The Absquatulation

This morning, I was trying to compare two spreadsheets for duplicate names. It got complicated. I had to ask my co-worker Eric if there was any easier way to comb 600+ names looking for 100 specific ones. After some googling, he happened upon this extremely complicated formula, which he explained to me (and it worked perfectly).

One of the terms within the formula was the word CONCATENATE. I had never heard it before. It’s apparently a programming term that means basically “to link two fields together”. I was fascinated by this strange and mysterious new word. I immediately googled it when I got back to my desk.

On the dictionary.com website, there was an ad that said “CONCATENATE is one of our favorite verbs. So is (insert crazy sounding verb). What does that mean?” And then it gave you two multiple choice answers. I chose one, got it wrong, and it gave me another word. One I immediately fell in love with.

Absquatulate.

Is there anything more fun to say?!

Maybe Fran-CI-sco. But it’s worth arguing.

Ab-squat-u-late: verb (used without object), -lated-ed, -lat-ing. Slang. To flee; abscond: The old prospector absquatulated with our picks and shovel.

How cool. :)

I immediately told Eric about this word via instant messenger.

Genteman, Juliette (DG-STL)

Eric, i looked up concatenate on dictionary.com because i like how it sounds. and then it had this other word on the page...

absquatulate

it means to flee or to take off with something

don't you want to work that into your vocab? you're welcome!

I liked this word so much, that I decided to pay it the ultimate tribute and post it as my facebook status.

I had just posted my status update containing the definition of my new vocabulary word, when I noticed another status update from my dear friend Annie Parsons, posted just moments earlier:

“Well, for the third time in my life, my car has been stolen. I hope the Hooker Street thief likes dog hair.”

First of all, this is terrible news! I should post a sympathetic comment immediately!

So I did.

“Are you serious. OMG, Annie, that’s horrible! I can’t believe someone absquatulated with your car!!! (I also can’t believe that I JUST learned that word and got to use it in context.)”

I love when life is like a tv show. :) And that Annie was exactly the type of person who could appreciate the beauty of a new word in the midst a wretched situation.