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Sunday 2 February 2014

Sunday Rest: ludic.

Ludic? Something to do with ludo?

Well, technically, yes.

Ludic means playful, but it's not used in a...well, in at all a playful sense, unless your sense of play is very limited indeed.

Ludic is quite a new abomination to be foisted on the poor English language. It's been with us only since the 1940s, and it describes funny literature, or literature that has funny moments.

Well, when I say funny...ludic is a word used by critics to highlight the humour of the sort of writer whose humour needs to be  highlighted because it's not actually, er, well, humorous

Yes, that's right: you enjoy ludic writing in much the same way as you might enjoy the skilled root canal work of your dentist.

And, you know something? If these critics really want to give us pleasure then I wish they'd just slip up on a banana skin and have done with it.

File:BananaSkin.JPG
Photo by Simon Speed

Word Not To Use Today: ludic. This word comes from the French ludique, from the Latin lūdus, which means game. Ludo comes from the same word.
 

4 comments:

  1. Yes! It's past time critics amused us!
    We need an annual Critic's Banana-Skin-Fest! :)

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    Replies
    1. I think this is the first time I've ever felt an overwhelmingly passionate desire to produce a Game Show...actually, how about a chat show, writer & critic, let them argue it out. Metaphorical banana skins. I'd love that JUST SO MUCH!

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  2. That would be good, that game! I'd watch!

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    Replies
    1. Book programmes on TV have never really worked before, have they. I'll contact the BBC asap!

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