Sunday Rest: neonate. Word Not To Use Today.

A neonate is delicate and small and helpless and beautiful and full of promise - and it is the most precious thing on Earth.

And it's also what anyone with an drop of humanity in his veins would call a baby.


photo by Dylan Parker

Word Not To Use Today: neonate. Yes, neo- is to do with being new (Greek neos, new) and -nate is to do with being born (Latin nasci, born) but, good grief...

Mind you...

The creature also needs inconvenient amounts of attention.

You can't store it in a safe, a fridge, a greenhouse or a museum.

It gets between you and your sleep.

It's unreasonable and very messy.

But even so, calling it a neonate is just making it obvious to the world you really don't care. 

Isn't it.