Entrench, Entrepreneur, Entropy
From 1995 till 1997 I studied at the Rijksakademie in Amsterdam. Since then I returned at least once a year for various reasons. A few weeks ago they invited me to talk to the new students about how I felt about being there for two years and what I did since then.
I arrived in time and was offered a drink. While I was left waiting I picked up a dictionary and looked up the word ‘Entrepreneur’. The description wasn’t that interesting so I looked at the words beneath and below ‘Entrepreneur’ (and ‘entrepreneurial’ and other similar words). The word below ‘Entrepreneur’ was:
Entrench
To provide with a trench, especially for the purpose of fortifying or defending
And the next word was:
Entropy
A measure of the disorder or randomness in a closed system.
So I figured being an Entrepeneur is like
Providing a trench for the purpose of fortifying or defending the disorder and randomness in a closed system
Okay, maybe it isn’t but I enjoyed myself for a few seconds…
An friend of mine uses a dictionary (the paper version, not Answers.com) if he has to come up with a new name for something. He takes a sharp object like a knife or a needle, closes his eyes, and stick it somewhere in the middle of the dictionary. He does this 10 times and uses the word that makes most sense. Like this:
Paradox
Mediatrix
Veneer
Araby
Stalwart
Therapy
Tendency
Nictitate
Tendentious
Consider
Trucial
Blithe
More fun than television!
