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I have to admit, I am bad at skipping over words if I don't know their exact meaning.
However, I have stopped reading to go look up a word. The one I remember most (because I love the word and subsequent phrasing) was when I came across the phrase "black serendipity" in Stephen King's novella Apt Pupil. According to Wikipedia, serendipity means "a propensity for making fortunate discoveries while looking for something unrelated." Having King tie the word black to the word serendipity was, to me, awesome phrasing - with just two words. You'd have to have read the book to get it - but that phrase still impresses me. It is (was?) so apropos to what was happening in that story.
But that doesn't happen often (stopping to look up a word). I do skip words - and sometimes don't realize that I have, actually. I guess because usually the word is hidden so well within the story (and you can glean the meaning from the context), that it doesn't stick out.
Huh. Now I'll have to remember to try to pay more attention...
Marilyn
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