2019 - Day44/321 - Wednesday...Unctuous...

Speaking of doors, it seems I am taking a trip down the paths of my childhood. I've only got about two more weeks to go with this theme month, and it is kind of interesting, if only to me. I grew up in the suburbs of Detroit, and there were ice cream trucks that visited the neighborhood in the summers. I don't remember if they worked on the weekends or not, but I don't think they did. That was when the dads were home, and there was other stuff to do. The guy that ran the ice cream truck in our neighborhood was named Earl, and he would let us ride in his truck every now and then. I don't think that would be legal today, and I am certain that it would be frowned upon by parental units. For the longest time, I thought Earl's name was Joe, because the owner of the franchise had his name on the side of the truck, and the owner's name was Joe. For a couple years I would great Earl and say "Whaddaya know, Joe?" After a couple years, other kids in the neighborhood asked me why I called him Joe, and that was another mystery solved.

Unctuous -- Adjective: 1a. fatty, oily. b. smooth and greasy in texture or appearance. 2. plastic. 3. insincerely smooth in speech and manner. Anna was thankful that the unctuous man who first greeted her at the modeling agency was not the person she would be working with.

Did You Know? Nowadays, unctuous usually has a negative connotation, but it originated as a term describing an act of healing. The word comes from the Latin verb unguere ("to annoint"), a root that also gave rise to the words unguent ("a soothing or healing salve") and ointment. The oily nature of ointments may have led to the application of unctuous to describe things marked by an artificial gloss of sentimentality. An unctuous individual's insincere earnestness can leave an unwelcome residue with others, much like some ointments.