I know that for some of you that title will have you trembling with anticipation. A new word! Especially if you are a logophile (which is a lover of words, not logs and not Microsoft Word). Regular bloggists will know that from time to time the synapses in my brain do something weirder than usual and I come up with a new word. Sometimes it is a word that is created for a new context for which there has not been a word before eg Ambitextrous – able to text with the thumb on both hands. Sometimes it is a word that fills a gap in the language that I have observed – eg Ambisomnorous – able to sleep on either side.

Not all my words are ambi-something. There was technoloiterate – comfortable hanging around with technology. That, you will recall, came about when I was typing up a paper at the end of sabbatical leave and was trying to type ‘technoliterate’ (another new word meaning able to communicate with technology) and hit ‘o’ and ‘i’ simultaneously on the keyboiard (see, it’s easily done).

But, I hear you ask, what’s the new word?

I am glad you asked, because it came to me this morning. I have a lovely coffee machine into which you put cold water and a pod containing ground coffee beans, press a button, and out comes lovely coffee to drink in about 30 seconds. I should clarify that – it takes about 30 seconds for the cup of coffee to be produced, it’s not essential to drink the coffee in about 30 seconds. And I also ought to clarify that the cup is not produced by the machine, that has to be provided by the user and located in the right place to receive the liquid coffee.

And this morning when I came to start the process there was a red light flashing on the machine. That is how the machine tells me that it needs descaling. I like to maintain the machine properly so I had got some descaling tablets already. I set the machine up on its descaling routine and then went off to do other things. It takes about 30 minutes for the descaling process to finish.

As I was waiting for the machine I started to realise how much I was looking forward to the coffee and how frustrating it was not to be able to have it.

You’re leaning forward now, aren’t you, in anticipation.

And now you’re shouting at the screen, “Get on with it!!”

So the word.

The new word.

Is…

Duff, duff, duff, de duff duff duff duff

(cue Eastenders music)

Aaargh!

And that has hopefully allowed you to experience the word:

It is the frustration you feel when you are waiting in anticipation for something and then are not able to have that anticipation fulfilled.

“Franticipation!”

The word works especially well if you are looking forward to seeing Fran and she is unable to make it at the last minute!

Are you franticipated? What are you going to do about it?

Be blessed, be a blessing.

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