Baby vicuna (related to to the llama. Might be the ancestor of the alpaca). By Thomas Quine (BabyfaceUploaded by Dolovis) via Wikimedia Commons.
It was another day–oddly, only the second one in this year’s A to Z Challenge–where I didn’t have a word pop easily into my head, so I decided to let google lead me again. And I ended up with vicissitudes. Actually vicissitudinous, but given that the definition was: “Characterized by, full of, or subject to vicissitudes,” that wasn’t entirely helpful.
Vicissitudes are ups and downs in various forms, but I like the word as it pertains to life. From our friends at Merriam-Webster:
1 a : the quality or state of being changeable : mutabilityb : natural change or mutation visible in nature or in human affairs
2 a : a favorable or unfavorable event or situation that occurs by chance : a fluctuation of state or condition
- the vicissitudes of daily life
b : a difficulty or hardship attendant on a way of life, a career, or a course of action and usually beyond one’s controlc : alternating change : succession
Check out my full-length novels:
Aunty Ida’s Full-Service Mental Institution (by Invitation Only)
Aunty Ida’s Holey Amazing Sleeping Preparation (Not Doctor Recommended)
The Great Paradox and the Innies and Outies of Time Management.
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A Bit to Read 
I’m not sure I’ve ever even run across that word let alone knew what it meant. Thanks for the vocab lesson. I like that word! It ought to be in the title of a book!
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I’d never heard of it before either!
It feels challenging for a title, but it’s definitely one that gets you thinking. 🙂
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Vicissitudes – what writers and bloggers experience taking part in the A – Z challenge!
https://iainkellywriting.com/2018/04/25/v-is-for-vienna-austria/
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DEFINITELY!
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I’ve known of the word but have never had a reason nor occasion to use it.
Now I do.
So, someone comes to me and says: Hey Stu, how are you doing?
I can now answer: My life is vicissitudinous.
Then I can walk away, sharing confounding conundrums.
Stu
Tale Spinning
https://stuartnager.wordpress.com/
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I dare you!
It’s a fantastic, completely underused word. Also the expressions would be worth it.
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I can do no better than Stu’s comment. I wish I’d thought of it first. Or found the word as you did.
A-Zing this year at:
FictionCanBeFun
Normally found at:
DebsDespatches
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Darn it, now I’ve forgotten what he said! I have to go back 🙂 V was very fertile for fun, obscure words. Much better than X.
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