Visual Vocabulary: Gallimaufrey
I ran across the word gallimaufrey (also spelled gallimaufry for those captious folks) in The Goldfinch, which is an excellent book that I couldn't put down for several nights in a row. It was also a wealth of fantastic vocabulary words to illustrate, so thank you on both counts, Donna Tartt. (Her other book that I've read, The Little Friend, was also really good. Not to mention the creeper book jacket was designed by Chip Kidd).
I'm going to now start calling our junk drawers gallimaufrey drawers. It's so much more fun than "junk drawer." Much like what's in this particular one, which I will list out here for your convenience:
South Beach Diet Book ("No Bread - No Cheese - No Fun")
Receipt from Target for "that thing you meant to return but never did."
Random paintbrushes and writing utensils.
Cough drops.
A Hard Rock Cafe pin.
Bonne Bell Dr. Pepper lip balm that's probably more than a decade old.
A gold bracelet with your high school boyfriend's name on it, because you feel kind of bad throwing away a gold bracelet.
A koosh ball.
I Heart Intercourse, Pennsylvania playing cards because you used to live in Lancaster and you have the sense of humor of a thirteen year old.
A stamp for two cents that is the opposite of a forever stamp.
An allen wrench, because you always have to have at least ten of them floating around at any given time.
A postcard from Spring Break 2003 in Myrtle Beach. Wouldn't want to forget it.
A religious card that someone left you in lieu of a tip several years ago when you waitressed at Outback in Atlanta.
A "Bank of Old Ass Credit" card that you really should cancel but don't feel like arguing with the Bank of Old Ass Credit customer service people about shutting down your account.
Old movie ticket stubs.
Chattering wind-up teeth.
Spare change.
Spare paperclips.
Spare rubber bands.
Spare batteries.
Spare corn on the cob handles (you never know when they might come in handy).
BOGO Unibrow Trimming coupon (great deal!)
$25 gift card to Billy Bob's House of Pork Rinds.
Spare pair of ear buds.
And of course, a whoopie cushion. No gallimaufrey drawer is complete without a whoopie cushion.
Visual Vocabulary is a project I created for myself in which I attempt to sear new words into my memory by illustrating them.
