NYT drop at the door.

Anon.

.Don’t ask. This is a blog-by-blog, not a blow-by-blow. Blogs are more fun. I’m still catching up with books and words…Briefly:

Radiation Diaries : Cancer, Memory and Fragments of a Life in Words (2018, Fentum Press, London), by Janet Todd. A highly regarded writer- biographer with many books to her credit, she kept a journal of her experiences undergoing radiation for cancer of the bowels. Horrible, graphic, funny, literary, her writing, i.e., her. courage and personality dominate.

In my Mind’s Eye (2018, first American Edition), by Jan Morris, is a charming journal reporting on a year in the the life of the prolific nonagenarian writer. I love journals. I love the insights into another person’s life and atttiudes. They provide guides and stimuli for my own (octogenarian) writing.

I am just starting The Backwash of War: An Extraordinary American Nurse in World War I, by Ellen N. La Motte (1873-1961), an American nurse reporting on her volunteer work in French hospitals during te war to end all wars. Her writing is horribly graphic and unrelenting. Her book was banned publication by her initial publishers in France and England, permitted in the USA (before the States entered the war) but subsequently banned/censored/ignored. I bought a recent (2019, Johns Hopkins Press) printing, which includes three War Essays and a bibliography of Significant Publications. I haven’t got to the harrowing part, still reading the introduction and biography by her editor and restorer, who writes a bunch of spoilers. I’ll get to it.

Tomorrow: words.