I love the weather folks – not in a marry you, have your children, put you in my will kind of way – more in a I appreciate your efforts, know you work hard to bring us accurate information and recognize that sometimes the weather news is just not palatable but you have to report it all the same – kind of way.  I have chided the Forum weather team (John, Rob and Daryl) in the past about the terms they use to describe the weather (see Is that all you’ve got?).  I do understand that there are limits to the number of ways one can dress up the word “cold”, but there has to be a bit more diversity than just cold and very cold.

Today when I woke up it was -15 outside.  If I was the weather forecaster I would be inclined to label that as “flippin’ frigid.”   The forecast noted that we would be warming up to a whole 5 degrees later in the day and used the label “brisk” to describe the 5 degree temperature.

Brisk?  Gentlemen…I know that anything above zero is bonus points this time of year, but “brisk” according to the online version of the Merriam-Webster Dictionary is defined in regard to weather as fresh or invigorating.  Fresh – hardly.  Invigorating – sorry even in a best case scenario (which would be – no wind, sunshine, arctic wear from head to toe)  such a word never applies to single digit temperatures.

I felt compelled to query colleagues this morning about their thoughts on the brisk label – no one was buying it and some had a few choice other words they felt were appropriate labels for the day’s temperature.  The best comment on the brisk label today came from my colleague Joy who came into the office from outside quite literally with her teeth still clenched (or her mouth was semi-frozen shut…I am not positive and did not investigate this point).  When I told Joy about the brisk label attributed to the temperature today she said – through her clenched (or frozen) teeth in a very deliberate and disdainful way, “Well apparently someone needs to spend more time with their thesaurus.”

Well,  my weather friends – given Joy’s insightful suggestion I took the liberty of doing a quick check at thesaurus.com for you.

Here is what I found:

Main Entry: cold

Part of Speech: adjective

Definition: chilly, freezing

Synonyms: Siberian, algid, arctic, below freezing, below zero, benumbed, biting, bitter, blasting, bleak, boreal, brisk, brumal, chill, chilled, cool, crisp, cutting, frigid, frore, frosty, frozen, gelid, glacial, have goose bumps, hawkish, hiemal, hyperborean, icebox, iced, icy, inclement, intense, keen, nipping, nippy, numbed, numbing, one-dog night, penetrating, piercing, polar, raw, rimy, severe, sharp, shivery, sleety, snappy, snowy, stinging, two-dog night, wintry.

Now, note that brisk is in the mix above as cold generically defined on that site is everything from chilly to freezing.  For weather like today’s I might suggest words such as”biting”, “numbing”, “frigid” or “piercing” may be in order and are infinitely more appropriate than “brisk”.

And here’s the thing – the list from thesaurus.com is but a short list of alternatives.  My home thesaurus has even more and I would be happy to lend it to you – just tell me where to deliver it (but don’t bother telling me where to stick it – it won’t fit there).  I am thinking with more word options you could better capture the true essence of the weather.  I definitely think you should give it a try because the next time you call a day like today “brisk” you just might just get a visit from my colleague Joy and when her teeth unclench I think she will give you a true appreciation of the value of expanding your synonym usage…and needless to say her delivery of that appreciation will not be “brisk”. 😉

Day five hundred and eighty-two of the new forty – obla di obla da

Ms. C