Word of the Day - Cantankerous

Cantankerous
[Adjective]

PRONUNCIATION:
(kan-TANG-ker-uhs)

MEANING:
1. Difficult, disagreeable, or irritating to deal with.
2. Contentious; peevish; crotchety; ornery.

ETYMOLOGY:
Originated in 1772. Said to be "a Wiltshire word," probably an alteration (influenced by raucous) of M.E. contakour "troublemaker" (c.1300), from Anglo-Fr. contec "discord," from O.Fr. contechier, from con- "with" + teche, and related to atachier "hold fast."

QUOTE WITH THE WORD:
"The more ugly, older, more cantankerous, more ill and poorer I become, the more I try to make amends by making my colors more vibrant, more balanced and beaming." - Vincent van Gogh

*Whoever can come up with the best sentence or poem using the word of the day wins :)
Please post it in this thread.

I love this word, learned it last year :)

What a word!

I like this idea very much, it is educational:)

Such a cantankerous
fellow he is.
A teenager,
with a sharp tongue yet
still growing into his voice.

I know someday his tongue
will slash his ankles
and he will fall
to my -
eye level.

Yet in the meantime ...

I find myself
staring into the fountain
of youth.
Sacrificing my maturity,
to travel back decades
to remember exactly what
my immaturity looked like.

Yet I can't seem to find it,
perhaps -
because the well has dried
from all the hot air ...

he blows

He is - his father's son :)

Good job with this thread. I had an English teacher in high school that said we each should pick a word a day, use it at least 10 times, then we would own that word.

Sometimes the strangest things pop into my mind. lol

Once there was a cantankerous old fool
who sat around all day and drooled.
Little did he know that soon
he would become the man in the moon.

Cantankerous

When I was a tot there was no Toys "R" Us
Then as a teen I ran with the rancorous
Look that up in your Funk & Wagnalls
My paths have been mostly diagonals
Is it any wonder I'm cantankerous?

A lovely word that unfortunately describes a lot of people. :]

Good word choice! It's fun to say, and evokes what it means. I love the Van Gogh quote.

Irascible... cantankerous... I'm noticing a theme here, Janey. Are you feeling peevish? ; )

Such cantankerous moments
Cast shadows on my heart
World, spiraling into darkness
Until the soul is revealed

I'm feeling a bit crotchety, yep ;) hahaha, no, not really. Tomorrow will be a more friendly word.

Great poems so far guys, I'm having lots of fun reading them.

Here is my sentence.

Reading the main forum threads often makes me cantankerous.

Wow, another thread full of great imaginations. I love the sentences and the poems.
I'm torn between Britt and Luanne's poems, so I declare this a tie!

Luanne, your poem stuck with me for the rest of the day as I continued reflecting back on it.
Britt, what a great poem and way to use both vocab words :P

Thanks Jane, way to goooo Britt ... you double worder you ... lol
Great stuff !