ANTIMACASSAR MEANS...

I guess I have become the vessel of the arcane words. I am always the person that gets called as a joke to define strange words. That is fine with me...but, where are these words going.


An antimacassar, was a part of my life growing up. It was a little fabric edged with tatting or crochet that was found on the back of chairs. They were also on the arms of the chairs to protect from the oils in your hands (I still have them).

Macassar was an oil put in the hair to control it during the Victorian times. Ergo an anti-macassar was put to keep the hair oil off of the back of the chair...then we moved to Brylcream (a little dab will do you),

or VO5...

still the chairs needed protection. Also, furniture lasted a life time...or many lifetimes...it was not dispensable as it is now.

The fact that this word was in my third grade grandchild's spelling list it very strange.

The big concern is where are these words going. They are disappearing from our language and becoming trivia. We are turning into a society that does not read anything longer than a "Twitter" or is the proper vernacular a "Tweet."

Some day I will tell you the story of my niece's (Lauri) birth, my ponytail, and VO5. This may not be the proper venue!?