I cannot remember when our family did not have a word-a-day calendar on its kitchen counter.  Checking today's word has become as regular a part of breakfast as orange juice.  But, the standard word-a-day format may be losing its freshness and charm for you.  So, in the spirit of perpetuating this American tradition, Light On:  Shades of Meaning presents a refreshing variation on the theme:

Remember when newspaper cartoons were a continuing story?  I can recall as a kid picking up the paper every day just to read the next installment of my favorites.  The Shades of Meaning format works the same way -- you read today's entry and can't resist flipping to the next "sheet" to get the answer.

If you have never "done" Shades of Meaning before, look first at the sentence at the bottom of the page in green in the example reproduced above.  It contains a misused word [hint: it's in the first line of this one].   In the entry before the one shown above, the green entry at the bottom of that entry also had a misused word ["impatient" was used instead of "in-patient"].  (Click here to see the green entry that preceded the example above.)

The first part of the page, at the top in black, presents yesterday's misused word ["impatient"] used properly in a sentence and highlighted.  Also, that word's Shades of Meaning counterpart ["in-patient"] -- the word that should have been used yesterday to make the sentence read correctly -- is also used today and is highlighted.

The middle part of the page, in blue, defines the two highlighted words so that you can discern and learn their Shades of Meaning.  After a day or two, you will catch on to the Light On:  Shades of Meaning rhythm:

    a pair of words used properly; those two words defined; a misused word, which will be revealed tomorrow;

    a pair of words used properly; those two words defined; a misused word, which will be revealed tomorrow;

    a pair of words used properly; those two words defined; a misused word, which will be revealed tomorrow...

So, why is an online version of Light On:  Shades of Meaning better than the store-bought one?  Well, everything has its plusses and minuses.  Here are the plusses:
 

• Browsing:  Do you know what you did with last month's sheets you tore off the word-a-day calendar on your desk or counter?  Doubtful.  But, your Shades of Meaning pages are always there for you to refer back to!  To learn how to navigate around Shades of Meaning, click here:  [Using Shades of Meaning]  [No, the site does not have a Search capability -- yet]

• Homing:  If you [Make Shades of Meaning Your Home Page], then any time you go online (and if you're reading this I'll bet you do it every day) you will be greeted by today's entry for Shades of Meaning.

 
• Linking:  Nearly daily, Shades of Meaning offers you at least one link to something related to the text for that day.  If you haven't noticed, go back and click on a few.  Then, try to do that with your counter-top calendar!

 
• Sharing:  If there are four people in your house/office who love the Far Side daily calendar, they each had to buy one at full price.  But, even if your home has only one computer, Shades of Meaning is only a click of the browser's Home button away for anyone who sits down at the machine.

• Take SOM with You.  Are you really going to pack that bulky page-a-day calendar for a week at the shore or when you are re-assigned to Antarctica?  But, chances are, wherever you go, someone will have InterNet access.  A quick visit to www.shadesofmeaning.com and you are caught up for the day.

Light On:  Shades of Meaning will only work for you if you click here and [Make Shades of Meaning Your Home Page]
 
 
 

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