X is for 'X' Words

Do you need some good 'X' words for your Words with Friends or Scrabble games?  Do you get hassled by friends when they don't know what the 'X' word is that you use, because they can't pull it up on their dictionaries?  Well I have found a few for you to use and given you the definitions so you won't be baffled.  

These are particularly interesting words because not only do they have a common meaning, most are also the names of companies and rather successful ones at that.  There are two that are not.  One is a non-profit foundation and the other is a city in the USA.  I didn't include Xerox, because it's common meaning comes from the company name rather than the other way around.  Enjoy! 

 

Xebec –  is a small Mediterranean 3 masted sailing ship.  Xebec Deburring Technologies produces deburring and finishing tools using ceramic. 

Xeric

Xeric –  means of or pertaining to an extremely dry climate.  The Xeric Foundation provides support and grants to comic book creators.  

Xenon

Xenon – is the chemical element with the symbol Xe, a colorless, odorless, gas occurring in trace amounts in the earth’s atmosphere.  Xenon is a company that produces automobile body parts.  

Xenics

Xenic – is a noble gas compound formed when xenon trioxide is dissolved in water.   Xenics Infrared Solutions is a high tech company which produces a wide variety of infrared products and applications to meet the diverse ever-expanding needs of the global marketplace. 

Xenia, Ohio

Xenia -   is the ancient Greek concept of hospitality involving being generous and courteous to people traveling through your area far from their own homes.  The welcoming of strangers as honored guests.  Xenia is a city in Ohio which calls itself the City of Hospitality.  

 

Xylem Inc

Xylem – is a type of transport tissue within the vascular system of plants.  There are at least two companies who have taken the name Xylem.  Xylem Inc is involved with coming up with innovative solutions for global water challenges. 

Xylem

The second company, which goes by simply ‘Xylem’, is a bathroom furniture and fixtures company. 

Whitford products:  housewares

Xylan – is a yellow gummy plant substance ubiquitous in plant cell walls.  Xylan is also one of the trademark brands of fluoropolymer coatings of Whitford, an American company with branches worldwide.  The breadth of what this company produces is quite amazing

Xylol

Xylol – is a type of solvent, very volatile, also known as Xylene.  Klean Strip produces a brand of Xylol which can be purchased at your basic hardware store.  

 

A to Z Challenge

M is for Mom Mantras

by Ginger Plowman

 “Go to what you know.” 


That’s one of my mom mantras.  

Another is,

“How do YOU think it’s spelled?”



You know what I am talking about, those truths and principles you repeat to inculcate them into your kids, to give them what you believe they need to overcome obstacles and become productive people, people who can figure things out and stand on their own two feet. These are Mom (and Dad) mantras.

We remember some that our parents spoke into our lives.

“I used to walk 10 miles to school, up hill and in the snow.”

“We never got to do that when I was growing up.” 

“Nothing good ever happens after midnight.”

“Chores first.”

Each of us has our own list, though some may be common to all if you are from similar cultures.  The mantras are meant to instill in us perseverance, strength of character, wisdom.  In my house, among the regular chanted mantras I used were messages about attitude. 

“Attitude ‘A’ every day.”

"Be a blessing and be blessed.”
“What you practice you become.”

"Hold on to the Lord."

Your mantras say something about what you value, about what you believe contributes to a good life, about what influences you.  Some of the mantras of our lives we don’t even realize are there.  They may be subconscious, repeated messages in the recesses of our mind, but shining through who we are none the less.  Sometimes others may hear what we don’t realize we repeat.  These can be dangerous mantras because they may be shaping us with something harmful to our character. 

It’s a good practice to occasionally do a mental check of the mantras we recite, to listen to that voice that speaks within us, the messages we let freely rerun on the screen of our minds.  Listen as well to the ones we speak into the big wide world of our children’s futures.  It wouldn’t hurt to check with loved ones.  Ask if there mantras we are missing that may be having an ill-effect on us or those around us.  We all have blind spots that we can use a little passenger assistance to see. 

  What mantras have been influential in making you who you are?

A to Z Challenge

H is for Hold On

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“Hold on!  That’s not what I meant!”

“Hold on.  Be careful.  It’s delicate.”

“Hold on tight!”

All of these uses of ‘hold on’ imply something slightly different, yet they also imply something similar - value. 

In the first case, someone’s communication has been misinterpreted.  To the speaker the correct interpretation of what they had to say is obviously important to them.  They are saying, “Wait a minute.  Let me clarify.  I want you to understand me.  The link between what I am expressing and what you are receiving from me has value to me.”

In the second case, ‘hold on’ implies something more tangible.  As the speaker says, “Hold on,” the picture is of an object that needs to be handled with care.  I can envision a fragile piece of expensive porcelain being entrusted from the grasp of its caretaker to the expectant, cupped palms of a wide-eyed admirer, the object’s value emphasized in the solicitude of the transfer.

Picture 3.  “Hold on.  Do you have a good grip?”  This time safety seems stressed.  Perhaps its a child’s first dalliance with an adventure, maybe climbing a tree or a first ride on the back of a motorcycle or something even more daring.  The value of a life, sacred, precious beyond measure, halts a mother’s heart as she says, “hold on!”

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“Hold onto it.  Don’t lose it.”
"Hold on.  You can do it." 
“Hold onto it.  Don’t give it away.”

"Hold onto it.  Protect it.”
"Hold on.  You can make it." 
“Hold onto it.  Watch what you say.” 

 

What do these mean to you?  Will you guard your heart to love or protect it from loving?  Will you hold onto your faith or be tossed to and fro by every wind of doctrine?  Will you be careful or careless about what comes out of your mouth or is expressed in your emotions?  Will you give up or keep it up?"

Words do mean something, but they can mean so many different things depending on the context and the background of the parties involved.   People are complicated.  So are our relationships, our emotions, our communications, and the list goes on. 

It is worth giving our all to find out what is really meant by the words communicated by the people we love in order to hold on to the truth.

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A to Z Challenge

E is for Encouragement

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Whether or not you’re a Christian, the Bible has a lot to offer in the way of words of encouragement.  These are worth exploring and contemplating and applying. 

I am working on committing to memory some of those right now.

“… Encourage one another day after day, as long as it is still called “Today,” lest any of you be hardened by the deceitfulness of sin.”  Hebrews 3:13

Do you think it is important to encourage others?  Why?  Where does that sense of morality come from?  I encourage you to think about that.

A to Z Challenge