Today's words

In the m-w.com Game of the Day rotation, there are a couple reasons why the Dictionary Devil (link is to most recent DD) is my favorite. First, it provides an occasional challenge. But mostly, it is because I frequently learn a word I didn't previously know, and I get to learn the meaning in the course of solving the puzzle. Today included two I didn't know:

moulage \mü-ˈläzh\ - 1. an impression or cast made for use especially as evidence in a criminal investigation 2. the taking of an impression for use as evidence in a criminal investigation

This word sounds vaguely familiar to me. Perhaps I heard it in an episode of one of the various CSI series.

montero \män-ˈter-(ˌ)ō\ - a round hunter's cap with ear flaps

This one also seems familiar, but if I'd encountered this one and guessed its meaning from context, it would have taken a considerable amount of context for me to have visualized the type of cap they were talking about. The etymology helps, though, and for me evokes very fond memories of that National Charismatic Conference in 1988 after my sister's death, where I learned to sing ¡Alabare!, including this verse:

¡Y esos montes se moveran mas con Su Santo Espiritu!

This was such a powerful weekend for me, a time of spiritual healing and grace, of being set free from the burden of guilt over how I might have played a role in influencing the kind of decisions that led to her death. I will forever love the grotto at Notre Dame.

Oh, and the next word in the dictionary is funny! (Well, not when you're experiencing it.)