Monday, January 15, 2007

Word of the day

Last weekend I learned the old definition of a new word. Per the dictionary:

hor·ni·to (hôr-nt) n. A low mound of volcanic origin, sometimes emitting smoke or vapor.

However, the ear doctor and I have assigned a new definition for this word. The weather this winter in Colorado has been cold. Horrifically cold and snowy. We've had 4 major snow storms in the last 4 weeks, and another one is on the way. As a result all of the cars have formed hornitos just behind their tires.


We decided to make a specific word for these little guys because the ear doctor LOVES to kick these things off his truck. Not only does he kick them off his own truck, but if he sees a delightfully large hornito on someone else's car in a parking lot, he considers it a service to de-hornito other peoples cars.

Nothing gives my man more winter-time joy than to kick these little buggers off.

Cool, huh?!?!

5 comments:

Unknown said...

I read this yesterday and have been wondering since then, are hornitos big piles of snow that accumulate? Or dirt? or dirt and snow? or little armadillo bodies? Oops I guess that's what you'd find in Florida, little armadillos all over the place :)

Strangely though, the term hornito makes me crave Mexican!

Katie said...

Hornitos are the big clumps of nasty icy/dirty/snow that grow because they never plow the roads enough in Colorado.

And yes, looking and talking about hornitos makes one NEED Mexican food.

k said...

i kicked one off my car last night (yes, we have enough snow here for them to accumulate) and thought of you :)

TRS said...

I like kicking them off too! But it's been so frozen in this Denver tundra that it's been about impossible!

Q? pronounced HORNT? Cuz I wanna call them horn eeet oohs.

T

Katie said...

We pronounce them horn-eee-toes too!