Spot the frippet: lode.

Here's a word of secret desire to perk up your Monday.

A lode is a pocket of valuable ore hidden amongst more ordinary rock.

I realise that the word hidden makes the task of spotting this frippet rather a challenge, but, hey...some of you may be miners by profession; and for the rest of us, luckily, the word has other uses.

There's lodestar, for a start. In the Northern Hemisphere this is usually the North Star, but there are fifty six other lodestars to choose from if you're elsewhere. In the Southern Hemisphere, for instance, there's Ankaa in the constellation the Phoenix.

You use a lodestar to help you find your way (though signposts  work well, too).

A lodestone has a similar purpose. They are made of magnetite, which means they are naturally magnetic, and you can use one of them as a sort of compass.

Though again, there's always signposts...

Lastly, a lodestone can also be someone to whom people are naturally attracted. Someone with warmth, charm, knowledge, or charisma...

...or possibly a large supply of cake.

That'd do it for me, anyway.

Word To use Today: lode. This word comes from the Old English lād, which means course.