I don't always want to get slapped around, but when I do, I prefer that it be done in a room full of friends and colleagues. Not really. I was not slapped around today, but I was in a training class for Professional Standards, and I decided to share with the room that I was not the smartest person present. That was not a difficult achievement, but that is okay with me. What I have learned in my profession, and I learned it four or five years in, is that, if you don't know what the hell someone is talking about, you need to say "WHAT?" Not asking questions and not asking for clarification is probably the worst thing you can do. It doesn't make you look stupid, and at least half the room (a broad generalization) is glad that you put yourself out on that ledge. I am not always right, somedays are better than others, but I just have to keep working towards perfection. It is going to be a long road!Fete -- Noun. 1. festival. 2a. a lavish often outdoor entertainment. b. a large elaborate party. "The clocks struck and the bells tolled midnight; people were leaving fast: the fete was over; the lamps were fading." Charlotte Bronte, Villette, 1853
Did You Know? Fete is a word worth celebrating. It's been around since Middle English, when it was used in a manuscript to refer to "fetes, spectacles and other worldly vanytees." Since the 19th century, it has been doing double duty, serving both as a noun (as we've used it here) and as a verb meaning "to honor or commemorate with a fete." You can honor fete by remembering that it entered English from Middle French, and that it derives ultimately from the Old French feste, meaning "festival"-a root that, not surprisingly, also gave English the word feast. Because of its French ties, you will sometimes see fete spelled with a circumflex (fe^te).
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